When Tiffany Sommer began organizing a group trip to India this past October, she knew that the focus had to be on food.
“Food in India is such an enormous part of daily life,” says the Utah-based corporate-event planner. “Families spend hours a day preparing dishes and eating together…the colors and the smells of cooking are just everywhere.”
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Consequently, she made sure that the bespoke itinerary organized for her by Micato Safaris included such memorable food experiences as cooking demonstrations, trips to local spice markets and meals that showcased chefs’ distinct regional specialties.
“It was a full sensory experience,” Sommer says of the culinary forays. “I know we all came away with a deeper appreciation of where we’d been.”
Many travelers already understand that cuisine provides a particularly vivid peek into the inner workings of a culture. More and more, however, tour operators are offering trips that specifically cater to their guests’ desire to taste—and cook—their way through a destination. These newer excursions go far beyond familiar gastronomic pilgrimages to Tuscany.
Hungry globetrotters are keen to visit goat-cheese producers in Iceland, with the likes of food writer and chef Jody Eddy; sample street food in Vietnam on a trip with Artisans of Leisure; or press their own olive oil in Egypt during a journey with Backpacker Concierge.
“Even people who eat adventurously at home find that their experience is completely different” when traveling to a cuisine’s native country, says Marion Miller, Micato’s director of operations. “Ordering a dish in an Indian restaurant is one thing…but going into an actual kitchen in India, seeing all the steps that go into creating that dish, smelling the aromas and then sitting down to enjoy it with, say, a view over the Taj Mahal—that elevates eating to a new level.”
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Artisans of Leisure, Vietnam
Following the S-shape curve of the country from north to south, Artisans of Leisure’s private, custom Vietnam for Foodies tours take in both cultural and gustatory attractions along the way.
Trips start in Hanoi, where guests explore the city’s famed markets, colonial architecture, historical sites and French-influenced restaurants. Next they hop on a traditional junk for a sail across Halong Bay, whose waters teem with prawns, oysters, squid and snapper that are staples of the local cuisine.
Visits to the former imperial city of Hue, a vegetarian Buddhist monastery and the herb farms around Hoi An follow (participants pick lemongrass, basil and cilantro and use them to make fresh spring rolls).
The final stop, in Saigon, includes both chef-led cooking classes and a street-food tour—and boundless opportunities for trying snacks like banh mi, pho (spicy noodle soup), goi du du (green papaya salad) and banh xeo (rice pancakes with pork and shrimp).
11-day trips (by appointment), from $6,810; 800-214-8144; artisansofleisure.com.
Austin-Lehman Adventures, Athens and the Cyclades
Travelers who envision Greece as a never-ending series of secluded beaches, ancient ruins and whitewashed fishing villages won’t be disappointed here.
The weeklong itinerary manages to fold in all the can’t-miss sights: the Parthenon in Athens, the sparkling shores of Santorini, the cerulean lagoons of Antiparos, the ever-photogenic sugar-cube buildings of Mykonos. But it also provides an in-depth appreciation for the food and flavors of the region.
Guests make visits to groves and farms where they can sample local produce like honey, olive oil, feta and graviera (a sheep’s-milk cheese).
They also take cooking classes—sometimes in the island homes of local chefs—and learn to prepare local dishes like revythada (slow-cooked chickpea stew), domatokeftedes (tomato fritters) and tsipoura (fresh-caught sea bream).
8-day trips (May–October 2013 departures), from $5,298; 800-575-1540; austinlehman.com.
Backpacker Concierge, Egypt
Daydreams of an Egyptian holiday usually include lots of stock imagery: the soaring pyramids and Great Sphinx at Giza; the riotous, colorful crowds of the market stalls at Cairo’s Khan al Khalili.
But until recently most travelers haven’t wondered much about the flavors of this desert country—a situation Backpacker Concierge aims to change with its new bespoke culinary excursions there.
While guests on the tours can see all the quintessential Egyptian sights, they also partake in some truly unusual gastronomic experiences, including touring the country’s little-known northern wineries; learning to make Egyptian specialties like mahshy (stuffed zucchini and cabbage leaves) and duqqa (roasted ground hazelnuts and spices) in a local chef’s home kitchen; and, in the remote village of Siwa, pressing olive oil and making date honey by hand.
7-day trips (by appointment), from $1,700; 248-507-4666; backpackerconcierge.com.
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