Developing Culinary Expertise

This is the third and final article in a Travel Market Report series about the culinary travel market. (Read part I and part II).

“You don’t need to be a foodie,” said Harold D. Partain, CTC, CCTP, founder of Epicopia: A Collection of Food & Wine Travel Experiences and vice chairman of the International Culinary Tourism Association’s (ICTA) Board of Directors. “You just need to be aware of what’s going on in the marketplace and what’s out there.”

Clients often come to agents armed with knowledge about where they want to go and what they want to do, and while agents don’t need to know exactly what all the options are, they need to understand what their clients are looking for and who the best suppliers are, he said.

Travel agents can turn to books, magazines, TV shows, Webinars and associations for a wide variety of educational offerings to learn about culinary travel.

For instance just about every issue of Conde Nast Traveler or Travel + Leisure will feature at least one article about travel and food. For TV watchers, the Travel Channel has food shows and the Food Network has travel shows.

Jane Gregg, owner of Epicurean Ways, a tour operator specializing in Spain food tours, said agents should start out small.

“Start out with a specific destination,” Gregg advised. “Learn about that place. Read all about the area, the traditions. What foods do they eat? What wines, or beer, or bourbon do they make?”

Travel sellers can get an overview of the foods of specific countries and regions at the local library or on line, just to be aware of what the major themes are.  This way if someone calls and says they want to go on a beer trail in Belgium, the agent already knows a little bit about the subject.

“It makes for a more intelligent conversation,” Gregg said, adding “You don’t want to be dumber than the clients.”

The Internet

Partain said the Internet is probably an agent’s best resource. He noted that he typically spends a third of his day doing research.

ICTA’s Web site (www.culinarytourism.org) offers extensive information including a listing of webinars. Agents can sign up for a complimentary basic membership to gain access to the site’s wealth of information.

Lynn Lee, of Grab Your Bag Travel, told Travel Market Report she was introduced to the concept of culinary travel through a supplier Webinar. She can’t remember who the supplier was, but the concept of culinary tourism piqued her interest, and has become her home-based agency’s main focus.

Elaine Johnston of Glade Explorers Travel, and its subdivision Culinary Cruises & Tours, said she gets most of her knowledge from online Webinars.

Specialist Designation

ICTA offers a certified culinary tourism professional designation (CCTP). Since the certification was launched in 2006, there have only been 15 graduates, three of whom are travel agents (including Epicopia’s Harold Partain).

“The program is very rigorous and requires a research paper be written to prove the student’s knowledge,” said an ICTA spokesperson. ICTA is currently working with travel agency consortia to develop a less rigorous program tailored to the needs of travel sellers.

In addition to the specialist course, Webinars and online resources, ICTA also organizes conferences, summits and road shows. This fall, the Association will host the Culinary World Tourism Summit in Halifax, Canada with sessions hosted by tour operators and destinations.

ASTA International Destination Expos generally offer a workshop or pre- or post-tour in the culinary traditions of the area in which the IDE is being held. For example, this year, the program includes a certification session entitled: A Turkish Culinary Adventure: History, Ingredients, & Tastes of Turkey’s Exotic Cuisine.

Culinary Tourism Suppliers

Travel Market Report has compiled a list of suppliers that offer culinary travel, based on feedback from the travel sellers quoted in this three-part article. Suppliers range from general travel companies that offer culinary experiences, to in-depth food-focused travel tour companies.

General Tour Operators

Avanti Destinations: Avanti is an FIT tour operator arranging travel to Europe and Latin America. Among the culinary specialty programs the company can incorporate into your clients’ travels are cooking classes in Belgium, France and Italy; food and wine programs in Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain; and wine-tasting programs in Chile and Argentina. (www.avantidestinations.com)

Classic Journeys: Classic Journeys offers a variety of culinary tours to Italy, France and California. These tours include casual cooking instructions in local kitchens, plus visits to markets, vineyards, bakers, cheese-makers and the like. (http://classicjourneys.com/culinary)

Globus family of brands: Though Globus no longer offers dedicated “culinary tours,” the company offers several tours with an “epicurean slant.” Also, Globus Journeys, in conjunction with Burt Wolf, is offering a new tour called “What’s Cooking in Switzerland.” (www.globusjourneys.com)

Trafalgar: Trafalgar offers the Be My Guest option on select departures. Be My Guest offers travelers the opportunity to experience authentic, local dining experiences usually in a private home or villa. (www.trafalgar.com/USA/Be_My_Guest)

Cruise Lines

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection: Nine Uniworld itineraries offer the Epicurean Adventurer Program, designed to take guests deeper into the world of wine and its relationship with food. Experiences include a special wine and food pairing dinner, interactive cooking demonstrations and guided shore excursions to vinters’ homes for private tastings. (www.uniworld.com/epicureanadventurer)

Holland America Line: Holland American Line has partnered with Food & Wine since 2005 to offer an on-board culinary program that includes cooking demonstrations, culinary classes and seminars, tastings, private cooking classes, port of call market tours, and more. (www.hollandamerica.com)

Oceania Cruises: In partnership with Bon Appetit, Oceania’s new ship Marina features a culinary studio. The studio has fully-equipped individual work stations, each with induction cook tops, giving passengers the opportunity for hands-on learning. Classes range from 45 minutes to three hours and cater to all levels, from beginner to master-chef. Also offered are trips to markets for food shopping, private tastings at wineries and more. (www.oceaniacruises.com)

Culinary-Only Tour Companies

Cook New Orleans: A five-day hands-on culinary tour of New Orleans that features three hands-on cooking classes and insider’s visits to restaurants, cafes, bars and food markets. The company has never worked with agents before, but said it will provide commissions to agents that contact them directly. (www.cookneworleans.com)

Cork and Fork: Each program is customized and ranges from wine-only to culinary-only focused tours, and everything in between. Experiences can include interactive culinary sessions with chefs, visits to food markets, insider wine estate tours, food pairings, epicurean walking tours of cities and artisan food producer visits. (www.corkandfork.net)

Epicopia – A Collection of Food & Wine Travel Experiences: Epicopia tours adhere to the Slow Food philosophy. Each culinary itinerary is designed to educate guests and give them a hands-on approach to learning about a destination’s local people, and regional food and wine. (www.epicopia.com)

Epicurean Ways: Spain food and wine travel experiences include wine tours, cooking classes, market shopping, olive oil tasting and mill tours, visits to artisanal producers, lunches with winemakers and chefs. Epicurean Ways offers both scheduled small group departures, as well as custom escorted tours. (www.epicureanways.com)

International Kitchens: Offerings include more than 90 cooking school vacations in Italy, France and Spain. The company also offers 50 choices for one-day cooking classes, which travel agents can add on to any FIT tour they’ve created for clients. (www.theinternationalkitchen.com)

Tour de Forks: This small culinary tour operator helps guests view a destination’s history, culture and people through its cuisine. On its tours, participants meet local chefs and artisanal producers; visit farms, orchards, markets, vineyards; and spend lots of time cooking and eating. Destinations include Italy, France, Australia, South Africa, North America and India. (www.tourdeforks.com)