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Vetrina Toscana a Tavola is a project, promoted by the region of Tuscany, in collaboration of Public Services and Tuscan Restaurants. Today more than 650 trattorias, restaurants and osterias (100 in the region of Florence) adhere to the discipline that, in a simple but exacting way, characterises
the Tuscan restaurants. Typical products, the creativity of the chefs and the atmosphere of the environments form the focus of Vetrina Toscana a Tavola.
Florentine cuisine
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Florentine cuisine acquired a more than local dimension in 1533, when Caterina de’ Medici married Henry of Valois, King of France. Caterina was just 14 years old at the time, but was already fond of good food, and she took some cooks and pastry chefs with her to France. With the arrival of the new queen, France was introduced to the smells and aromas of Florentine court cuisine by way of recipes like salsa colla (now besciamella), onion soup and tongue in dolceforte (‘sweet and strong’).
Some of the most characteristic recipes from Florentine traditional cuisine: antipasti, first courses (especially soups), second courses of meat or fish, and desserts. Dishes that go back to the traditions of peasant cooking, called "poor cuisine" but highly tasty as well as healthy, since it is based on the simplest ingredients of our land.
Wines produced in the province of Florence, wine trails, links to foreign and Italian wine-related websites, the Florentine and other Tuscan wines that head the ratings in the classifications of famous sommeliers (though of course wine is first and foremost a part of popular culture and as such is for all enthusiasts, experts and non-experts alike) … all this is contained in a brief guide for tourists who are not satisfied with a whistle-stop tour of the most famous art works but want to explore country parish churches, castles, estates and wineries. Food and wine is an excellent way of learning about the local area: a well-prepared dish accompanied by a fine wine can tell us a lot about local history and culture.
The olive tree is a basic element of our landscape, just as extra-virgin olive oil is an essential ingredient of our cuisine: a product almost six thousand years old but always young, because its properties have remained unchanged over time. Here you will find useful information for understanding how Florentine olive oil is produced, but also how to choose between the various products found on the market. In any way you taste it, the extra-virgin olive oil of Florence is a top-quality product, with an original, inimitable flavor. It is real "green gold".
Our cuisine is rich in special products from the earth and from the hand of man. In Florence and its province you will find not only wine and olive oil but also the chestnuts and bread of Mugello, truffles, the onions of Certaldo and the artichokes of Empoli, as well as pecorino and other typical cheeses. Each product is the occasion for a different trip through the tradition of Tuscan good living.
"The Typical Restaurant" initiative organized by the Italian Federation of Public Commercial Enterprises (FIPE) has certified a large number of restaurants of Florence and the surroundings, enabling them to display the "Ristorante Tipico-Cucina Fiorentina" (Typical Restaurant-Florentine Cuisine) plaque.
FIPE decided to propose a precise self-regulatory code that would permit certification of typical restaurants. The project's objectives include oversight and promotion of traditional culinary culture, the development and maintenanc of typical local production,consumer confidence and growth quality of services offered to tourists.