TasteReport.com taste the world

travel

WILL PADDLE FOR TRUFFLES: THE DELICIOUS WORLD OF CULINARY TOURISM

By CINDA CHAVICH

The lure for our latest summer holiday was two-fold – a chance to stretch the kayaking muscles among the pristine Gulf Islands, coupled with the promise of exquisite food.

While most outfitters strive to provide good food on their back country adventures, this trip was different.

Our guide was Victoria chef James Bray and the focus of our camping weekend was his regional and seasonal cuisine – from confit of free-range chicken with truffle butter, and seared salmon over wilted greens with goat-cheese-laced polenta, to the selection of rare island wines he had chilling in the sea.

When Bray pulled a side of locally-smoked tuna out of the hatch of his kayak, and proceeded to balance slices of this west coast delicacy atop Nicoise-style salads of baby fingerling potatoes, slim green beans and organic eggs, the dozen food-focused paddlers in our group swooned. By the time he began plating thick slices of crisp brioche French toast and wild blackberries on the makeshift driftwood table for breakfast, even a morning of skimming the flat blue waters of around Valdes Island paled by comparison.

“All killer, no filler – all gourmet, all the time,” quipped the salty chef, creating another masterpiece for the eight tourists who followed him to this secluded beach for a weekend of culinary adventures. We may have arrived at this outdoor dining room on our own steam, but the food was the incentive. We were culinary tourists.

Despite the fact that “Canadian cuisine” is almost impossible to define, Canada was one of the first countries to recognize that culinary tourism is the next huge travel frontier. The first international culinary tourism conference in the world was held in B.C. in 2004. It will be followed this spring with the first World Culinary Travel Expo in Vancouver May 25-27. The Canadian Tourism Commission has created a committee to promote Canada’s diversity as a food destination, hauling our top chefs around the world to prove the point, and by 2025 expects to lure 7.5 million food tourists from the U.S. alone.

The latest missive on the topic – a study released in February by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) - confirms that at least four in 10 travelers have food on their minds when they book a trip.

“Food-based travel, including culinary and wine tours, is currently one of the biggest trends in the travel industry,” says TIA media relations manager Cathy Keefe. “Travelers have become more food savvy over the years and they’re looking to expand their experience of a destination through its wine and food offerings.”

While some of the world’s tour operators are still fixated on their “American Plan” – providing three safe squares as part of a hotel or tour package – today’s travelers want to taste more than their international hosts’ valiant attempts at burgers and fries. They want to learn more about the countries they visit and local food is perfect place to start. It’s tied intimately to local culture, and one of the easiest ways to learn about geography, economics, religion and ethnic groups.

Authentic food experiences are part of an authentic travel experience and, according to a Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) study, dining is one of the most popular activities for tourists. Many countries, including Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have recognized the potential of culinary tourism, pumping big bucks into promoting their country’s restaurants and wineries.

With well-heeled American tourists shelling out $50,000 apiece for the chance to travel to Thailand, China, Burma and India with food critics (including private cooking lessons, market tours, and dinner with the Thai Royal Family), their efforts should pay off.

France, Italy and Spain are still the hot spots for international food tourism, but it’s not necessary to have a Michelin-starred restaurant or a cooking school in a Tuscan villa to lure food tourists. Often the most fascinating and memorable food is tasted at an outdoor market or roadside stand.

Regional cuisine – from the farm to the plate – is part of the trend, as is the renewed interest in traditional foods and agrotourism. Across Canada, food tourism organizations are growing – from “Tastes of Niagara” to the “Okanagan Cultural Corridor” and “La Route des Saveurs” in Quebec. Even states like Alabama – which themed it’s 2005 tourism promotion The Year of Alabama Food – see local specialties, from Gulf shrimp and oysters, boiled peanuts, barbecue, pecan pralines, layered Red Velvet cakes and grits, as tourist draws.

Statisticians in the tourism business like to categorize travelers based on their motivation - heritage enthusiasts, arts enthusiasts, culture enthusiasts, festival enthusiasts, culinary enthusiasts. But the food and wine motivated traveler may be one that crosses over all of these categories – the type of tourist interested in exploring cultural history and landscape, visiting a place during a local food or wine festival, and someone who likes a hands-on, experiential or learning vacation. This may range from attending the 10-day Okanagan Wine Festival, complete with winery tours, gourmet dinners and tastings, enrolling in an intensive week of cooking at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland, or taking a day trip to Taber, Alberta (Canada’s corn capital) for the annual Taber Corn Festival.

Culinary tourism might even fit the motivation of the “hard core” adventurer – think of shock chef Anthony Bourdain consuming a beating cobra heart in Vietnam or the challenge of eating prairie oysters at the annual Testicle Festival in Calgary. Historical food sleuths will want to try traditional dishes like Acadian rappie pie on Nova Scotia’s south shore, and pemmican-style Saskatoon berry and bison sausage on the prairies.

While the CTC defines “Wine and Culinary Enthusiasts” as “Canadians who have taken leisure trips in Canada and exhibit a particular interest in fine foods and wine,” that definition may be far too confining for today’s food lover. Many food travelers simply seek out authentic local flavors in remote places.

“The Taylor Café – Taylor, Texas,” barbecue enthusiast and caterer David Thurgar said when asked about the highlight of his latest culinary road trip. It was there that he encountered the best beef brisket sandwich, smoky and piled on a piece of Wonder bread – culinary nirvana for a barbecue cook.

David Couch found his nirvana at the annual American Harvest Workshop hosted by the upscale Cakebread Cellars in the Napa Valley. Not only did he eat well, the Oregon lawyer tied on an apron and worked alongside one of the country’s celebrated young chefs, creating a truly gourmet meal for 75 using fresh ingredients foraged from nearby growers.

The culinary tourism trend has spawned a number of companies devoted to food touring and promoting regional cuisine across Canada. In Vancouver, former chef Eric Pateman has launched Edible B.C., a culinary conscierge company which will customize a Vancouver restaurant tour for any visitor (including making recommendations and reservations) or hook you up with one of their own food-focused walking tours in places like Chinatown or the Granville Island Market. More ambitious food tours – like the gourmet kayak trip – or cooking classes featuring local B.C products are also an option.

On Vancouver Island, Kathy McAree’s Travel with Taste specializes in customized culinary day tours of the Cowichan Valley, Saltspring Island and the Saanich Penninsula. In Prince Edward Country – Canada’s upcoming new wine region, between Toronto and Ottawa – you can join a guided tour of local wineries with John Fricker’s Prince Edward County Wine and Culinary Tours, including a dinner package at the Waring House Inn in Picton. The inn also offers hands-on cooking classes or wine appreciation workshops.

And in St. John’s, chef Bob Arniel will serve you a gourmet dinner, after teaching you how to bread a cod tongue and make a bake apple-infused crème brulee in his cooking school kitchen, after taking you out foraging to local organic gardens.

Educational institutions – from the New York-based Culinary Institute of America to your local university – organize educational tours with a culinary focus, drawing on the 40- and 50-something tourist seeking an in-depth learning vacation. And there are tour companies around the world, specializing in culinary adventures. But you can also usually find an afternoon cooking class offered at your island beach hotel. Even a snoop through the supermarket can turn up exciting local ingredients to inspire new culinary explorations.

Wherever you travel, whether it’s to the neighboring province or another continent, local food is a huge part of the experience. So hit the perogy trail outside of Edmonton, try the wild rice and schmoo torte in Winnipeg, and tour Ile d' Orleans, Quebec’s market garden, to taste local artisan cheese, maple syrup and ice cider.

The world is truly your oyster – or cobra or cod tongue - when it comes to culinary tourism.

Tuscany? It’s been done.

NEW FOOD FRONTIERS:

ASIA

You may still get stuck in “western” restaurants – built for the bus tour crowd - in mainland China, but in Vietnam, Thailand, Korea and Japan, food tourists can choose from gourmet or authentic local food experiences.

American bon vivant and food writer Robert Carmack and his partner Morrison Polkinghorne’s Globe Trotting Gourmet is one tour company that specializes in luxury Asian food tours (www.globetrottingourmet.com). Their upcoming Ultimate Japanese Dining Experience includes 10 days of touring the markets, restaurants, shoyu and sake factories, and cooking with Japanese celebrity chef Ryuichi Yoshii. The cost for the culinary odyssey is $5,995 (US) pp, plus $1,000 surcharge for an optional dinner at one of Kyoto’s top restaurants, not including airfare and overnights enroute.

Burma and Myanmar are new tours for the Australian-based

company which takes small groups into the heart of local food culture, whether you’re interested in dining in a Vietnamese cobra restaurant, or learning to cook a traditional Malay dish of nasi kerabu using shredded wild jungle herbs.

While the food experiences are authentic, and often exotic, guests get a break from the sometimes challenging reality of travel here with upscale accommodations in top hotels. Thailand and Japan are perhaps the most accessible of the Asian countries for food tours, while Vietnam and Laos will appeal to the more adventurous eater.

But there are new experiences for lovers of Thai food, too. In 2008, Khon Kaen, 450 km north of Bangkok, will host Isan’s first international food festival, featuring dishes from Thailand’s remote northeast region. Upscale properties, like the Sofitel Raja Orchid, are planning special culinary weekend master classes for the event (www.sofitel.com).

Another tour company, Artisans of Leisure (www.artisansofleisure.com) features a personalize 11-day Vietnam for Foodies tour, complete with a vegetarian lunch and cooking demonstration with local nuns, visits to farms, bustling fish markets and noodle factories, and dinners in both restaurants and local homes ($6,455 US pp), along with other Asian food tours.

Top international hotels throughout southeast Asia have picked up on the culinary tourism trend, many offering regular cooking classes and more intensive culinary programs for guests.

NEWFOUNDLAND: The Rock may seem like an unlikely destination for food lovers, but there may be no other place in Canada to discover as many unique regional dishes or ingredients, from cod cheeks and seal flippers to bake apples, partridge berries, salt beef and hard tack. Stop at Belbin’s Grocery – a historic family-run neighborhood store – where you’ll find homemade seal flipper pie next to the lasagna in the freezer, and Purity pulled taffy and syrups (www.belbins.com). It’s a similar – but bigger – shopping experience at the iconic Bidgood’s supermarket, where jars of “bottled moose” and seal, raisin tea biscuits, and huge slabs of salt cod cram the shelves. Speaking of cod, their gelatinous tongues are on the menu everywhere, classically served with salty “scrunchions” (crispy pork fat) or fresh fruit chutney.

Foodies can sign up with chef Bob Arniel and his Chef to Go cooking classes to learn to create dishes like caribou samosas, bake apple-infused crème brulee and his Barrens Blend (wild berry) steamed puddings with screech sauce. Along with classic Irish pubs and traditional eateries like Velma’s or Ches’ for fish and chips, there are contemporary restaurants creating inventive regional cuisine, from the café at The Rooms (the stunning contemporary provincial museum, gallery and archive space) to Bianca’s or Restaurant 21, where the caribou is served with a molasses glaze and smoked partridge berries. You can even visit the Rodrigues Winery where they are making a wide array fruit wines from the wild island bake apples and other berries www.rodrigueswinery.com). Or head south along the eastern shore to Ferryland for a Lighthouse Picnic – one of the most beautiful, and scenic, lunches you’ll find on the island.

SOAVE, ITALY: In Italy, where many of the top wineries only open their cellars by appointment or offer private tasting, the Soave region of the Veneto is an exception.

Just an hour west of Venice, on speedy highway A 27, a jog north before you hit Verona puts you in Soave – both a town and a wine region. Soave was the first area in Italy to create an “enoturista” or wine route for touring, aimed at linking wineries, historical sights and good spots to stop for food and lodging (www.stradadelvinosoave.com). This is the place where the indigenous Garganega grape is used to make the typical dry white Soave wines, but there are also sweet Recioto di Soave dessert wines (made with grapes dried in cool attic rooms before pressing) to try.

The ancient castle and walled city of Soave - a 10th century fortress set high on a hill - is in view wherever you are in the region and makes the perfect backdrop to the Medieval White Wine Festival held each spring. You can begin visiting Soave wineries for tastings right inside the ancient town walls. Start at the wine route office and they will help plot your tour, from the local Cantina di Soave co-operative, with its tasting bar and large wine shop, to the premium producers like Coffele and Pieropan on the main street, or just sit in a local café and taste. Along the wine route, you can visit excellent family-owned wineries like Ca Rugate, Gini, La Cappucina, Filippi, Suavia and Montetondo, some which also offer bed and breakfast style accommodation.

On the food side, this is the land of Cazzano cherries, chestnuts, Vialone Nano rice for risotto and pork products from fat, hand-tied dried sopressa sausages to lardo (an amazingly delicious

combination of seasoned pork fat and cracklings to spread on bread). Find traditional dishes like risi bisi (rice and green peas) and suckling pig at La Cappuccina restaurant operated by the winery in Monteforte d’Alpone (www.lacappuccina.it) or dine at the elegant Le Lance D’Oro at Le Cedrare villa in Illasi (www.lecedrare.it). A most extraordinary charcuterie and cheese purveyor is Benedetti, a stylish destination deli and cheese shop worth the pilgrimage to Sant’Anna d’Alfaedo (www.benedettilessinia.it), north of Negrar.

LAS VEGAS: Gone are the days when dining in Las Vegas meant bellying up to a cheap buffet to refuel between hands of blackjack.

For sheer spectacle, Vegas has it all – visual sensory overload, opulence and non-stop entertainment for adults seeking escape. And with satellite versions of some of America’s best restaurants, from Michael Mina’s Seablue (the new Aqua) to Charlie Palmer’s Vegas version of Aureole (complete with three-storey wine tower and “Charlie’s Angels” rappeling down to retrieve your vinous selection), and Wolfgang Puck’s second Spago, it’s become a virtual theme park for foodies.

Everyone who’s anyone has a restaurant in sin city, Joel Robuchon at the exclusive Mansion at the MGM Grand, Alain Ducasse with Mix atop the Mandalay Bay, Daniel Boulud’s Brasserie at Wynn Las Vegas, Jean Georges Vongerichten’s Prime steakhouse at Bellagio, Bradley Ogden’s eponymous American cuisine at Caesar’s Palace, even Nobu doing his classic Asian fusion at the Hardrock Casino.

Restaurant guide guru Alain Gayot notes that Las Vegas has the highest concentration of Master Sommeliers, and claims Las Vegas now equals or exceeds New York when it comes to top eateries.

“Not Chicago nor Los Angles, Paris or San Francisco can brag about such ratings from Gayot.com today,” he writes on his eponymous website.

With all of that gambling money flowing, these are spare-no-expense spaces, designed by some of the best architects and interior designers in the world. At the highly rated Picasso at Bellagio, there are $50 million worth of real Picasso paintings on the walls, never mind Julian Serrano’s artistic cuisine. If you’re planning to pop the question and have moola to burn, the MGM Grand offers a $20,000 weekend “engagement” package (including Robochon’s 16-course dinner for two, $1,000 for beverages, and engraved Rolex watches for you both).

Las Vegas like Disneyland for restaurant wonks – find a wealthy gambler and go.

FRANSCHHOEK, SOUTH AFRICA

This long, narrow valley, once known as the “valley of the elephants,” is now better known for its urban wild life – that is, the strip of upscale restaurants that have made this small town the gastronomic capital of the Cape. The Franschhoek Valley boasts some of South Africa’s top 100 restaurants, including the Chef of the Year two years running. With only 7,000 permanent residents and 34 restaurants, including 17 which are attached to the valley’s 29 wineries, it’s wining and dining central.

French Hugenots planted the region’s first grapes around Franschhoek (French Corner) in the 1600s. Today the region is the home of Semillon and Marc Kent’s lovely rich and honeyed Boekenhoutskloof Semillon – made with fruit from old bush vines, some over 100 years old – is the benchmark example.

Dubbed “the culinary capital of South Africa”, Franschhoek is an excellent base for a superb food and wine tour. Stay at one of the many inns, like the Relais & Chateau Le Quartier Francais in the centre of town, dine on chef Rueben Riffel’s celebrated contemporary cuisine at funky Reuben’s (named the best restaurant and best chef in the country in 2004), and tour the many excellent local wineries where fine dining is part of the experience. For a wine and cheese picnic (or just some serious snooping) visit Franschhoek’s La Cotte Wine and Cheese Shop, where Ludwig Maske has a full selection of eclectic Cape wines and an array of local and imported cheeses (www.lacotte.co.za). In Cape Town, stay in the sleek and chic Arabella Sheraton Hotel, and take a cooking class with celeb chef Peter Goffe-Wood at his modern food alchemy kitchen (www.kitchencowboys.co.za). Enjoy the excellent Cap Classique bubblies (South Africa’s answer to Champagne), try the bobotie (curried meat pie), have grilled snoek and kingclip (local fish), ostrich or boerwurst (spicy lamb sausage) at an Afrikaner braai (barbecue), and then head out to Sante Wellness Centre for a vinotherapy detox before the 24-hour flight home.

CHILE’S COLCHAGUA VALLEY

The Colchagua Valley has been called “the next Napa” and “one of the country’s most successful regions,” and for good reason. Here you’ll find some of the finest Chilean winemakers creating some of the Chile’s most impressive premium wines – especially big reds made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Syrah and the unique Chilean Carmenère.

Technically, the Colchagua Valley(www.valledecolchagua.cl) is a sub-region of the much larger Rapel Valley, south of Santiago. You can take the historic Tren del Vino steam train or drive Ruta 5, the busy north-south highway that bisects the country, then head west to Santa Cruz, a pretty Spanish wine town that early planners might have conjured when building Sonoma.

The Colchagua Valley is a unique micro climate and pocket of local culture. Here, where the best vineyards climb up into the steep foothills, farm work is done with horse-drawn implements. It’s cowboy country and you still see gauchos, with broad-brimmed chupalla hats, traveling rural road on horseback or strolling in the village square. Friday nights in same square are the local gathering place – grab a bench to watch people, listen to local musicians and nosh on a sausage or grilled empanadas from a street vendor.

But it’s wine that is making this pretty valley a tourist destination. Tucked between the Andes and the coastal hills, has the kind of steep topography and maritime-influenced microclimate that is attracting investment from big name wineries like Casa Lapostolle, Viña Montes, Caliterra and Araucano. The Emiliana vineyards practice organic and biodynamic viticulture, with goats and chickens roaming among the vines.reuben And historic wineries like Viú Manent and Casa Silva welcome visitors with winery restaurants, while the latter also has comfortable boutique hotel on the property.

These forward-thinking wine producers have also created the first

wine tourism circuit in Chile – making the Colchagua Valley one of the most accessible wine regions in the country. From their Viñas de Colchagua and Ruta del Vino office in pretty Santa Cruz, you can organize a guided winery tour (www.rutadelvino.cl/). The four-star Hotel Santa Cruz and restaurant here, overlooking the village square, makes a perfect base for touring, or you can find a comfortable guest house like Hotel Parador de la Vina.

While Chile isn’t really known for its haute cuisine, you can find local specialties on the menu here – from the ubiquitous Pisco Sour cocktail (made with their own high-octane brandy, egg whites and sweet lime), to razor clams baked with cheese and beef with quinoa and pebre, a spicy local salsa. For cooking classes in the country, plan a visit to Mirador de Lolol Restaurant (reservas@rutadelvino.cl)

Or hook up with a tour company that specializes in wine touring in Chile, like Montana-based Bella Treks (www.bellatreks.com) - their 10 day wine-tours of Chile and Argentina start at $2950 (US) pp.

(this story appeared in the Toronto Globe and Mail, 2007)

©Cinda Chavich

www.tastereport.com

Interested in publishing the stories, recipes or photos you see on this site? Email me to discuss how to get exclusive regional or syndication rights in your newspaper, magazine or online publication.

TRAVEL TREND: Culinary tourism HOT SPOTS

photos by Cinda Chavich

Today’s savvy travelers see the world with a spoon - choosing destinations for the food, wine, bakers, cheese makers, chefs and cooking schools they will find along the way.