Truffles & Trattoria – Roman Cuisine with Olivia Potts, FOUR NIGHTS from 2 December 2026
Join The Spectator’s cookery columnist and Kirker Travel for a culinary escape to the Eternal City including opportunities to sample the best local specialties, discover hidden food treasures, meet some of the finest producers, and dine in Olivia’s favourite local restaurants.
After a career at the criminal bar, Olivia retrained in pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, and has since become a renowned writer and chef. She is the Guild of Food Writers' Cookery Writer of the Year 2025.
The latest Spectator Club trip will take readers from local markets to gastronomic restaurants – and you will be sure to return with a few recipes up your sleeve. Fewer tourists visit Rome in winter, but this is prime season for black winter truffles (Tartufo Nero) and white winter truffles (Tartufo Bianco), in the Lazio countryside as well as for the classic Roman artichokes (Carciofi), puntarelle and citrus, and the best time to enjoy traditional pastaand gnocchi. Do join us on this truly amazing tour!
A FOUR NIGHT TOUR OF ROME | 2-6 December 2026
Day 1
Our hotel for the duration is the 4* Hotel Monti Palace, perfectly located close to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Colosseum, Piazza Venezia, the Roman Forum and the famous shopping streets, via Nazionale and via del Corso. This evening, we will go for dinner in the Testaccio district, a passionately authentic Roman quarter with an ancient history and a vibrant modern culinary scene. We have dinner at one of Olivia’s favourite restaurants; the perfect introduction to Roman cuisine: a feast of braised rabbit, oxtail, sweetbreads, as well as gnocchi – traditionally eaten on a Thursday in Rome.
Day 2
We start our day in Rome at the Palazzo Colonna, a remarkable private museum which is one of the oldest and largest private houses in the city and has an exceptional picture collection. We will then walk to the Pantheon, where Olivia will introduce her favourite sweet treat, Roman coffee granita with whipped cream, at a secret local cafe. We then have a light lunch at a nearby local restaurant before sampling some of the exceptional range of amaros at Il Marchese, which has over 600 of these traditional Italian herbal liqueurs, flavoured with herbs, roots, spices,flowers, and citrus peels. The evening will be free for an independent dinner.
Day 3
In Lazio, the main black truffle season for the prized Black Winter Truffle (Tuber melanosporum) begins in December, and today we head out of the city to the countryside where we meet a local truffle expert. He will introduce the art of hunting for truffles, and we will forage for this most prized of all ingredients in the mountains, led by his specially-trained truffle hounds. This is followed by a delicious truffle-tasting lunch with local wine at his home. We return to the hotel in the afternoon and the evening will be free for an independent dinner.
Day 4
Today we shall visit San Giovanni di Dio market where we shall have a tour of the authentic Italian open-air market. We will then enjoy a cooking class in Latteria Studio with Olivia and Rachel Roddy, an André Simeon-winning food writer and cook who has lived in Rome for the last twenty years. This will lead into lunch, after which we will return to our hotel. In the afternoon we shall drink in the view of the Fontanone dell'Acqua Paola with an aperitivo before our final included dinner.
Day 5
After breakfast there will be some free time before we depart for the airport.
Flights from London with British Airways (please speak to us for bespoke travel options from other regions)
Depart Heathrow 10:35, arrive Rome 14:20
Depart Rome 13.30, arrive Heathrow 15.20
WHAT WE INCLUDE
1. Return flights
2. Four nights’ accommodation with breakfast
3. Two Dinners
4. Three Lunches
5. All sightseeing, entrances fees andgratuities
6. Services of the Kirker tour lecturer
For more information speak to an expert at Kirker Travel on 0207 593 2284
