Culinary Tours with a Cultural Twist

There are two kinds of culinary tours. The most popular and common one is usually confined to a specific town, city or country. The other undertaking is much bigger in scope and offers tours with a culinary focus to multiple international destinations.

One such company ‘Trip Fest’ www.tripfeast.com has 14 destinations on its list, including China, India, and Italy etc. Started by two travel and food enthusiasts to let people discover the secrets of the world’s best cuisine, they arrange group tours and also help individuals to travel on their own with TripFest.

Some culinary tours from around the world are;

Slice of Brooklyn, New York

This four and a half hour trip through five boroughs will show why Pizzas are such a big deal here. This tour started by Tony Muia, also takes in famous sights such as movie locations where Goodfellas and Saturday Night Fever were shot. You get to refuel at two of Tony’s favourite pizzeria’s for pizzas and soft drinks. Kids $70, Adults $80. Specialist food tours, Rome

This one is by a food critic and writer Katie Parla. She draws together on the history, archeology and politics of Rome to give you a deeper insight into the citiy’s culinary delights. You will discover that offal can be delicious; where to find the best Italian craft beer and the best seasonal dishes at the Kosher Bakery.

$250 for a maximum of 6 people. Duration about 2 hours. Eatinerary or Culinary Backstreets

Eatinerary or Culinary Backstreets describes itself as a seasonal self-guided food guide for travellers. Started in 2009, they focus on the traditional side of urban culinary life. Culinary Backstreet site has a listing of hundreds of eateries in different cities posted by its die hard foodie fans. Another section gives listings of culinary tours that can be booked online. This is a very resource rich site for a foodie traveller. Do check it out.

Very First To’s

This is the Rolls Royce of culinary tours that will take you to 12 countries during a six month period. All the 109 three Michelin star restaurants of the world will be covered. The price tag is in six figures ($).

For dining at various restaurants and locations you will need to carry local currency and/ or a forex card. These cards can have multiple currencies so you can use them at different countries. currency exchange in forex cards is usually cheaper than buying currency notes and these cards can be reloaded when overseas. If a food place does not accept cards you can withdraw cash from a local ATM and then pay for your meals. All decent restaurants abroad usually accept cards now so make sure to use the card more often than not.