Excerpt from Healthy Aging Magazine

(Clockwise from top left) City and Culinary Tours, Tour de Forks, Puerto Vallarta Food Tours, wine and cheese

By Rachel Cavotta

Let’s face this head on—we love to eat and food is often the centerpiece of our travel itineraries. So why not make it the main attraction by choosing a food tour vacation?

Imagine a cooking class in Greece where you make feta cheese from goat’s milk, fresh from the farmer next door. Visit Middle East spice shops and bakeries in Brooklyn to learn the difference between babaganouj and hummus. Watch how tortillas are made and taste them, too, at a tortilla factory in Mexico. Taste and learn about the nuances of Champagne in France.

Check out some of these great options for both food tours and cooking classes that will make your soul crave wonderful cuisine and, of course, adventure.

Photo: Courtesy of Culinary and City Tours

When we think of New York City, one of the first things that come to mind is the wide variety of culinary treasures. From trendy high-end restaurants in Manhattan to family-run Lebanese restaurants, serving freshly made humus and falafel, there is truly something for every palate. But with all those wonderful choices and hidden gems, it’s hard to know where to start.

Liz Young, owner of City and Culinary Tours, understands the overwhelming amount of options available in New York City and uses her experience to guide tour-goers to the best stops in the city. She explains that to get the full New York experience, the tour groups, “… travel the city by subway and foot on the tour to explore the hidden places many tourists never have time to find, including swanky cocktails in The Garret up a discreet set of stairs from a burger place.”

Each tour is about four hours long and explores a different part of the city’s food scene. With 20 different tour options, it’s hard to choose just one.

Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue Tour

For those looking for unique and family-run Italian, Syrian, Yemeni, and Lebanese cooking, Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue is the perfect tour. Visitors get the opportunity to taste homemade kibbe, babaganouj, freshly made pitas with labne and olive oil, straight from a family farm in northern Lebanon, along with many other delicious treats.

Hidden and Cheap Eats

There are also a variety of tours available in Manhattan. Hidden and Cheap Eats teaches visitors to eat like a local. On this tour, you discover the secret tastings spots that include cold beer, burgers, fancy hot dogs, and decadent chocolate for dessert. You can even use your newfound knowledge of Manhattan’s hidden eateries to impress your family and friends on future trips to the city.

Tour de Forks New York, New York

Photo: Courtesy Tour de Forks

Tour de Forks is a boutique travel company based out of New York City that specializes in authentic culinary and vinicultural experiences. Founded by Melissa Joachim and Lisa Goldman, the Tour de Forks tour focuses on the discovery of a destination. The founders’ passion for both fine wine and cuisine paired with extensive research, personal experiences, and a worldwide network of culinary contacts allows their visitors access to the world’s culinary gems.

This culinary travel company helps travelers create custom itineraries. It’s perfect for couples, families, or friends who wish to travel to Italy, France, Spain, Australia, and South Africa. The detailed itineraries cater to the party’s desired destinations and activity level, making the entire trip run smoothly as visitors enjoy their culinary experience.

Each year, Tour de Forks provides a four-day culinary adventure for small groups, no more than 12, to foodie hot spots within the United States, including Nashville, Charleston, New Orleans, Sonoma, New York City, the Hamptons, the Hudson Valley, and Santa Fe.

These group tours allow visitors the opportunity to tour the expansive cultures and cuisine within the United States with the best teachers. In Charleston, there is a cooking class with Nathalie Dupree, an expert in southern cooking. The Nashville tour features John Lasater, Chef at Hattie B’s, who teaches visitors how to make hot chicken. Visitors discover the local food and talent in these destinations, something most tourists don’t get to experience. Tour de Forks provides their guests with a personalized, insider experience to places all around the world.