Located in northern Italy, the political and cultural history of Lombardy (along with its terrain) make it difficult to assign one distinct food style to the area. Lombardy is naturally divided into distinct zones: the plains, the lakes, the foothills of the alps and the mountains. In effect, you could say that the region has nine – the number of its provinces – separate cuisines. Famous dishes include the torrone (nougat) of Cremona, the myriad risottos of rice-producing Pavia and the slow-cooked ossobuco with saffron-tinted risotto alla milanese from Milan, the region’s capital. Tomatoes and oil, staples within many of Italy’s other regions, are notably absent from Lombard cuisine, which instead draws strongly on rice, butter and meat.

In a region of such wonderful variety it's not surprising that it plays host to some of the country’s finest restaurants. Nestled in the hills of Bergamo sits Da Vittorio, the three Michelin-starred restaurant with exquisite, seasonally changing menus. For the best restaurants in Milan look no further than Andrea Berton’s eponymous Ristorante Andrea Berton, serving up effortlessly elegant, stylish fare, or visit trend-bucking Joia which, forgoing the region’s predilection for meaty, buttery dishes, holds the honour of being Italy’s only Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant.