Meet Tiziana
For four years Tiziana Zito welcomed students from every corner of the world into her kitchen. Then she realised those lessons were far more than cooking classes: they were a bridge between cultures.
Seeing the joy and the deep connection people felt while crushing basil in the mortar or kneading fresh pasta, Tiziana decided to take her commitment further. That is how the Delicious Liguria Association was born.
"After four years spent meeting wonderful people from all over the world, I felt the need to create something more lasting: a place where Ligurian traditions are not only taught, but protected and celebrated as living heritage."
Today the Association works as a school of the territory, recognised by the Slow Food community and with regional and municipal recognition, dedicated to protecting the authentic recipes and customs of Genoa and the Ligurian coast. Our textbooks are family recipes, our workshops smell of fresh basil. Our students come from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, Poland, Hong Kong, Alaska and all over Northern Europe.
The mission
To preserve, protect and share the culinary heritage of Genoese and Ligurian home recipes. We defend old recipe books handed down by mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers who only ever used their hands. So that ten years from now, new generations can still know their own culture through its cooking.
Our stated purpose
The association works in the field of regional food and wine tradition, and its purpose is to organise and run cultural, recreational and tourism activities. In particular its mission is to preserve, protect and share the culinary heritage of Genoese and Ligurian home recipes, passing on local culinary tradition through cooking classes and tasting occasions organised with the support of its members.
Our pillars
Culinary safeguarding
We pass on family recipes and defend traditional Genoese and Ligurian cooking.
Authentic experiences
Cooking classes and lunches in private locations and in the homes of our home cooks.
Local heritage
We support the local economy and slow tourism with km-zero produce and Genoese DOP basil.
Cultural connection
A bridge between Ligurian tradition and travellers from all over the world.
The Association
Delicious Liguria is a non-profit cultural association, established under articles 36 and following of the Italian Civil Code, based in Genoa. Membership is open, and the association is run on the democratically expressed will of its members and on the principle of equal opportunity. Positions are elective, and any distribution of profits, direct or indirect, is excluded. The association relies mainly on the voluntary work of its members.
- Legal form
- Non-profit cultural association
- Registered office
- Genoa
- Governing bodies
- Members' Assembly, Board of Directors, President
President: Tiziana Zito. Vice President and Secretary: Roberto Bobbio.
The Association works with local authorities, public and private bodies, schools and companies to promote the region, its culture and its traditions, and organises events and twinning initiatives with other territories.
UNESCO Heritage
On December 10, 2025, traditional Italian cuisine became UNESCO Intangible Heritage. Among the twenty recognised recipes, Trofie with Genoese DOP basil pesto come first.
What we do
- ·Mortar pesto and fresh pasta cooking classes in the homes of our cooks
- ·Guided visit and cooking class in the ancient kitchens of Villa Serra di Comago
- ·Wild herb foraging walks: the 13 herbs of Prebuggiun, the filling of pansoti
- ·Guided visits to the greenhouses growing Genoese DOP basil
- ·Basil days, traditional fresh pasta days and medieval recipe days
- ·Mortar pesto classes for primary schools, with the Staglieno school district
Becoming a member
Anyone who shares the association's aims and takes part in its activities with their work, skills and knowledge can become a member. Membership is open, open-ended and free of discrimination of any kind: members take part in the initiatives, elect the association's bodies and can be elected to them.
Message us on WhatsAppCooking is free, it cannot be imprisoned. But it can be preserved through the actions of our association.