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La Cucina Italiana in Le Marche, Italy

Local Food and Wine

Cooking in Le Marche is based on fresh local ingredients and traditional cooking techniques derived from its peasant history. Dishes vary depending on location, from fresh fish along the coast to foraged mushrooms in the mountains.

A local coastal dish to try is 'brodetto', a soup made from the catch of the day. Every town has its own way of preparing brodetto, a great excuse for trying it more than once!

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Many fruits and vegetables are grown in the area. Meat is farmed and butchered locally. Local cured meats are a specialty, as are stuffed fried olives and fresh stuffed pasta dishes such as vincigrassi, an elaborate lasagna.

Much of the food used in local inland dishes is gathered in the wild such as mushrooms, field greens, nuts, game and truffles.

Wine and olive oil are two important products of the area. You can visit a frantoio and see how the olives are crushed the traditional way using giant stones. There are many vineyards nearby, and several varieties of grapes are grown. We are located in an area that makes the following DOC wines: Rosso Piceno, Passerina, Falerio and Pecorino. Many vineyards offer tastings and tours.

There are several homemade liqueurs that you can enjoy as well as the distilled liquors grappa and mistra`. Another local specialty still made the way the ancient Romans did is vino cotto, 'cooked wine'.

Nearby there are restaurants offering delicious local food and at Lavanda Blu you can participate in a cooking class and learn to make traditional dishes in a fun and informal setting.