Cook with a cookbook author · Puglia
Puglia & Matera with Zoë François
A March 14-20, 2027 food week hosted by baker and cookbook author Zoë François, moving from the Adriatic coast at Bari to a cave hotel in Matera. Days cover foraging, pasta, olive oil, butcher-grill lunches, trulli and bread.
Ask us about this trip →Free to ask. We confirm dates, availability and price before you commit to anything.
What you will do
- Bari fish market, old port and Bari Vecchia street food
- Spaghetti all'assassina demonstration
- Foraging in the Murgia park and a cooking lesson
- Olive oil press tasting and a butcher-grill lunch in Martina Franca
- Alberobello trulli
- Candlelit dinner at a cave hotel in Matera
- Wood-oven bread, cheese and pastry in Altamura
Before you go
Eat the region first, then cook it. Everything here is free and saves to your trip.
Who leads it
Zoë François
Cookbook author, pastry chef and Emmy-nominated TV host.
Angelo Calianno
Historian and cultural guide from Cisternino with 17 years leading travelers; with the group all week.
Day by day
- Day 1Bari arrivalCheck in, rooftop welcome drinks and a seaside dinner.
- Day 2BariWaterfront, fish market and old port with a local guide, Bari Vecchia street food, then a spaghetti all'assassina demo and dinner.
- Day 3Murgia and TraniForaging, a cooking lesson and vegetarian lunch at Villa Fenicia, then Trani. Dinner on your own.
- Day 4Valle d'ItriaOlive oil press and tasting, lunch at a Martina Franca butcher-grill, and Alberobello's trulli. Dinner on your own.
- Day 5MateraGuided walk of Matera, then a candlelit dinner at Sextantio.
- Day 6Altamura and MateraWood-oven bakery, cheese maker and pastry bakery, then dinner at a Matera trattoria.
- Day 7DepartureCheck out.
Itineraries can shift with weather, season and host availability.
What is included
Included
- Six nights' lodging
- Daily breakfast
- Meals, activities and transportation listed in the itinerary
- Gratuities
Not included
- Flights and other travel to and from Italy
- Transfers to and from the hotel
Practical details
- Where you base
- Bari (4 nights) and Matera, Basilicata (2 nights); day trips to Murgia, Trani, Valle d'Itria, Alberobello and Altamura
- Where you stay
- Grande Albergo delle Nazioni, a modernist sea-view hotel on the Bari seafront (4 nights), then Sextantio, a luxury cave hotel in Matera (2 nights) with stairs and uneven paths.
- Group size
- Limited to 12 participants
- Pace
- Steady. Up to an hour or more of walking a day, at times on hills, uneven ground or stairs, with frequent getting in and out of vehicles. Guests must keep up with the group unassisted. Not suited to anyone with trouble on stairs, hills or uneven ground; Matera cave hotel has stairs.
- Arrival and departure
- Bari hotel on Day 1; no airport meeting point published
- Who it suits
- Adventurous eaters and bakers who want coast, countryside and Matera in one week.
Good to know
- Vegetarians and guests with lactose or gluten intolerance are fed but may miss parts of the food experience; may not suit small appetites or strict diets.
- Itinerary can shift because the trips rely on small family-run businesses; final itinerary is emailed about 30 days before departure
- Ask Via Rosa for deposit and cancellation terms.
- No meeting point is published; the group gathers at the hotel on Day 1
- Several dinners are on your own
- Sold out at time of checking; waitlist open
Dates and prices
EUR 6,800 per person double; EUR 7,300 single (EUR 500 supplement). Covers lodging, breakfast, listed meals, activities, transport and gratuities.
More trips in Puglia
Trip details are compiled from the published information of Via Rosa, who runs this trip. Dates, prices and availability change; we reconfirm everything with you before you commit.
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