Sara Hildreth
Food is at the heart of any vacation, but today, many travelers are planning their excursions around the dining experience. From culinary cruises to raw food retreats, bicycle tours of Argentine wine country to road trips through Vermont's dairies, vacationers are discovering more ways to treat their taste buds while exploring new places.
Whether you're planning a culinary getaway on a budget or looking for a luxurious way to uncover culture and cuisine, here are four ways DiningOut found to combine unforgettable meals with ideal destinations.
Traveling
to a foreign country, staying in a 100-year-old farmhouse, and
indulging in the freshest organic cuisine-that's got to be
expensive right? Not with World Wide Opportunities on
Organic Farms , an organization that matches
volunteers with organic farmers around the world. Volunteers provide
a helping hand to the
ir hosts in exchange for room and board, as well
as a rare insight into organic farming abroad. "For the volunteers,
the main advantage of WWOOF is living as part of a family," Carl
Rogers, a WWOOF organizer, says. "You arrive straight into the
heart of a culture."
Of course, there is also the additional benefit of learning how to grow, harvest, prepare, and store delicious local foods. "As the hosts are organic farms, the food is often fresh from the garden. Each family has a wealth of knowledge to share-including, of course, traditional recipes."
WWOOF not only teaches volunteers about the process of organic farming, but also the sentiment behind it as well. "Along with a focus on food comes a philosophy of life, a certain attitude toward social responsibility and also community, which then feeds into the bigger picture of sustainable living, our relationship to the land and to the history of our society."
(Price: $35 WWOOF enrollment fee, plus the cost of transportation to your farm of choice)
On Eagle Island , complete seclusion doesn't mean forfeiting a gourmet experience. This getaway spot off the coast of Georgia offers guests a chance to experience life on a private island without breaking the bank. Owner "Captain" Andy Hill has opened up his island in the heart of the South's shrimp and crabbing capital for a totally private vacation experience
As for food, Eagle Island encourages guests to customize their dining experience to their own tastes and needs. The lodge's gourmet kitchen is the perfect place for amateur chefs to show off their skills, or to round up the whole crew for a collaborative meal. (You can bring your own groceries or provide Captain Andy with a list and he'll take care of the shopping for you.) Get a real taste of Southern cuisine by cooking at the full outdoor kitchen, complete with a barbecue, oyster steamer, and massive brick fire pit. Captain Andy is more than willing to teach enthusiastic guests how to crab in the Atlantic, gut and cook fish, and shuck oysters, so you're involved in every aspect of your meal. If the cooks need a night off, it's easy to order some Georgian classics-think gumbo and grits-from the mainland.
"On Eagle Island, it's all about the personality you bring to it," Publicist Leigh Cort says. Whether you're looking to "live off the land" by crabbing and fishing, cook your family favorites, or indulge in a Georgian feast, the choice is completely yours. And choice is good for your wallet as well as your stomach. "One of the great advantages is it's very cost efficient. With Eagle Island, you can plan a budget, stick to it, and end up with more fabulous food than you could ever have eating out."
(Price: $1,950 for a four-day rental of the island and lodge; sleeps up to 10)
For travelers who want to be completely transported through time, Greekalicious tours lead guests on a cultural and culinary expedition through the history of Greece. Owner and Guide Maria Benardis shows guests around her native country, even inviting them to cook with her family on the island of Psara. Benardis wants her company to experience the richest and most authentic Greek cuisine, and she leads guests on a 19-day island-hopping adventure to that end. "This tour uncovers and explores authentic Greek dishes, traditions, secrets, local ingredients, and regional cuisine and wine, only available in Greece."
Regional
is the key here, and Benardis' companions will discover where to
get the best capers (Santorini), lobster (Psara), and ouzo (Chios) in
Greece. Guests will also learn the traditional methods of producing
wine, olive oil, and phyllo dough-the delectably thin pastry used
to make baklava. All this takes place in a country that gave birth to
both democracy and gastronomy, and Benardis' spirit ensures that
her guests will feel the ancient pull of culture. Along with some of
the best and freshest food in the world, visitors will revel in the
stunning colors, ruins, and sunsets that bring mythical Greece to
life.
(Price: approximately $10,000 per person double occupancy, plus the cost of airfare to Athens)
If the idea of taking a sea cruise conjures images of Kathie Lee Gifford can-canning aboard a floating embodiment of Las Vegas' Circus Circus casino, let Celebrity Cruises cleanse your mental palate with a lesson in truly elegant escapes. The on-board experience rests upon the three pillars of Celebrity Life: Savor, which encompasses the dining experience and includes wine tastings, mixology classes, tastings, cooking demonstrations, and more; Cosmopolitan, which includes shopping, Rosetta Stone language courses, and the iPod Café; and Guru, which is all about wellness through spa programs.
Naturally, it's the Savor aspect that piques our interest, and Celebrity Cruises has crafted a food program with variety reminiscent of a hip urban neighborhood. Vice President of Culinary Operations Jacques Van Staden-a chef with a long history in restaurants and hotels-has brought Celebrity a strain of food savvy unparalleled by other cruise lines. "The cornerstone of our brand is the food and beverage experience," he says. "The excursion comes second."
On board the Equinox, a 1,000-foot luxurnaught launched in August 2009, guests can enjoy 10 different dining adventures, alongside innovative touches like a grassy lawn on the ship's uppermost deck.
One of Van Staden's favorite restaurants on the Equinox is Blu, featuring his twist on spa cuisine. "You can't live on traditional spa cuisine for a 14-day cruise," he notes. "Blu is about well-being. I created a concept called Clean Cuisine: clean presentations, clean flavors, clean plates, and crisp and clean sauces-it's all very simple." The ship also offers savory contemporary American cuisine (Murano), an Italian steak house (Tuscan Grille), and a tapestry of Asian flavors at (Silk Harvest).
(Price: a 14-night transatlantic adventure aboard the Equinox hits seven international ports and starts at $1,149 per person)