1. Become a gourmet curry chef in Kerala
Spice up southern India with a Trans Indus tailor-made trip, which includes cookery classes at Ayesha Manzil, a beautiful colonial villa overlooking the Arabian Sea in Tellicherry, Malabar. Northern K erala is known for its seafood and tropical fruit, and guests will visit markets and a cinnamon plantation to gather ingredients. During five masterclasses with Faiza Moosa, an expert in Kerala Muslim cuisine whose family has owned the villa since 1900, guests will concoct dishes fit for a Malabari feast, from seafood curries and rice dishes to tasty desserts.
2. Wine & dine the local way in Georgia
Experience rural Georgian life with Regent Holidays’ cheese & wine tour of one of the world’s oldest wine-producing regions. Wine is central to Georgian culture – many families make their own; more than 500 varieties of grape are grown and there is an expanding export market. Guests will find out about the role of the ‘toast-master’, taste vintages in leading wineries and private family cellars, and sample delicious homemade cheeses in the fascinating Tusheti region.
3. Follow port to its source in Portugal
Trace a bottle of port from the cellars of Porto back to its original vineyards on Inntravel’s self-guided Valley of Gold trip. Travelling by foot, boat and train, this is a great way to discover the local countryside and culture, and a brilliant excuse to sip the district’s top tipple. Time it right and you can join the locals treading grapes to the rhythm of an accordionist in the Douro Valley, where grapes are still pressed the age-old way.
4. Combine feasting and philanthropy, Cambodia
This fundraising Cambodian Culinary Tour gives an insight into local food and culture, with Khmer cooking classes, market visits and meals at a selection of acclaimed restaurants and lesser-known gems. Visit Angkor Wat, take an overnight cruise on the Mekong and enjoy a beach barbecue in Sihanoukville. Wild Frontiers has teamed up with charity Friends International to run this tour; a percentage of the profits will go to FI’s programme, training street children in hospitality.
5. Get a taste for the wilderness in Siberia
Visit Yupik Eskimos and Chukchi reindeer herders in Chukotka, north-east Siberia, and sample their daily diet – from berries and mushrooms to salmon, walrus, seal and reindeer. On this trip with Undiscovered Destinations you will explore spectacular scenery, get up close to wildlife and live among one of the world’s remotest communities. An extreme trip that’s immensely rewarding.
6. Venture beyond the tortilla in Mexico
Sample the edible and cultural delights of Mexico on a Bales Worldwide Tailormade Journey. Foodie experiences include sampling mole (a delicious chilli-chocolate blend), drinking Xtabentun liquor and taking part in a Yucatecan cookery course. Also, soak up the colonial-era atmosphere at Mexico City’s Café Tacuba, see the Pyramids of Teotihuacan
and visit the Mayan site of Chichén Itzá.
7. Feel more-ish & Moorish in Marrakesh
Learn how to concoct tagines, couscous and delectable briouates (pastries) on On the Menu’s Marrakesh trip. Be taught by a dada (a traditional Moroccan cook) in a glorious garden-set kasbah; by night, stay at a luxurious old town riad – an oasis of tranquillity in the heart of the action. A guided trip round the bustling souqs is a tastebud-tantalising highlight.
8. Walk off your excesses in Tuscany
Prepare real Italian food under the guidance of chef Cinzia Bonacchi on Ramblers Worldwide Holidays’ yummy Walking in the Mountains of Tuscany trip, based in San Marcello, north-east of Pisa in the Apennine mountains. Build up an appetite on the fairly easy walks in the countryside before returning for the cooking sessions, held on three afternoons of the week, to learn the secrets behind classic Tuscan dishes. A day trip to Florence is another highlight.
9. Take a tasty tour of Taiwan
A tailor-made foodie trip with Cox & Kings offers many chances to savour Taiwanese fare, as well as a day-long cookery course. At Jodie’s Kitchen, on a hillside near Taipei, guests learn to make specialities such as sour-and-spicy soup, sesame noodles and Sichuan sweet-and-sour dressing. A tea ceremony, a visit to a Taiwanese bakery, a meal at an acclaimed dumpling house and an evening exploring the food stalls of Shilin Night Market are also part of the fun.
10. Get stuffed, seasoned & stewed in Malta
Lesser known than the cuisine of its neighbours, Maltese food is rustic and seasonal, involving plenty of seafood and local fruit and veg – with a twist provided by British, Moorish and Sicilian influences. Explore’s Malta & Gozo Discovery takes in the baking village of Qormi, the Marsovin wine cellars and the Cremona Olive Estate, offering a chance to sample pastizzi pastries, stuffed octopus and ricotta-filled ravjul.
