The writings about “regional” cuisine that in the last decades of the 18th century appear on the scene continue to compete with the French model, but from a position of newfound individualism. It is this competition or long-distance relationship that is interesting from a historic point of view, even it the cultural understanding and professionalism of the authors, which varies from case to case, often leaves one searching for more.  The target audience for this “minor” category of literature is the middle-class and housewives. Some examples include, Cuciniera piemontese che insegna con facil metodo le migliori maniere (Piemontese Cooking: the easy and best ways) published in Vercelli in 1771, with later editions published in Turin in 1798 and in 1831, and the Cuoca cremonese (Cooking of Cremona) published in 1794.

The Cuoco piemontese,  (Piemontese Cooking) was printed repeatedly and twenty editions were published throughout the end of the 19th century. It also appeared in Il cuoco piemontese ridotto all'ultimo gusto con nuove aggiunte ad uso anche della nostra Lombardia (The Piemontese Cook, modernized with new recipes from Lombardy) from 1815.

Some of the best examples of food writing about local cuisine in the French style include Il cuoco maceratese (The Cook from Macerata) by Antonio Nebbia (possibly born in Fortillo di Pieve Boviglina, the hometown of the Nebbia family and personal chef to the Presuttini di Recanati family (18th cent.-1786 ca.), published for the first time in Macerata in 1781 (and later in Venice and Bassano); and Il cuoco galante  (The Chivalrous Chef) by Vincenzo Corrado, printed in Naples in 1773 and with a special section dedicated to Cibo pitagorico ovvero erbaceo (Vegetarian Food) that draws from the Mediterranean tradition of Massonio. Another work, less specific and less well-known, worth pointing out is Confetturiere piemontese che insegna la maniera di confettare frutti in diverse maniere (Piemontese Preserves,: how to preserve fruit in different ways) published in Turin in 1790, a forerunner to Pasticciere e confettiere moderno (Pastry and Modern Confections) that Giuseppe Ciocca will write for Hoepli in 1907.