Naples Food Tour with Pizza Making Workshop

Balancing rustic ingredients of the countryside with an abundance of fresh seafood, Neapolitan cuisine has become famous the world over for several characteristic dishes—mozzarella di bufala, spaghetti alla puttanesca, and, of course, Neapolitan pizza. This Naples Food Tour is part-walking tour, exploring both Naples' superb street food and specialty shops, and part-hands-on pizza-making lesson, where we'll learn the art of making the perfect Naples pizza. Along the way, we'll explore the culinary history and food traditions of Naples, topped off by a pizza of our own making in one of the city's famed pizzerie.

We will begin with a stroll through the dense historical center of Naples, all the while discussing some of the most important culinary traditions of the city, how they were born, and how Neapolitan cuisine has evolved throughout the centuries. We will discuss the different preparation techniques dating back to the influence of the Spanish and Norman domination on Neapolitan food, with their smoked herrings and anchovies, which to date are still the topping for a low-calorie (relatively speaking) version of pizza called Pizza Marinara. You will learn the legendary story about the origins of pizza Margherita and why mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes are mandatory and essential ingredients for any Italian. As we wind our way through the characteristic neighborhoods of via Toledo and Spaccanapoli, we will stop at some of the oldest and most traditional cafes and pastry shops in the city. Depending on the time of the year and the group's interest, we may taste traditional Neapolitan snacks and sweets such as taralli, baba' al rum, and sfogliatelle.

After this enticing appetizer, we will visit one of Naples' most traditional pizzerias. Here, we will be given the ingredients and tools to make your own pizza Napoletana. A trained pizzaiolo will supervise our work and give us advice for achieving the perfect dough consistency and the right sauce-spreading and mozzarella-sprinkling techniques. Once the pizza is taken from the wood-burning oven, we will sit down and eat our masterpiece!

Together, we'll deepen our appreciation for Neapolitan food, deeply characteristic of Italian food as a whole. Not only will we delve into the cuisine's history, learning why Neapolitan food favors specific ingredients over others, but we'll sample a variety of classic Neapolitan treats before applying these lessons in our pizza-making class.

Can I participate in food tours if I have food allergies or other dietary restrictions?
Yes. If you have any specific allergies/intolerances, please indicate these in the Notes section when you're booking, and your guide will do his or her best to accommodate. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and nut-free diets can certainly be accommodated, although the shops we visit do use wheat flour and nuts in the kitchen for other items. If you are booking privately, we can adapt a route that will avoid such items, something that we cannot fully do on our small group walks.

Does the pizza-making workshop follow the process from A to Z?
As pizza dough takes hours to prepare and to let it rise, and everything, we do not prepare our own dough. However, the guide and pizzaiolo will talk through the steps on how it's made, then clients stretch the dough and add toppings. 

Are the tastings equivalent to lunch or dinner?
Although this isn't a full sit-down meal, between the tastings and pizza, clients usually are well-sated by the end of the experience and do not need to make lunch or dinner reservations for afterwards.

Is this tour wheelchair accessible?
Some of the shops we visit are small and many will have a step up to access them. The general route may include small streets with narrow sidewalks. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding accessibility. We are also happy to design a private, adapted tour for visitors with mobility concerns.