Northern Italy Food & Cooking Tour
- Photo Friendly
- 14 Days
- 1-8 People
- All Weather
Tour Information
July 2025
This is a food tourism and cooking tour (with some passive sightseeing on the side). The food tour will be led by Luke Piccolo, an award winning chef of Italian heritage. Luke and his family own and run Limone restaurant and Piccolo Family Farm in Griffith, regional NSW. Luke’s cooking awards have taken him to Italy where he studied and worked in the restaurant and food business for a few years including a time at a Michelin restaurant.
Luke’s extended family are centred around the north of Lake Garda and are also in the restaurant business.
Luke will be assisted by Bill Balding, a wannabe Italian and possibly an award winning eater. Bill runs a small group tour business that focuses on the beauty and adventure of a road less travelled primarily visiting rural NSW and South Australia, with a few forays to Japan (where he lived, studied and worked for a few years) and Europe and Morocco where Luke and Bill have family.
Our tour focuses on the north of Italy. We will explore three very different regions of northern Italy.
Region 1. We start in Bologna in the Emilia Romagna region (the food bowl of Italy). We will base ourselves at the one villa and stay 5 nights.
Region 2. We head north to the Alps in the South Tyrol or just over in the upper Veneto, staying around Cortina D’Amprezzo (an alpine village and location of one of the Michelin restaurants where Luke worked). Again, we will base ourselves in the one hotel for 3 nights and do excursions from our accommodation.
Region 3. Our last location is around Lake Garda. We will spend a couple of nights in the north of Lake Garda at Riva Del Garda (where Luke’s extended family are based) and 3 nights at the south of Lake Garda. Lake Garda is bordered by the regions of Lombardy, Trentino and the Veneto. We will be in the Lake Garda region for 5 nights.
- Thirteen nights unique and comfortable accommodation with private bathrooms – a wonderful mix of villas, chalets and what the Italians call Agritourismo places.
- Personal items, purchases, alcoholic drinks, coffee, snack, etc.
- Cooking participation days and cooking class from our chef.
- All meals (with 1 or 2 exceptions as per the itinerary). Our meals are a combination of fine dining, traditional and street food. At each of our 3 main regions visited there will be at least 1 multi course or degustation.
- Dining at Michelin starred restaurants as per the itinerary.
- All ground transfers
- Excursions to food destinations and local points of interest and short hikes and easy walking tours.
- Entry into attractions/activities and tastings of food, wines and grappa as per the itinerary.
- Travel to and from Bologna.
- All beverages (except for welcome and farewell dinners as specified in the itinerary), items of a personal nature or tipping.
- Passport & visa (if needed)
- Travel Insurance (you will be required to have independent travel insurance).
- Incidental snacks, coffee, drinks etc as per your individualrequirements.
- Comfortable clothing. Cool sunsafe clothing in summer and warm clothing in winter.
- Sturdy shoes for hiking.
- Personal medicines and toiletries including sun screen and insect repellant.
$8,600 based on twin share travel. Additional $1,950 single supplement.
