The jewel in the crown of Florentine gastronomy is obviously its famed beefsteak. The “Fiorentina” must be cooked on burning embers, not on a gas fire, and be served rare.

The perfect accompaniment to a Fiorentina steak is of course a glass of one of the excellent red wines produced in the nearby hills, a Chianti Classico for example.

In Florence cooking is not just limited to beef steaks. Unforgettable lunches are also spent over plates of roasted meats, pasta-based dishes and the many soups of the area. Ribollita (Tuscan soup made of bread, beans and red cabbage soaked for a day) and “pappa al pomodoro” (made with local bread, tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil) must be tried at least once – of course with a drizzle of local extra-virgin olive oil.

The Medici family had extraordinarily honed palates and the team of chefs at their service strove daily to find new delicacies to serve their masters. Caterina de’ Medici, granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent and a great food and wine connoisseur, was famed for having given her chefs permission to exercise their culinary creativity.