​7 hands-on food and drink experiences to try in Italy

1. Olive oil tasting in Puglia

Puglia produces more olive oil than anywhere else in Italy, and Pietro D’Amico is one of the region’s oil wizards. He coaxes it out of olives from centuries-old, organically grown trees — sometimes pressing it, sometimes simply letting the oil rise to the top and spooning it off. During a tour, Pietro will show you round the press, explaining how they make the oil using both traditional methods and a modern production line, and then take you for a tasting in a typical Pugliese, conical-roofed trullo building. Free.

2. Snacking on Liguria’s street food

From pesto to focaccia, Genoese street food has certainly left its mark on the world. Local chef and food writer Enrica Monzani will show you how on her Genoa Food Tour, taking you through medieval alleyways and 19th-century streets in search of the city’s best food. She’ll introduce you to Italy’s oldest confectioner, a retro spice shop and an art nouveau cafe, among many other delights. Afterwards, travel south to the Cinque Terre villages to enjoy more Liguruan delicacies on the coast. £86 per person.

3. Truffle hunting in Umbria 

The town of Norcia is one of Italy’s gastro havens, and Palazzo Seneca — a hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant — plunges you straight into the scene. Its truffle hunting and ricotta cheese-making class is unmissable. A dog-guided truffle hunt in Monti Sibillini National Park ends with an outdoor ricotta-making lesson in a field. The end result is then part of a picnic that includes sausages (cooked al fresco), spelt salad and local wines. From £761 for two, including two nights B&B.

4. Bonding over wine in Alta Badia

Don’t call the locals Italian in Alta Badia, high up in South Tyrol’s Dolomites. This is a centre of Ladin culture, and this ethnic group, which has lived in the mountains for millennia, still has its own language and customs. The area’s biannual Nos Ladins (‘we are Ladins’) programme lets visitors learn about their culture. A typical experience could involve baking traditional biscuits or a tasting of local wines. The tourist board website has dates and prices. From £22 per person.

5. Tasting Sardinia

Sardinia has a diet so healthy that many places are designated Blue Zones (areas with high levels of longevity). Sapori & Saperi’s 10-day Celebrating Sardinia trip takes in the best of the island. You’ll watch a shepherd make ricotta and pecorino sardo cheese, visit salt pans and wineries, head out for lunch on a tuna-fishing boat and have a bread-making lesson. From £2,294 per person.

6. When life gives you Amalfi lemons...

For centuries, Amalfi’s lemon groves were central to the economy of the Amalfi Coast, but the punishing manual work involved plus price drops and the arrival of mass tourism has meant that most trees have disappeared. Salvatore Aceto is on a mission to keep the tradition alive. He leads tours around his family farm, on the cliffside above the town of Amalfi, taking groups through the terraces and finishing with lemonade and lemon cake. From £22 per person.

7. Pasta-making alla Bolognese

Bologna is known for its sfogline, (almost always) women who hand-roll egg pasta as light as a silk scarf and stuff it with delicious fillings, from simple ricotta and spinach to the mix of prosciutto, mortadella and Parmesan that goes into tortellini. Learn how to roll with the best in an afternoon lesson from the sfogline of La Salumeria, one of the city’s best delicatessens. You’ll make the pasta dough from scratch, then roll it out and create tagliatelle, tortellini and tortelloni. £80 per person.