Enchanting Global Culinary Experiences
Food is a fundamental element in the travel experience – eating a local dish can evoke ancient traditions stirred into age-old recipes or bring to light new cultural movements whipped into modern fusion cuisine. Today, many of the world’s most food-obsessed countries are making their culinary culture more accessible through hands-on time with local cooks, open tasting rooms, and behind-the-scenes tours.
From crafting chocolate in the Caribbean to hauling fresh lobster in Canada’s Maritimes and learning to cook Bolognese like an Italian nonna, here’s our selection of some of the most mouthwatering food-touring experiences from around the world.
Nova Scotia, Canada
Lobster was once considered junk food in Nova Scotia during the late 1800s when storms would wash ashore hundreds of lobsters in the Bay of Fundy. They were so abundant that gaol-keepers fed them to prisoners, paupers harvested them for free meals, and farmers ploughed them under as fertilizer.
Today, clapboard villages barricaded by lobster traps are still bankrolled by fishermen, and the king of shellfish goes for a bargain C$6 or C$7 a pound. Enjoy various local dishes such as lobster eggs benedict, lobster rolls, lobster poutine, or simply steamed with drawn butter in the region’s multitude of shacks, cafes, and lobster pounds. Join Fundy Adventures to set sail with a local fisherman to catch your own crustacean, learn about sustainable fishing practices, and cook it outdoors like a true hunter-gatherer.
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Italy is synonymous with food, and one region, in particular, is revered for its produce: Emilia-Romagna. Its towns are the cradle of exquisite ragu (Bolognese), salty Parmesan cheese, delicate Parma ham, and rich Modena balsamic vinegar – considered the best in the world.
Learn the secrets of traditional ragu-making in its heartland, Bologna, at the La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese cooking school. Visit the Acetaia Di Giorgio factory in Modena to see the oak-barrel aging of balsamic vinegar, and time your visit with the Festival del Prosciutto di Parma in September for a riot of ham tastings and factory tours.
St Lucia, Caribbean
St Lucia lies within the chocolate belt – a fertile area between 20 degrees north and south of the equator, where cacao trees flourish. Stop at any food stall in the early morning, and you’ll see locals waiting for breakfast: a steaming cup of spiced cocoa tea, made on the spot by boiling grated cocoa with cinnamon, nutmeg, water, and milk.
For a deeper insight into chocolate production, head to the boutique hotel Boucan and its 250-year-old Rabot estate, developed as a sustainable cocoa farm. The estate offers a ‘Tree-to-Bar Experience’ providing behind-the-scenes access to production stages, including seed cultivation, fermentation, sun-drying, and grinding, along with harvesting cacao pods and tasting your own chocolate bar.
Macedonia
This Balkan state is home to micro food-producing communities where home-cooking, home-growing, and local foraging are ingrained in village life. Markets overflow with mountain herbs, paprika, porcini mushrooms, walnuts, and fruit rakija; local cheese remains central to meals thanks to celebrated traditional cheese-makers who produce salty, raw-milk sheep cheeses in the Mavrovo National Park. Consequently, restaurant menus focus on locavore and farm-to-table options.
The elevated old-stone village of Dihovo at the base of Pelister National Park offers a charming base for tasting regional cuisine. There, Petar has transformed his family home into a pay-what-you-think guesthouse featuring home-cooked meals along with food, wine, and beer tastings. Visit the local apiary for tales of bear sightings and tastings of woodland honey with the resident beekeeper.
Fez, Morocco
The fertile plains around the Middle Atlas Mountains have served as Morocco’s breadbasket for centuries, providing the country’s greatest Imperial City with fresh produce and cultivating a food scene fit for royalty. Local Fassi cuisine is highly regarded, and Fez boasts a medina filled with culinary traditions.
Dive into the lively streets of Fes el-Bali for prickly pears, spicy snail broth, and b’ssara (creamy fava bean soup). For a more tranquil option, consider a Moroccan bread-making course at the Ruined Garden open-air restaurant, which includes a visit to the local ferrane (community oven) — a tradition harking back to when few homes had their own oven.
Tasmania, Australia
The apple isle, once a convict settlement known for its pure pastures, has emerged as a leader in farm-to-table dining. Thus, it’s no surprise that Tasmania has become a hotspot for culinary enthusiasts. The Agrarian Kitchen, a sustainable farm and cooking school in the serene Derwent Valley, embodies this philosophy; classes bring aspiring chefs into the fields to harvest ingredients for their dishes.
This vibrant cooking scene thrives thanks to numerous independent rural food and beverage businesses offering tastings and tours. For instance, visit Grandvewe, south of Hobart, an award-winning cheesery with daily sheep-milking demonstrations, cheese-making workshops, and tastings, alongside a distillery that creates boutique vodka and gin from sheep’s whey.
Bali, Indonesia
Positioned between lush jungles and verdant rice paddies, small and sustainable farms in Bali have sparked a food revolution, making organic goods accessible to a new generation of chefs. In the cultural hub of Ubud, healthy, raw, and vegan menus complement traditional dishes like nasi goreng (fried rice) and babi guling (suckling pig).
The abundance of fresh produce, paired with clean-living Hindu principles, has fostered a flourishing raw-food scene. Cafes such as Seeds of Life and Sayuri Healing Food embody this ethos, with the latter also offering expert raw food ‘cooking’ classes. Continue your culinary journey at Clear or Alchemy in Ubud, where healthy eating transforms into an artistic experience through their colorful and innovative dishes.
Jordan
Despite its location in a tumultuous region, Jordan remains a safe destination for experiencing Middle Eastern cuisine. The saying, ‘the way to the heart is through the stomach’, resonates deeply in this culture, reflected in the practices at Beit Sitti cooking school in Amman, which empowers local women by providing them with independent income through their culinary traditions.
Explore the capital’s quaint sweet shops, remnants of Ottoman rule; harvest tomatoes with the Ghor al Mazra’a community near the Dead Sea to learn to make the traditional dish galayet bandora through the Zikra Initiative; and join Bedouin chefs at Feynan Ecolodge near the Dana Biosphere Reserve to master the art of frying perfect falafel.
