We have been lucky enough to have so many amazing food experiences around the world. Now you are lucky enough that I am going to share them with you!
General tips for food experiences
Here are my basic tips for planning and enjoying a food experience.
Start your trip with Food Experiences
I couldn’t recommend this more. Try to have a food experience on your first or second day in a country. This way when you are exploring on your own you know what foots/drinks to look for and what to try! You will learn about the specialties of a place, you’ll often learn about the food culture, how to tip, how to act in a restaurant and any cultural norms etc.
Be Flexible
Understand that there’s usually a lot of coordination that goes into food experiences. Everything might not be absolutely perfect.
Read EVERYTHING Before You Go
Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting so there are no surprises. Food experiences usually list things out pretty well and let you know how long it will take, how many stops there will be, if you’ll be hungry for a meal after, etc. Make sure to note all of that.
Communicate if you have restrictions
PLEASE, for ALL OF US, if you have dietary restrictions, communicate them with the tour in advance. There is nothing more annoying than having to stand around or wait on a food experience because they have to figure out a substitution for a participant that can’t have something. Let them know BEFORE the tour, and I don’t mean 5 minutes before, I mean a few days before. Then everything can run smoothly and you’ll be happier too.
Arancino Making in Taormina, Sicily
We had so much fun learning how to make arancino in Taormina! In Taormina they call it arancino due to its pear shape that is specific to this region of Sicily. It is however, essentially, the same thing as arancini. The class was held in the most beautiful restaurant and was hosted by one of the owners. There were so many things to love about this class. We loved that we got to learn the process from start to finish. We loved that we had SO many options for fillings and that we created and ate our own arancino. We loved that they didn’t let ANYTHING go to waste. After we finished cooking and using the ingredients, we put everything that was left together and cooked it as a meal for the restaurant staff. We were served a delicious white wine to go with our meal at the end of the class. We were able to sit and sip and enjoy what we’d created and we were also given desert. I highly recommend this class as a great way to start an evening in Taormina. You will love this food experience!
If you want to book this awesome experience for yourself, you can click here —> Arancino Making Class
Street Food Tour Valetta, Malta
This was a very cool tour, we tried SO many things that we’ve never tried before. The tour included so many different Maltese delicacies and so many of them were delightful. We enjoyed wandering the streets and learning some more of the history of Malta through food as well. We got to sample Pastizzi which are a pastry typically filled with ricotta or peas or both. If you’re thinking that sounds weird, you’ll be glad you took this tour. We may not have ordered this if we hadn’t been taken to get it, and we couldn’t get enough of them. They are also a super affordable delight! I don’t want to give away too many aspects of this tour, but I can tell you we got to try so much, we were completely full afterwards, and we really enjoyed it! This food experience really provided so much value on our trip to Malta.
If you want to book this experience for yourself you can do that here —–> Valetta Street Food Tour
Barcelona, Spain Tapas Tour
Devour tours can always be counted on to be a truly local food experience. They take you to places you likely wouldn’t walk into on your own. This is something that I really value when I’m looking for food experiences. We went to 3 different stops on this tour and we got to try SO many different things. The great thing about a tapas tour is that they’re small and meant to be shared anyway, so it really lends itself to getting a chance to try a number of things. I also loved that we tried traditional and local drinks at each spot to go with our tapas. It was essentially a food and drink tour! We didn’t need dinner after this tour, we were served plenty of food. Our guide was fantastic, friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful with everything throughout the tour!
My overall favorite food tour company to book with is “Devour Tours” whenever they have an opportunity available I go with them. They have a number of tours in Barcelona and I’m sure they’d all be amazing! You can see which one is most your vibe here —-> Barcelona Food Tours
If you’re interested in other Devour tours, I have a list of reasons why I love their food experiences, you can find it here ——> Why I book Devour Food Tours.
Jamón Tasting in Madrid, Spain
This is a MUST do food experience if you are in Madrid. We found so much value in this experience and we tasted and learned SO much. We also loved doing this upon arrival in Madrid so that we knew how to order jamón and how to know the quality throughout our trip! All jamón is not created equal! The host, Alberto, was such an entertaining and passionate man. We LOVE learning about things from people who really care about their work. Alberto was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about jamón. This was such an authentic experience in a quiet little shop after the days work was done.
If you’re interested in learning more about jamón, you can find more information on this experience here —–> Jamón Experience: Madrid
Pasta Making in the Streets of Bari, Italy
This tour was so much fun because we came to Bari for the experience of seeing the woman make pasta in the alleys. With this tour we got to be PART of it! The tour started by walking around the Old Town, tasting some Gelato, and learning a bit about Bari. After our history lesson we made our way to a quiet and charming square where one of the ladies of Bari taught us how to form our own orecchiette. We had some wine, laughed a lot, and felt like we got to see the real essence of Bari.
If this sounds like your vibe you can book the tour here —–> Bari Pasta Tour
Riga, Latvia Market Tour
This was one of the coolest market tours we’ve ever done. Many times when you take a food tour you go into a market and then head to your cooking class etc. This one is a true deep dive into the market itself and we REALLY enjoyed it. This market is super unique as was built using old war hangers. This is the largest market in Europe and you could probably spend days exploring here. The market is split into 5 pavilions and each has its own category. We loved having a guide because we tried so many things we likely never would have on our own. We also would have likely been quite intimidated to navigate the market and try things on our own at first, so having a guide was an amazing way to do it.
To book this tour yourself, you can click here —-> Riga Market Tour
Tallinn, Estonia Biking & Food Tour
Tallinn is actually a surprisingly large city when you combine the Old Town with the newer more artsy area. It was worthwhile to take a bike ride around and learn more about the city and the different areas. It also afforded us the ability to try food in a few different areas instead of being confined to one neighborhood which is always really nice. We loved learning more about the city and it’s history through food!
We visited Tallinn many years ago so I can not be sure this is the exact same tour, but I am listing one here that looks very similar. You can check it out here —-> Tallinn Food & Bike Tour
Cooking Class in Cusco, Peru
This is a great way to get acclimated to Cusco and get a feel for the great Peruvian cuisine. We loved nearly everything we ate in Peru and what we made during this cooking class was no exception. This one was a bit more touristy and commercial than some other food experiences we’ve done, but no less enjoyable! We learned how to make a full meal from appetizer to main course to desert. We also learned how to make the delightful Peruvian drink that is the Pisco Sour. We had a lot of fun doing this class and met a lot of like minded travelers. Many people are here to do some hiking to see Machu Picchu and the surrounding area. Having this food experience was a great way to start our time in the country!
Here are a number of options for a cooking class that suits you best in Cusco —–> Cusco Cooking Class
Paella Class in Barcelona
Barcelona is admittedly not the best known area of Spain for making Paella. That didn’t stop this from being a fabulous class and food experience. It started with a tour of the market to get the ingredients needed and taste a few things. The class started with a simple Spanish snack of bread and tomato (delicious)! Then, we learned how to make our own Sangria which we could drink and enjoy as we cooked. We worked as a team to create a giant and amazing Paella and then all sat down together to enjoy our meal. The vibe of this class was very light and fun and the setting was absolutely lovely! We left wanting to buy our own paella pans and start making this more at home!
To book the most fun Paella class you can click the link here —> Barcelona Paella Class
Empenada Making Class in Valparaiso, Chile
This one was absolutely amazing and one of our most authentic food experiences. We simply went over to a home in Valparaiso and learned how to cook from a husband and wife. The view from their home was one of the best views in the whole city, they were welcoming, kind, and fun and taught us how to cook some yummy Chilean specialities. We bonded over street art and interesting travel experiences, and this was just one of those wonderful travel memories that make these adventures so special.
Cooking Class in Chaing Mai, Thailand
Another great cooking class experience! The great thing about this one was that at the end you got to take home an entire recipe book. Then you could recreate some of the things you made! We have even recreated mango sticky rice at home, although somehow they just do it better in Thailand. We learned how to make a full meal in this class as well and we really enjoyed getting to put our own spin on different dishes.
There are a number of options here and we haven’t visited in a long time, so you can check out your choices at this link —> Chaing Mai Cooking Class
Pasta Making in Florence, Italy
Although this was arguably the most touristy cooking class we’ve ever done, it was 100% the MOST valuable one as well. We cook pasta regularly at home (like once a week), we have our own crank, and we LOVE doing it. We’ve had many fun nights with family and friends where we taught them how to make pasta too, and honestly it’s such an easy and fun experience to do with people you love! The class was a ton of fun and we learned how to make multiple types of pasta as well as tiramisu! I think it’s a great experience to have in Italy and shouldn’t be missed! It has also allowed us to provide friends and family with our own food experiences.
Another one we haven’t done in a long time (can you tell how young we are from the pics) but that we loved so much. I am sure any of these food experiences would be delightful! I spy one where you get to make gelato too! —–> Florence Cooking Classes
This post contains affiliate links, if you book through my links I will earn a small commission at NO cost to you. This helps me to keep this blog ad free and easy to read.