Best things to do in Rome
Rome’s oldest marketplace is the starting point for a delicious culinary experience in the Italian capital, followed by a lunch at Marlon Brando’s former apartment.
I am not a fan of food-themed tours but since moving to Rome early this year, I’ve decided to say yes to everything. Would I like to join Chef Fabio Massimo Bongianni for a morning shopping at the city’s oldest market, followed by a cooking class and lunch at Marlon Brando’s former pied-a-terre on Isola Tiberina (Tiber Island)? When in Rome, right?
By the meeting point at Largo di Torre Argentina, I join a chatty group of five Americans, three of whom have already discovered they have friends in common back home in Austin, Texas. They’re in deep conversation with Chef Fabio, a charismatic Roman whose past students include Hollywood A-listers, (Angelina Jolie and her kids are fans), and this northern summer Michael Jordan will be perfecting his pizza-making skills under Chef Fabio’s tutelage. I’m enthusiastically welcomed into the fold and we set off to Campo de’ Fiori. Its name, harking back to the Middle Ages, means field of flowers, and today it’s a lively piazza of stallholders selling vegetables, fruit, colourful Moka coffee-brewing pots, kitchen trinkets, and yes, freshly cut blooms. Although the walk is only about 10 minutes, our leader is stopped multiple times by “old restaurant friends”.
He’s met with the same enthusiasm from vendors who weigh and bag up plump zucchini flowers, asparagus, artichokes and strawberries, all of which will go into the dishes we’ll be preparing for lunch. Before leaving the stalls for the macelleria (butcher) across the piazza, I bid farewell to the statue of philosopher Giordano Bruno, which looms in the centre. Bruno was burned at the stake here in the 17th century because of his “radical scientific beliefs”, which went against the Catholic Church (the statue’s gaze is directed straight at his executioners, the Vatican).
Onward to the macellaria for guanciale (pig’s cheek) and beef at family-run Macelleria Campo dei Fiori, a shop so small it just fits our group. The final stop is for bread at the Forno del Ghetto as well as a pizza al taglio (cut pizza) and a mortadella tasting. Forno del Ghetto has been making kosher bread since 1927 and today occupies four shopfronts. We each take a piece of warm pizza with assorted toppings from a large cardboard tray before shuffling into the small salumeria. As the attendant chats and dresses the thin pink meat slices in balsamic glaze, lemon zest, pistachios and pine nuts, I’m immediately transported back to primary school where I would eagerly swap my home-made mortadella panini for cheese and Vegemite sandwiches.
With the groceries for our lunch, we cross the city’s oldest bridge, Ponte Fabricio, to Isola Tiberina and walk up the stairs to the apartment on the Tiber where we’ll be cooking and eating lunch. Chef Fabio explains today’s seasonal menu: zucchini and parmesan ravioli, cacio e pepe gnocchi, cavatelli with asparagus and guanciale, polpettone ripieno al forno with parmesan crumbed potatoes, and strawberries in balsamic glaze for dessert, plus red and white wine.
While the menu sounds impressive, we’re more in awe of this spectacular apartment. Before being transformed into multiple cooking spaces, it was the home of American photographer Milton Gendel, who was based in Rome from 1949 until his death in 2018. It has appeared in many films, most notably in the 1960 Monica Vitti arthouse film, L’Avventura (The Adventure), and Marlon Brando called the apartment home for five months in 1965.
Donning red aprons, we peel and slice zucchini, asparagus and potatoes as Chef Fabio shares his story. Although passionate about food and cooking from a young age, he “did the right thing” and went to law school, but that wasn’t to be his true calling. He set off to train at the legendary Ecole Ritz Escoffier in Paris, graduated and headed home; then at the suggestion of a friend, he opened Italy’s first steakhouse in 1996. The Romans couldn’t get enough of the burgers, steaks and ribs, and a second location followed.
Aspirations for a third fell apart following the devastating effects of mad cow disease across Britain and the continent. Chef Fabio closed up shop and returned to his Italian roots. In 2004, he opened That’s Amore, a trattoria serving pizza and pasta; almost two decades on, it’s impossible to get a table without a reservation.
With the vegetables done and set aside (saving the scraps to make stock), we clean our bench space and create flour mountains before cracking eggs into the middle and mixing with a fork. I’m no stranger to pasta fatta in casa, but we’re making three types: ravioli, gnocchi and cavatelli. Keeping an eye on the clock, Chef Fabio rolls up his sleeves and inspects everyone’s dough, kneading the ones that need a little (or a lot of) help as he makes his way down the bench. He picks up his favourite, drops it into the pasta maker and cranks the handle. The dough becomes comically thinner and longer and, without prompting, we form a line, safely cradling the pasta sheet when it’s our turn. Once the perfect length and width is reached, the sheet is cut into manageable sizes and used to make ravioli. A generous dollop of the filling is placed on the bottom sheet, covered with the second sheet, gently sealed, and cut into squares. We then break into team gnocchi and team cavatelli, and I’m so engrossed with adding grooves to my gnocchi I don’t even notice the pots and pans on the stove bubbling with sauces for the pasta.
About 15 minutes later, it’s aprons off and wine glasses in hand as we’re invited to sit. This is a table of food and travel lovers and, as each delicious course is served, we talk about Rome, compare notes and discuss places we must make time to visit. Chef Fabio touches on his philosophy, which has naturally translated from his restaurants to his tours. “I want everyone to leave with the feeling of having just cooked and shared a meal with friends … you’re not just tourists.” As phone numbers are swapped and restaurant recommendations freely given, I have a newfound appreciation for destination food tours.
IN THE KNOW
The five-hour Cooking Day and Market Experience tours operate year-round and include a five-course meal and wine (advise dietary preferences when booking); €120 ($195.40) a person.
Vanessa Mulquiney was a guest of Italy Tour Co.
