4 Tips for Finding Europe’s Best Food Tours

One of my friends a tour guide I am planning to start offering tourist food in Slovenia. That got me thinking about what makes for a tour of the food is really good-and what is standing in the way are sub-par.

During the last few years, I have been prioritizing to eat food no matter where I go to Europe. For someone who appreciates food, bringing local food to bring you to their favorite market vendors, snack spots, and assemble a small buffet of their best dishes just for you-can be the highlight of the trip.

In San Sebastián, continuing my "tapas crawl" with a local guide who makes a flurry of rushed-elbows-and-monolingual Basque tapas of the scene that much more accessible. In Rome, I was guided around the neighborhood Testaccio-former slaughterhouse-food examples of Italy [Info Wisata Jogja]. In Lisbon, I start my day at La Ribeira Market (incorporates traditional market hall with upscale food court), and then take a walk in the city, biting sardines and pastel de nata. And in Warsaw, I restaurant-hopping in between traditional restaurants and trendy, get a full appreciation for the scene "foodie budget" the capital of Poland is surprising.

Some of the tours. The other is missing something. Here are four key features that really enhance the food tour for something special. [tempat wisata di jogja]

1. start with good food. This seems obvious, but is less automatic than your guess. Not every restaurant to appreciate there are a dozen curious foodies who hang around and take the place, biting small plates during lunch rush. Best food tour to cultivate partnerships with the best restaurants – even if it means making compromises. In Rome, we peered into the window of a bakery narrow when we bite our food on the sidewalk ... and we are happy to do so. Lazy food tourism offset a mediocre restaurant that replaces the "gourmet" for "group-friendly."

2. Appreciate the local ingredients. Logically, many food tours include trips to the market Hall. Lisbon tour I begins with a look around the markets La Ribeira – where we sniff glutinous sticky speck of explosive; Talk to the butcher who has been debunking and shows each piece of pork, from snout to tail to maggots; Recognize a bunch of exotic tropical fruit (a reminder that Portugal has appetite passion fruit and guavas from tropical outpost, Madeira and Azores); And examine carefully the place bountiful fish taught me more about the marine life of the Atlantic rather than a visit to the Aquarium.

Local ingredients are the building blocks of local cuisine; Look at them-and tasted it-in their natural state to train Your palate to choose subtle flavor in any dish. After a tour of the market, I can't think of Portuguese cuisine without feeling the taste of sprouts.

3. Teach people how to eat yourself. Tapas in San Sebastián crawling not only delicious food-local tapas culture mimics, such as session strategies for how to eat well in the Basque Country. Every night of the week, the streets of San Sebastián clogged with visitors who spilled out of the bar. Basque style, in front of the table stacked with some of the pre-eminent tapas, perched on a slice of baguette-everything lined up and easily held as you wish.

But our guides helped us understand that only travelers who can't find ready-made goods. For dishes that are fresh (and often better), take the time to understand the written menu. Some items come standard in every bar, but the locals know who do it well – so when collecting tip, ask the locals not only about their favorite bar, but also their favorite dishes.

In one place, our guide took us past the crowd into a small swirl in the back corner, where a Cook grilled bored sitting next to a row of raw meat and crops – glad to turn it on. See a plate of green jalapeño peppers, pimientos de Padrón we ordered. They were signed to the penggoreng tool in the grave, coarse sea salt with a toned, and it was hot and ready to eat in minutes.

"The trick with this pepper," he explained, "is because of different peppers get different amounts of sunlight, some of which will be much hotter than the others." The first two have a taste of the rich pepper (but not spicy); The third hit hard with my tongue. But thanks to guide me, I am ready for it.

4. Above all, describe how food is linked to culture. This is where, I'm sorry to say, a lot of food tourism down flat. Feed people good food for a few hours is considered "pretty" by many tour companies – and by many tourists. For some, additional information may even be impaired. But I believe that food is a chance to better understand the culture, and a tour of the best food is working hard to make the connection.

A tour of the best food I ever took was in Warsaw, of all places. Through Eat Polska, I spend half a day with enlightening Michaś explore the capital city of Poland. His food is delicious. But the information is better again. Michaś explains why polar all ferment; Why the typical Turkey ingredients-such as raisins, cinnamon, apricots and — often appear in traditional Poland; Why Poland plates always seem to have some chunks of greasy fries sprinkled on it; The people of Poland's traditional insisted to kiss a piece of stale bread before they throw it away; And why may not be a coincidence that Poland look like pierogi dumplings from China. Towards the end of the tour, Michaś has dramatically deepened my understanding of not only the cuisine of Poland, but also history and culture. (I'll share more information from my food tour of Warsaw in an upcoming post.)

That's my challenge to my friend in Slovenia, or anyone who wants to design a tour of good food: start with good food. But always put it into context: why is this herb, this recipe, this place? What foods can we tell you about the national character, the landscapes, the history? It is not easy to make the context of cuisine. But it's important.

In the meantime, if you're a traveler who is looking for a food tour, consider four factors when you evaluate your options. Currently, many cities have a few food companies compete. Some flash-in-the-pan shots, hedonistic. And for casual eaters, who fill the Bill nicely. But if you want to dig a little deeper-and went to find out more about food, but about the culture it represents-do a bit of homework to find the one that ruled out all four boxes. Check the reviews online — not just its rank, but read between the lines how customers describe it. Soon you will experience a tour of food which will only fill you ... and which ones will also fill you.