Italian cuisine is characterized by its simplicity, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients. It’s not only pizza,pasta and ice-cream. It offers really cullunary emotions which everyone must try in Italy.

If we taste the food in Tuscany we will see that it’s based on the Italian idea of cucina povera or “poor cooking.” A concept that started very literally, it’s about simple meals that are inexpensive and could easily be made in large amounts. Today it remains largely the same – but by choice instead of economy. Tuscan cooking doesn’t use complicated seasonings or elaborate creations because they’re not needed. Instead it’s made using fresh, high-quality ingredients that bring out the natural flavors in each dish, simple or not.

Food doesn’t have to travel far in Tuscany, the region’s gentle hills are the perfect source and locally grown produce, titled “nostrale” or “ours,” is abundant. In fact, the cuisine is traditionally hearty and made with simple ingredients – ones easily found in the countryside – with bread beans and roasted meats serving as the base of most traditional Tuscan meals.

Whether foraging for truffles or mushrooms, taking in the grape harvest or sampling a genuine bottle of Tuscan olive oil, here local and homegrown is a lifestyle!