Episode #258: Strategies for Traveling with Dietary Needs in Italy

This article may contain compensated links. See our full disclosure here

Have questions about your trip to Italy? Ask our Zia our online travel assistant for instant answers - click here to try

Listen to “258. Strategies for Traveling with Dietary Needs in Italy” on Spreaker.

LISTEN ON APPLE LISTEN ON SPOTIFY DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

follow us

Do you have specific dietary needs but long to savor the delights of Italian cuisine? Traveling to Italy, a country celebrated for its culinary abundance, can feel challenging when managing food preferences or restrictions. We explore how to navigate Italian dining with ease, offering tips for handling allergies, intolerances, or simply maintaining your dietary choices while indulging in the finest Italian flavors. Get insider advice for stress-free dining, from communicating your requirements and discovering suitable dishes to enjoying a scoop of gelato bliss!

Summary

We welcome back a podcast favorite in this episode – food tour guide, chef and food enthusiast Nesim Bekalti, the mastermind behind Full Belly Tours. Nesim grew up in the Testaccio, the kitchen of Rome, and having lived and worked all over the world as a chef, in recent years he returned to live in his old neighborhood and loves sharing the best of Roman food and drink in his unbeatable Testaccio food tours.

What you’ll learn in this episode

  • While Italy offers some of the worlds most celebrated foods, its cultural approach to food and dining doesnt always accommodate special diets
  • Honest conversations – Nesim emphasizes the importance of honesty when communicating dietary preferences at restaurants
  • Plan ahead for dietary restrictions – researching what’s available in your destination will save time and stress and learning key phrases can help convey your dietary requirements. A quick phone call or message can save you a lot of trouble
  • While more restaurants are offering gluten-free options, theyre often newer establishments catering to tourists, not locals. Tourist-focused restaurants tend to lack authenticity, and their food quality may be mediocre compared to traditional spots
  • Embrace simplicity – you’ll find naturally safe dishes – traditional, un-processed grains that are easy to digest. Fruit-based gelato can be a go-to dessert for those with a variety of dietary restrictions
  • Some cured meats may contain nuts like pistachio and be aware of the risk of cross-contamination in mixed-use kitchens 
  • Explore regions whose cuisine suits your dietary needs – for instance, there is less meat and dairy in southern Italy than you will find in the colder north
  • It is well worth making friends with whoever is serving you – let them know in advance, honestly, what your restrictions are and it can be worth double-checking when dishes arrive
  • Top Tip: buy cards that have key phrases related to your allergy translated into Italian like these

Timeline Overview

  • 00:01 Italy traditionally struggles with special dietary needs
  • 06:20 Italian cuisine is regionally diverse
  • 15:25 Plan ahead, research and reserve for your dietary needs
  • 16:41 Heirloom wheat in Europe is easier to digest
  • 22:58 Seafood allergies risk in Italian coastal dishes

About our guest – Nesim Bekalti from Full Belly Tours, Rome

Nesim was born in Washington DC to a French-American mother and Tunisian father. At the age of 9 months, his parents went back to Rome, where they’d previously been living for 4 years as conference interpreters for the UN.

He grew up (and currently lives) in Testaccio, the neighborhood that gave birth to traditional Roman cuisine.  It is known as the culinary heart of Rome, and it’s where Romans from all around the city come to eat.

After graduating high school he realized his passions in life were cooking and traveling.  To him, this meant that if he became a cook it would pay him to travel the world, and he ended up spending over fifteen years working in restaurants around the globe.

He has a degree in Hotel and Tourism Management from New York University and has lived in Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Oaxaca, San Francisco, and New York City. He is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, and English. He also obtained a sommelier certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers while living in California.

His passion for cooking came from being raised in Italy, where absolutely everything revolves around eating.  He moved back here 7 years ago where he’s been working ever since as a food tour guide.

Being raised in Italy by multicultural parents makes him both a foreigner and true Roman simultaneously. His background and travel experience allow him to entertainingly bridge the gap between guests and locals, easily explaining their cultural quirks and intricacies to you, and yours to them!

Ultimately, his passion lies in taking care of people (especially in relation to food), and ensuring their experiences are truly memorable and lots of fun!

Follow Nesim here

Italian places, foods and concepts mentioned

Food / Drink

  • pesto alla genovese – traditional recipe includes pine nuts
  • caponata – pinenuts and/or almonds
  • brutti ma buoni – hazelnut cookies
  • torta della nonna – often containing a nut-based crust or filling

Words / Concepts

  • senza glutine – gluten-free products. Widely available in pharmacies (and increasingly in some supermarkets)
  • “Salve, sono allergico/a a…” Hi, I’m allergic to…”
  • Salve, sono severamente allergico/a a… – Hi, I’m severely allergic to…” 
  • “Ci sono piatti che devo evitare? – “are there dishes I should avoid?”
  • Questo piatto contiene… – “Does this dish contain…?”
  • AIC – the Associazione Italiana Celiachia
  • Associazione AILI – the Italian association for allergies and intolerances
  • Mangia: How to Eat Your Way Through Italy, – book by author and Untold Italy podcast guest Maria Pasquale

Related content on Untold Italy

Podcasts

Articles

Plan your Italian adventures with Untold Italy

If you’re enjoying the podcast and are excited about going to Italy but are overwhelmed by all the options, why not hire our Italy travel experts to help you build your dream trip. Our Italy Trip Planning services will get you from dreaming to booking the trip that suits you and your travel companions best – whether it’s a week in Tuscany, visiting the iconic Italian cities or an off-the-beaten-path adventure in Sicily > learn more.

THE BEST!

If you want a curated Italian adventure, this is your solution. We hired Tyla and the Untold Italy crew to put together our itinerary through Tuscany. We had the vacation of a lifetime! – Jamey Ice (Google) –  read more reviews.

Untold Italy Tours

Founded in 2022, our small group tour company takes curious travelers on multi-day adventures to Italy’s lesser-known regions and to secret spots in places that are better known. Departing in Spring and Fall/Autumn, each trip focuses on food and wine, local traditions and uncovering the Italy you’ve always dreamed of > learn more.

Planning a trip to Italy?

We love travel in Italy and sharing our knowledge. Read our popular Italy trip planning guide or join our FREE Italy Travel Planning Community. Our 150,000+ members are happy to answer questions about your itinerary, how to get from place to place, the best places to stay and fun things to do.

Sign up for our news and podcast updates where we share mini guides, tips, exclusive deals and more and we'll send you our Italy Trip Planning Checklist to say grazie! >> click here to subscribe

Disclosure: Untold Italy assists our readers with carefully chosen product and services recommendations that help make travel easier and more fun. If you click through and make a purchase on many of these items we may earn a commission. All opinions are our own – please visit our disclosure page for more information.

Please share if you found this article useful