Hello Foodies! I have to confess that before I started working as a Food Tour guide, I had never even heard about the concept of a food tour. Now, to me, it is the single best way to really get to know a new city or culture I visit when travelling. I get to know directly from a local the best spots to eat, where and what locals eat on a daily basis, as well as great insights about their culture and way of life. Maybe it is because I’m a big-time foodie and I’m all about the flavor, but I really think food is a great abstraction of a city’s culture.
After several years as a Food Tour guide, I have for you a list of tips on how to get yourself ready for a Food Tour and have the best possible experience:
Number 1:
Book your food tour for the first day of your vacation, this way you will enjoy more the rest of the vacation by knowing more about the culture and food of the place you’re visiting, you’ll know what to order for food the rest of the days of your vacation and remember to pin your favorite stops on the food tour so you’ll be able to go back to them and either have the same dish or try something different on their menu.
Photo by Eating With Carmen Food Tours
Number 2:
Don’t eat anything right before the tour! This one should be obvious, but you’d be amazed by the number of tourist who don’t save their appetite before a food tour. It is a food tour, it’s obvious that food will be served, and probably, there will be A LOT of food, so if you are “not that hungry” of if you “just ate a burger before the tour” you are wasting your money, on the tour and the meal before it. If you get hungry and there’s still time before the tour, I recommend drinking a lot of water, which will stretch your stomach without ruining your appetite.
Photo by Eating With Carmen Food Tours
Number 3:
Make sure to inform the company and your guide about any food allergies or dietary restrictions you may have, but also consider the posibility of ignoring those restrictions if you can, if your objective is to immerse yourself in a new culture, I think you should be open to trying new things you regularly don’t eat, you may not even like them in the end, but at least you tried! If you have severe allergies, make sure to bring your medication with you in case of an accidental cross-contamination.
Photo by Eating With Carmen Food Tours
Number 4:
Bring comfortable walking shoes and comfortable clothes as well. Some food tours are walking tours, and those are the best; you get to explore the streets of the city and find some pretty cool places. Leave your heels back at the hotel, you need shoes that allow you to walk for a couple of hours. Don’t even get me started on tight pants of fancy clothes… You want to eat as much as you can, not as much as your pants allow you to, and if you’re afraid of dripping some salsa on your fancy new shirt, you’ll be missing out on the fun. Also, if you’re doing the tour in warmer weather than you are used to, bring light clothes that allow a good airflow, as eating and walking will make you sweat more than you would like to, and to enjoy the whole tour, you need to stay fresh.
Photo by Eating With Carmen Food Tours
Number 5:
It’s important to check the weather before the tour, and remember an umbrella can shelter you from both the rain and the sun.
Foto de Pixabay
Number 6:
Put your phone in airplane mode and only use it to take pictures if they are not included in the tour. Your guide will be sharing a lot of information, and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll be missing one of the most valuable things on the tour; you’re not just paying for food, you’re paying for intel about the culture and their way of life. So leave all the social media posting for the end and focus on the present moment, and all the flavor in it.
Photo by Eating With Carmen Food Tours
Number 7:
In Mexico, we say, “There are no dumb questions, only dumb people who are afraid to ask”. You have a chance to be one-on-one with an actual local, fire away as many questions as you can think of, your guide will be happy to know you’re interested in their way of life and will share with you many insights that you can not find on Google.
Photo by Eating With Carmen Food Tours
There you go, I hope that after reading this post, you will be ready to become an expert food tourist and enjoy your vacations even more.
- The Juan and Only
