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The Mercato Centrale di San Lorenzo is a place so revered by the Florentines that it’s overseen by the same art commission who looks after the Uffizi galleries. The vast glass-and-cast-iron structure from 1865 is one of the oldest and biggest markets in Italy. Its top floor was renovated into a blockbuster food court, and throughout you’re surrounded by mouth-watering temptations: wheels of fragrant pecorino cheese, tubs of grapes, shelves glowing with bottles of olive oil, stuffed pig heads.

The market is as overwhelming as a Florentine gallery, which is why I signed up with an expert foodie guide, Judy Witts-Francini, to delve deeper into the finest treasures to be found here.

Judy’s been shopping at the Mercato Centrale since 1984. That was the year she left her job as a pastry chef in San Francisco and moved to Florence. She arrived not knowing a soul and didn’t speak a word of Italian. It was at the market where she learned the language—talking to the vendors, hearing their recipes, eavesdropping on conversations. Falling in love and marrying a Florentine, Andrea Francini, soon followed.

Though she’s studied professionally and is a member of top international chef associations, Judy tells me her best teacher was her Florentine mother-in-law. “She taught me the most important thing about Italian cooking: Spend more time shopping and less time cooking. It’s not the recipe or the hours you spend in the kitchen that makes good food. It’s the quality of the ingredients. In Italian they say: “La materia prima.”

And ah, the materials at the market are divina! “Taste this,” Judy says, as we stand in front of the counter of one of her friend’s shops. It’s twelve-year-old balsamic vinegar that wakes up every taste bud. That’s just the beginning of the flavor-filled tour. There’s aged pecorino, olive oil fresh from the press, and lampredotto (the specialty tripe of Florence). Judy knows all the artisans in the glamorous upstairs stands, so we easily navigate the crowds, stopping to smell the truffles, sip Chianti, savor the chocolate, meet the award-winning pizza maker.

Judy’s passion for details is infectious, and she’s an absolutely delightful person to be with. Though she’s lived in Florence most of her life, her drive and spirit are a reflection of her California roots. She was part of the first wave of expats setting up travel businesses and websites in Italy (in the 1990s), and has expanded her successful company, Divina Cucina, to offer cooking classes in the Tuscan countryside as well as Sicily, Puglia, and the Amalfi Coast. She’s also written a cookbook and a wonderful travel app for Chianti.

Florentine native Laura Franceschetti offers entertaining hands-on cooking classes in her native city. Sessions begin at the folksy Sant’Ambrogio market, where the menu is decided according to her guests’ desires and the best of what’s in season. It’s a short walk from there to Laura’s atelier—an airy, modern space, where she’s joined forces with Gianluca, a self-described “gypsy chef,” who shares Laura’s passion for passing along Florentine culinary traditions.

“I grew up around great family cooks and many of my relatives ran restaurants, so it all came naturally to me. I’ve been cooking since I could stand up!” Laura tells me.

Laura led an extraordinary class for me and my group of women travelers, guiding us to prepare a hearty Tuscan feast, including sausage and broccoli, gnocchi, and her grandmother’s apple cake dessert. Her style was easy-going but laser-focused, as she caught my clumsy moves trying to make ridges in gnocchi, and immediately gave me just the right adjustment, so that in moments I felt like a pro. Wine, music, and fun flowed as we all reveled in our accomplishments, until the triumphant finish…toasting with Tuscan wine and joyfully digging into the fruits of our labors.

TOURS

Florence Urban Adventure (www.florenceurbanadventures.com) offers Foodie Walks and Wine Tours, led by entertaining local guides, that are great introductions to family run specialty food stores, bakeries, gelaterias and wine bars in the historic center. Recommended for early in your Florence trip, so you can become well oriented to the culinary scene.