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6 Top Food Tours For A Fab Foodie Holiday

See yourself as a foodie? Then food tours are a fun way to enhance your holiday, while learning about a destination. After picking your destination, you may opt to stay in an all-inclusive resort. However, there’s nothing stopping you exploring its local market – or family run restaurant down the road.

To discover the best restaurants and markets during your trip, a food tour is a great idea. Whether a tour takes place before a meal – or becomes the itinerary to fuel a foodie holiday, you’re sure to learn lots about a country’s culture and traditions en route to your table.

From farm to fork you’ll discover the things that influence the palette of different cultures. And what better way than by sampling a range of colourful plates and sharing platters among a group? Food brings people together after all.

1.   Italian Food Tours

There are many Italian holiday destinations where food tours and festivals take place. Bologna holds a Finger Food Festival each spring and Milan has some traditional farmers markets where you can book a tour.

Yet, for authentic food tasting experiences head to Testaccio – Rome – the birthplace of Roman cuisine. Here you’ll find a large food market and family-run bakeries who make lavish homemade delicacies. If you happen to visit on March 19th you can dive into a special cream cake called: “Zeppole di San Giuseppe” made for the Feast of St. Joseph.

Throughout a ten-day visit to Rome, it’s possible to book a different Italian food tour a tour a day. For example, start by sampling ingredients in  Trastevere’s traditional food market – Piazza San Cosimato Market – and eat with the locals. Here, you can indulge in some famous cheeses include Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano. While a rich Roman sauce called Amatriciana includes black pepper and dried chilies.

You might also want to consider a pasta making class at the old school Trattoria Rione XIII. You will be guided through the process, and use your own pasta in dishes including staple Italian ingredients and sauces.

To create more iconic dishes head to Florence. While full of hidden art, there are also lots of hidden culinary courses such as pizza and gelato making classes in Oltrarno.

Italian Food Tours

2.   Turkey Food Tours

Turkey is where east meets west. Also, its where Empires used to meet and share rich recipes. Turkey is home to some unique and sumptuous desserts. The most ancient is aşure (Noah’s Pudding), which consists of a thick porridge full of dried fruits, pulses, nuts, and spices.

Discover this traditional dish in Istanbul during a private food tour. A guide will take you off the beaten track to taste a wide selection of Istanbul‘s popular dishes. While tucking into them you’ll learn about the city from friendly locals. It goes without saying that you may taste the finest kabab in your life. The Lahmacun ( sometimes refered to as ‘Turkish pizza’) is another meal to try. Its base is a non kneaded, Turkish flatbread laden with spicy minced meat.

Also, there’s plenty of vegetarian dishes to try too, such as Mehemen, a colourful dish of scrambled eggs, tomatoes, onions, and chilli. Oh, and don’t forget to finish off any meal with aromatic Turkish coffee!

food tours in turkey

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3.   Mexican Food Tour

Begin your foodie holiday in Mexico by having a colourful plate of Chilaquiles.  These fried corn tortillas are made with fried eggs and cooked beans, and served with salsa and grated cheese. You may be familiar with Enchiladas – which use similar ingredients – but they take more time to make.

To learn all the skills to master Mexico’s spices, book a food tour to see, taste and smell all of Mexico’s street food in foodie capital – Oaxaca. Oaxaca is within the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountain range, where different cultural groups and top chefs live. Together, they’ll teach you about their culture, through cooking good food and drink. One fiery drink (spirit) created by local chefs is Mezcal. Today Mezcal is popular in San Francisco and London. If you’ve not tried it, there are plenty of opportunities to sample it from its source in Oaxaca’s food market.

After shopping for ingredients at the market take the opportunity to create the best food in Mexico with an Oaxacan chef. A popular dish is moles (a flavoursome sauce) served with meat and steaming white rice.

Mexican Food Tour

4.   Moroccan Food Tour

Book a Moroccan food tour to discover what they make at mealtimes within one of Morocco’s magical cities. On route to your table, your guide will teach you about Morocco’s main food influences. As it sits on Africa’s northwest coastline, Morocco’s key influences are a mix of Berber (north African), Andalusian (Spanish), and Mediterranean. Alongside a dash of European and sub-Saharan cuisine.

Try these fusions for yourself during a food-tasting tour within the old capital of Rabat. You’ll stop to taste seasonal delicacies such as seafood, spices, and mint tea. Leave room for a rich lamb and vegetable dish made from a tagine (a flameproof slow cooker). Cooking a meal with a chef or Moroccan family is another option to enjoy traditional Moroccan hospitality. One of the unique items you might make is a Meskouta Orange Cake.

tagine

5.   A Japanese Food Tour

Japan’s capital Tokyo may be the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. It goes without saying that it is also the best place to learn the secrets of sushi. However, there are many other flavours and experiences to enjoy – by turning a holiday in Japan into a foodie adventure by bullet train!

It is possible to have a coast – to – coast foodie-fest by booking a 12-day food tour from Tokyo to Kyoto (via Osaka). In Japan’s street food capital Osaka, you can sample snacks such as takoyaki (octopus balls). North of Osaka is where you can meet fresh food producers at Omicho market. While wandering around the buzzing 185+ stalls discover Japanese delights. These include Okonomiyaki (fried savoury pancakes) and shredded octopus. Add some ginger and battered spring onions for more flavour.

If fresh vegetables sound more appealing, a 600-year-old market within the alpine town of Takayama could be ideal. It happens to be one of the largest in Japan! Admire the range of pickled vegetables and daikons (giant white radish’s). You can’t miss local sweet-tooth specialty, Genkotsu Ame (fist candy), which is as fascinating to make as it is delicious to eat. As your adventure finishes in Kyoto learn about the history of Matcha Tea. Although it now has global popularity, the seeds were first planted in Kyoto.

Do you ever miss your own brew on holiday? There’s nothing like a good cuppa with some British cuisine. Celebrate it during a staycation in London when visiting Borough Market.

okonomiyaki

6.   Borough Market for the best of British

Borough Market is London’s oldest wholesale food market. It’s also the big smoke’s best location for a British food tour. Book one from 10 am to taste all the flavours found in British cuisine. From fine cheeses and chocolates to fresh fish and pastries you’ll build a good lunch!

During exclusive food and wine tastings learn where the produce comes from. Plus, how it’s crafted by meeting passionate producers. Also, hear their historical anecdotes about how they’ve traded in Borough Market for hundreds of years.

Although it is a wholesale market, that serves the greengrocers of south London, Borough Market is now charity run by volunteers for all the community and its visitors to enjoy. Visit soon and be guided by your senses throughout…

Borough Market Food Tours

Travel insurance for foodies

Will you be booking a food tour to enhance your holiday? Or will the destination’s food be your focus, while learning about its past and present? Either way, there will be lots of recipes and food stories you’ll come home if you travel solo or with good friends.

To travel, with confidence bring Free Spirit Travel Insurance to the table and have a foodie holiday to remember.

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