TORONTO -- There's no better way to soak up the culture of a country than through its food, whether it's experienced through walking tours, cooking classes or hands-on demonstrations.
Food, wine and beer festivals around the world draw foodies eager to combine noshing and sipping while viewing the sights. Snaps on social media, food blogs and magazines also tempt travellers.
"Celebrity chefs and TV programs, we think, have played a huge role in gastronomy being a huge motivation for today's travellers," says Timothy Chan, public relations manager for G Adventures, a worldwide travel company founded by Bruce Poon Tip in Toronto in 1990.
One of those celebs is Anthony Bourdain, the globe-trotting host of "Parts Unknown," who has spent 250 days a year on the road chronicling food and culture for his CNN program.
"More and more people clearly are travelling for food. There's no faster way to get a clearer picture of a country and a culture, or interact with people than over food," he said while in Toronto this fall to promote "Appetites: A Cookbook."
"It's a way we talk to each other and communicate and show affection and try to reach out to one another by nurturing each other. There's so much information on every plate of food as you go from country to country, so it's both fun and useful to understand a place."
Canadian experts are leading food-centric tours to exotic locales.
Author Naomi Duguid has spent 25 years researching the cultural and culinary aspects of far-flung countries. Her most recent book is "Taste of Persia," which chronicles the rich heritage and culinary cross-influences found throughout the region that centres on Iran.
"You can understand things through the food," says Duguid, who calls a tour she's leading at the end of January to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand a "combo cooking-food-shopping-eating immersion course." She says many people combine that trip with one to Burma that follows. She's also hoping to take small groups on 10-day trips next fall to Iran and Georgia.
The popularity of "local living" tours of the Amalfi coast and Sorrento areas has led G Adventures to add more food-focused outings to the Garfagnana area in Tuscany and Umbria to the north. Participants learn to make pasta with grandmothers who share family recipes, and taste olive oil and limoncello in between hiking, biking and sightseeing. The company is introducing short trips in 2017 to a Naples pizza fest, a Belgian beer tour and La Tomatina festival in Valencia, Spain.
But Canadian foodies needn't go abroad. They can experience fare from top chefs in delicious destinations like Tofino, B.C., Bay Fortune, P.E.I., and Fogo Island, N.L., to name a few.
And for artisanal goodies, various provinces offer butter tart trails, cheese fests, tastings of cider, wine, beer and craft cocktails, visits to farmers markets, and walking tours of eclectic neighbourhoods featuring everything from chocolate and coffee to doughnuts and bagels.
For another type of local experience, EatWith links visitors in 200 cities in 50 countries to share home-cooked meals prepped by some 700 chefs or self-taught home cooks.
EatWith was launched in Tel Aviv in 2012 after the co-founders enjoyed a marvellous meal in Greece at a local woman's home. "They met the most amazing people. They got great recommendations of things to actually do while they were in Greece," says CEO Susan Kim.
It's like Airbnb but with home-cooked meals. Hosts go through a rigorous vetting process -- historically the acceptance rate is four per cent, says Kim -- and guests register with a credit card and address.
"When you're travelling and you're new to a city, this is a really great way to immerse yourself in local culture. When you go to a restaurant the food can be wonderful, but by going into someone's home it's a much more personal experience. I think for someone looking for something different, something unique, this is very appealing," Kim says from San Francisco.
Before embarking on a culinary tour, decide how adventurous your palate is, suggests Christine Couvelier, who leads food jaunts.
"Going to the fish market in Japan might not be everybody's cup of tea, so to speak," says the Victoria-based consultant, whose Culinary Concierge company keeps clients ahead of market trends. Also consider if you'll have time on your own or be immersed in classes and excursions to stores, markets and restaurants.
When Bourdain travels, he wants the authentic experience and recommends looking for out-of-the-way spots to nosh.
"Eat local," he recommends. "Just eat what the locals are eating. Stay away from any place where you see people from your country."
