Gastronomic tours and why you should take one

Culinary experiences are becoming increasingly important when travelling. How many times have you taken pictures of your favourite dish to share it on your social networks? Or how many places you remember thanks to its cuisine, probably a lot. Gastronomic trips are so fashionable now that they have become a business model.  For some countries, like Spain, food is one of the most important lures. But food is not the only key around culinary travelling. Let us tell you a bit more about it.

6 reasons why you should consider taking culinary tours

1. You will favour local producers

Every time you visit a local market, you are not only buying fresh and handcrafted products, but you are also helping the local economy. Just like when you eat at restaurants that use local products or what they call “farm-to-table”.

Many places now have interpretation centres to educate the visitor about local production and the history of the region’s economy. Visit them so you ensure you travel more sustainably. Satisfaction will be double: great dishes and contribution to the area’s well being.

2. You will live unique experiences

If you think of gastronomic trips like visits to fancy restaurants, you will miss a lot of the things that can be done around food. For example, visiting local markets and supermarkets. Shopping for food is a very old way of social interactions. In some places, women were only allowed to go out to do the shopping or to go to church. market architecture is also incredible. Places like Paris have fantastic marketplaces centuries old.

Small villages in India, Africa or Asia make real events around weekly markets. People from all around an area gather together to exchange food and other goods in their markets. Also, these places are perfect to taste local street food. Delicacies that you will never be able to try in a traditional restaurant or bar. Think about deep fried insects sold in Thailand, or small tiny sweets in Kyoto, Japan.

3. You will learn more about the country

Many gastronomic trips include cooking classes. You will probably think holidays are not made to waste time cooking, but these courses go beyond the kitchen. You will understand it as soon as you enrol one of them.

Colombia is a country so proud of its gastronomy that makes loads of cooking courses for tourists. If you take one, you will enjoy a multicultural experience and you will share information about your own country while learning about others. Colombian cuisine, like many others, is full of history, so you will also learn more than just a recipe in those cooking classes.

4. You will give each dish the time it deserves

One of the things you will like about gastronomic trips is the change it occurs around food times. When you travel to experience new ways of cooking, you tend to forget about the usual rush that ends up in eating fast food. You will sit down to enjoy each meal, you will give value to the time it took to make it and you will relax while eating.

The movement of slow food began in Italy in the eighties, in response to the opening of McDonald’s near the Spanish Steps in Rome. Today you can see that fortunately it has been followed in many countries. There is a big difference between eating a frozen hamburger in just minutes and sitting down to enjoy a good view while savouring each dish without haste.

5. You will discover film landscapes

Obviously, every gastronomic destination has become famous for more reasons than just the food. Spectacular landscapes are essential to Tuscany, for example. Italy is very well known for its pasta and Pizza, but also for a lot of monuments, shopping places, events and so forth. Gastronomic trips might start with an interest in food, but they will include much more than good restaurants. Food specialities have developed through history and historic sites will also help you understand the dishes you try.

6. You will learn to drink better

The wines and liquors are part of these trips. When visiting a vineyard or an agave field, you learn a lot about the mouth-making process of the producers themselves. But you also learn to taste better and to gain more experience in wines, tequila, mezcal or whatever the production of the place. Also, learning how to combine wines and food will help you make the most of each of them. And that is just one of the experiences you will obtain throughout gastronomic trips.

Whether you are a foodie, a chef or just enjoy eating and want to make a different trip, we can guarantee than gastronomic trips will give you a better and deeper knowledge of each place you visit. Contact us and we will guide you through a whole catalogue of countries whose gastronomy will disarm all your new years resolutions about dieting.