Some people long for a vacation that consists of little more than a semi-permanent spot on the beach and a smiling waiter who brings prompt refills of a creamy Coco Loco whenever the level in your umbrella-tipped glass starts to dip. Other people crave a getaway that leaves a bit more of an impression on their palate.
Culinary adventures are a phenomenal way to get up close and personal with a country and learn about its traditions, history, and people through food. Forget dining in a five-star restaurant or learning to make coq au vin from a book – schedule one of these vacations and gather your knowledge right from the source.
Learn Mayan Techniques in Merida, Mexico
Mexican cuisine is so much more than tacos and guacamole, something that Chef David Sterling sought to emphasize when he founded his Merida-based cooking school, Los Dos. Though Chef Sterling has since passed away, his mission continues courtesy of his right-hand man, Chef Mario Canul, and a slate of culinary classes designed to change how participants think about and cook Mexican food.
Start with Taste of Yucatan, an eight-hour class that uses a market tour and hands-on instruction to delve into Maya techniques and local ingredients. Then, expand your understanding by working in a cocina economica, basically an informal restaurant run by a local family out of their home. There are also all-inclusive packages, private classes, and specialty offerings with chocolate, cantina, and “street eats” themes.
Ride and Dine in Italy
Tourissimo is all about active travel in Italy, but now they’ve added a special series of Chef Bike Tours that help tourists pad their calorie counts in between pedal fests. Each carefully curated vacation features a different guest chef who leads the pack of riders through the Italian countryside, offering an authentic look at the farmers and other artisan producers responsible for the country’s most delicious ingredients.
Join luminaries like Traci Des Jardins, Mary Sue Milliken, Brooke Williamson, and Ben Cohn in jaunts through Piedmont, Sicily, or Emilia Romagna. You’ll eat incredible food, drink wine, and see where everything you love about Italian cooking gets its start.
Eat Off the Beaten Path in Galicia, Spain
There are tons of foodie opportunities throughout Spain and they all have their own points of interest, but this Taste of Spain tour of Galicia is something special. Coastal beauty, agricultural bounty, and a culinary tradition that blends the best of Spain with some distinctly Celtic influences. It’s a place everyone should visit at least once, especially if they’re lucky enough to have a guide familiar with the best, locals-only spots that deliver an authentic taste of northern Spain.
Coastal beauty, agricultural bounty, and a culinary tradition that blends the best of Spain with some distinctly Celtic influences.
From housing in a historic former convent to hands-on cooking classes to fishing trips on the Ria de Arousa, the itinerary is expansive and diverse. Sip a chilled, mineral-driven Albarino, traipse through a medieval town or two, and see what it is about this lush, vineyard-studded enclave that makes people come back time and time again (aside from the tapas, of course).
Go Big in Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city known for its world-renowned wine production and cuisine, so it’s hardly shocking that tourists clamor for an opportunity to hole up in a chateau and learn from the locals. Denise and Jean-Pierre of Two Bordelais have made a career out of introducing hungry travelers to the best France has to offer, and their Bordeaux excursion is the epitome of hospitality.
Guests who book the Two Bordelais 5-day cooking and wine tour in Bordeaux stay in a private home, where they’re welcomed by a homecooked meal prepared by Jean-Pierre and his daughter, Elsa. Mornings are filled with visits to the market and meet-and-greets with local producers while afternoons are reserved for farm-to-table lunches and cooking classes in the 17th-century barn the family calls home. There are also trips to nearby wineries, sight-seeing excursions, and perhaps even a stop at a local chocolatier. It’s the signature Bordeaux warmth with a decidedly scrumptious upgrade.
Balance Your Body in India
Ayurveda is a form of medicine that focuses on healing the body through yoga, herbal treatments, and a thoughtful diet. The goal is to achieve balance in all things, which is doubtless harder than it seems. The search for inner peace and overall harmony is all very Eat, Pray, Love but there’s a reason for that – the journey to true happiness is very much a journey, and sometimes the path goes through India.
To satisfy your desire for good, soul-feeding food while also “balancing the humours,” check into Shree Bindu Sewa Sansthan Ashram’s cooking retreat. There are several ashrams with similar programs, each with a slightly different slate of activities and amenities available to participants. Here, you’ll learn which spices impact the vata, or air in your body, and which influence the kapha and pitta, which are mucus and acidity, respectively. Meals are prepared and eaten communally, and recipes are learned by rote rather than written down.
Stay for a week or book in for a month and see how your life is transformed.
Immerse Yourself in the Smells, Sights, and Tastes of Thailand
Immerse Through comes with the hefty endorsement of TV food personality Andrew Zimmern, and there’s a reason food writer Naomi Duguid’s tours have snagged Zimmern’s attention. This isn’t your ordinary guided excursion or chef-led cooking class. Instead of heading to a culinary school for formal instruction, classes for Immerse Through Chiang Mai are conducted by talented home cooks who use market-fresh ingredients and time-honored techniques.
You’ll learn northern Thai from a woman named Koon Mae – one of the tour organizer’s mothers – and make Pa-O food with Daw, a young woman from Burma. You’ll become familiar with a mortar and pestle and cook over traditional charcoal braziers. You’ll pucker up as you taste tamarind and bend over the table to get a deep whiff of fermented soybeans. From the local markets to a trip to a lychee farm, the experiences are as magical as they are memorable, as are the dishes themselves.