Culinary Tourism is defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable culinary experiences of all kinds, often while traveling. Culinary Tourism is not just experiences of the highest caliber - that would be defined as gourmet tourism. This is perhaps best told by the notion that Culinary Tourism is about what is unique and memorable, not what is necessarily pretentious and exclusive. Culinary Tourism includes culinary experiences of all kinds. It's more than just dining guides and restaurant reviews. It incorporates such aspects as cooking schools, cookbooks, kitchen gadget stores, culinary tours, caterers, wineries, breweries, distilleries, food growers and manufacturers, culinary attractions and more.
Authenticity is also of vital importance to culinary tourists. Though many culinary tourism experiences involve some investment of both time and money, the deep substance that can be gained from the experience in the long term far outweighs the expense of the short term. Restaurants, in good and challenging economic times will continue to be visitor attractions, food professionals nowadays put themselves in a consumer’s shoes, coming ever closer to discovering and value what appeals to a customer, they will learn from top management and chefs what it takes to keep their customers’ attention and most importantly keeping their businesses up and running.
Culinary tours of major U.S. cities have become increasingly popular over the past years due in part to the structure of self-guided walking tours with details and history about the tours’ stops and other (see
Prudence Sloane for just one Connecticut-based example). For chefs and food industry professionals interested in doing further research to expand their knowledge of what is occurring in other markets (and their own), food tours or culinary tourism, can serve as the perfect course in understanding and further appreciating a region or area through its food and its food-related businesses. The tours also provide important insight into how consumers in different parts of the country enjoy food
New York City has significant historic status as a chief entry point for different ethnic groups of the world. It is no surprise that the culinary influences these groups brought into this country continue to form the definition of what American dining truly is. Anywhere from local neighborhood staples and stores to restaurants that define trends for the rest of the country and the world to follow.
Although Los Angeles celebrity chef endorsed restaurants and Hollywood hot spots are known throughout the country, two sisters Lisa and Diane Scalia saw their home city as an up and coming market for culinary tourism. They named their enterprise
Melting Pot Tours (www.meltingpottours.com), in honor of L.A.’s cultural diversity. Their first tour revolves around the Farmer’s Market and adjacent neighborhoods, with a variety of stops that covers all aspects of food—from the successful purveyors that L.A.’s top chefs turn to, to popular L.A. street foods to classic bistro style and haute dining establishments. Future tours in the works will focus on such ethnic neighborhoods as Thai Town and others further away from the Farmer’s Market. Because time of season plays such a strong role in food culture, tours are based on what’s in season, although this is less relevant in southern California as it is in colder climates.
San Francisco, considered America’s gateway to the east, is also famous for its many ethnic neighborhoods. The cuisine here is all about fresh ingredients without losing the integrity of the dish by masking its true essence with sauces and garnishes. It’s less about presentation and more about letting one’s senses take the lead and truly tasting all of these these different things grown on nearby farms at the peak of their ripeness. It hits visitors as a culinary revelation that they are experiencing the actual establishments where this ‘California’ style of cooking took shape such as ‘French Laundry’ in Napa Valley, where chefs started working more closely with farmers to keep a firm grasp on what is or what isn’t in season.” Let us not forget to mention Alice Waters and her
Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley as being one of the original inspirations of this 'movement.'
Hawaii, as one of America’s most exotic travel destinations, has more than its fair share of fine dining establishments. As usual travelers become more conscious of worldwide dining trends, there is a need to think outside the traditional dining room and connect guests to the roots and basics of true island cuisine. In Hawaii, and on the island of Maui specifically, years of history are wrapped up in the local food and various ethnic groups, from native Hawaiians to European settlers to various groups coming from Asia. The main objective is to expose people, including those who have already visited Maui, to true local cuisine and what locals eat on a regular basis.
A different approach to culinary tourism is a popular and ingredient-driven cooking class ushered into
Food Tours of Boston (www.foodtoursofboston.com), as many of the enrolled students inner curiosity must inquire where the source of many specialized ingredients come from. Tours are so ingredient and technique bases that no restaurants are actually featured on the tour. Instead, sheets of paper are handed out with restaurant recommendations, and ingredient purchasing instructions on for example 'how to find the right kind of olive oil for a certain given recipe or the differences between artisanal and commercially produced balsamic vinegar.'
Indigenous food tours also tend to fare well with tourists alike. Take for instance
Gena Berry’s food tours through Atlanta and the South (www.culinaryworks.net) though her pride in her Southern heritage is said to be unmistakable on her tours, her knowledge of the local land geographically and gastronomically allows her to present guests with an unforgettable viewpoint in which to experience the food. For guests of the food trade, she uses her close links and associates to set up meetings between chefs, restaurateurs, food purveyors and local farmers. You’ve not experienced Southern food unless you have sat in the very establishment(s) where the biscuits and chicken that were practically invented there are fried right in front for you. You can make Southern fried chicken in Portland, but it is a whole different experience, almost nostalgic, to see it made in its place of origin…. and eat it there too.
We took a bus tour through the rolling hills of Ireland coming from the airport to our cottages in County Clare. I'll admit at the start of that tour I was a little skeptical and worried that all we were going to see for two weeks were hills and farmland! The Aran Islands was the first tour trip we made. It was interesting to see what "old" Ireland looks like, they predominantly only speak Gaelic on the islands. 
