THE JOURNAL
The Safari Butler, Zimbabwe. Photograph courtesy of Mavros Safari
The best culinary adventures around the world.
We all want to be that person who arrives in a new country and instantly blends into the local food scene, seeking out culinary treasures down back streets and ordering dishes like we’ve lived there for years. But far too often we’ve found ourselves desperately, shamefully heading for the nearest generic burger because we’re too confused by jet lag and need to eat immediately. That’s where foodie tours come in. Not the sort where a man called Zak teaches you how to take #foodporn snaps. We mean reliable, impressive gastronomic adventures that get you under the skin of a country’s cuisine. Hungry? Step this way…
**Spain’s food scene by private jet **
The culinary and wine center of Mimo San Sebastián at the Hotel Maria Cristina, San Sebastian. Photograph courtesy of Scott Dunn
Luxury tour operator Scott Dunn describes its newly conceived trip as “the ultimate foodie tour”, and it’s certainly an elevated culinary experience. Forget travelling with Joe Public – here you will be whisked between Spain’s culinary highlights via private jet. The finer details of the trip will be designed around you, but a suggested itinerary is: two nights pintxo bar-hopping in San Sebastián, a night at the grand Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville with a private tapas tour of the city, and two nights in Mallorca, where you can hike part of the Tramuntana pilgrimage route, stopping in the shade of an olive grove to enjoy a lunch of farm-to-table produce, including a whole roast suckling pig.
Peru’s Sacred Valley with a star chef
Mr Virgilio Martínez Véliz teaching a cooking class at the Huatia, Peru. Photograph courtesy of Black Tomato
If you’ve been suckered by Netflix’s achingly cool series Chef’s Table, then Black Tomato’s Tasting Notes trip to Peru should be on your radar. Designed by Peruvian chef Mr Virgilio Martínez Véliz – one of the stars of Chef’s Table and the brains behind London’s Lima restaurants and Peru’s Central – the tour will explore the Amazon, the Sacred Valley and Cusco, with stops for cookery classes, restaurant tours and some incredible meals (including at Mr Martínez’s hot new opening Mil and his flagship Central). The icing on the cake will be a foodie tour of Lima with Mr Martínez as your personal guide.
**Wine and dine in Cape Winelands **
Babel chefs in the kitchen garden at Babylonstoren, South Africa. Photograph courtesy of Ampersand Travel
An adventurous foodie tour of South Africa isn’t something you’re likely to do regularly, but this tour from Ampersand is truly a one-off. No, really – on 22 November, the company’s founder, Mr James Jayasundera, will take 12 guests on a one-time-only, 10-day food and wine tour of Cape Winelands, where he owns the magnificent poolside guesthouse 7 Koppies. The first three nights will be in Cape Town, with trips to the much-hyped The Short Market Club and the Klein Constantia wine estate. The remainder of the trip will take in the gastronomic highlights of Cape Winelands, staying at 7 Koppies and enjoying traditional meals courtesy of the resident chef. Not that you’ll be home much – you’ll be exploring the area’s foodie gems including Delaire Graff Restaurant, Creation and Wolfgat.
Rump steak and gin in Zimbabwe
Mr Dean Dewdney, the Safari Butler, Zimbabwe. Photograph courtesy of Mavros Safari
Mr Dean Dowdney – or The Safari Butler, as he’s also known – is a Zimbabwean adventurer and cook who specialises in unique safari foodie tours, and has teamed up with Mavros Safaris to offer a 10-day off-road adventure through the Zimbabwean bush, rustling up your meals from his “gourmet bush kitchen” in the back of a 4x4. While that may not sound like the most sophisticated food experience, it’s hard to beat its authenticity: expect visits to local communities to sample traditional cooking, and plenty of picnics in breathtaking beauty spots. His motor also comes loaded with craft gin, so you can enjoy a G&T while dining on dishes such as sizzling rump steak and freshly caught sea bream. The journey begins in Harare before weaving through Nyanga National Park, stopping off for a night at Leopard Rock hotel in the Bvuma Mountains, before moving on to mountainous Chimanimani and ending at the spectacular Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, tucked away in the Zimbabwean wilderness.
Gastronomic rail tour of Italy
A market in Parma, Italy. Photograph by Getty Images
Great Rail Journeys’ name is rather self-explanatory, and on 8 September it rolls out its 10-day foodie adventure through Italy. Departing from St Pancras International in London, guests will make their way, first-class, to Florence via Paris and Turin. The first highlight is a food and wine-pairing evening at Florence’s Piazza del Vino, known for its rustic Tuscan cooking and extensive wine list. Then it’s over to Bologna for an alfresco tasting menu in the rolling hills of an agriturismo farm followed by a cookery course with a team of local chefs. Last stop is Parma to meet artisanal Parma ham and parmesan cheese-makers (and sample their produce), after which you can toast your new-found Italian food-buff status over a three-course farewell dinner at a local wine estate.
