Cooking and food holidays
in the Mediterranean
By joining others on a small group tour or booking a tailor made holiday, you’ll be led to the very finest producers, restaurants and markets well beyond the tourist trail, with the added bonus of discovering traditional and modern Mediterranean delicacies alongside knowledgeable local guides.
Our Europe Holidays
Cooking and walking holiday, Spanish Pyrenees
A gastronomical experience in the Spanish Pyrenees
Nutritional food holiday in the Peloponnese
Cook to supercharge the metabolism and protect from Covid19.
Short break pasta making & Italian food holiday, Tuscany
A Tuscan food adventure, learn to make pasta
Vegan holiday in Greece, cooking and food
Being Vegan the Mediterranean Way - Greek village holiday
Italian food tours
Flavours of northern Italy on this special food-lovers journey
French Riviera holiday, walking, culture & cooking option
Experience real French culture while relaxing mindfully...
Helsinki city break, winter sports & gastronomy
Helsinki with an overnight tour in the countryside tailomade
Umbria cooking holiday, Italy
italian cooking in a farmhouse between Umbria and Tuscany
Italian cooking holiday, small group
Immersive gastronomy & cooking trips in undiscovered Tuscany
Sicily small ship cruise, food & culture
Experience the flavours, landscapes and history of Sicily
French Riviera holiday, food, walking & culture
Experience real French culture while relaxing mindfully...
Umbria gourmet tour, Italy
Relaxing gourmet tour: oil,wine, food tasting & art in Italy
Sicily food holiday in Italy
Be overwhelmed at how varied and diverse Sicily’s cuisine
Turkey small group holiday, a food adventure
Exotic 2 week culinary and cultural tour of Turkey.
Creative Spanish cooking holiday, Spain
Discover fabulous fusions of Spanish and Moroccan tastes
Scotland cooking holiday
Scottish cookery in a magical setting - 8 days
Albania food and wine holiday
Different areas - typical food and wine
Tuscany holiday, cooking, walking, truffle-hunting tour
An insight into the good, authentic sustainable rural life
Yoga & conscious cooking retreat in Portugal
Great mix of Iyengar Yoga & vegan cooking in stunning Portugal
Moldova food and wine tour, tailor made
Blend great food, wine and history in Moldova
Vegetarian cuisine holiday in Greece
Mediterranean vegetarian cooking steeped in local flavours.
Sicily food and wine holiday
Experience the flavours of real Sicily on this tasty tour
Greek Islands food tour
A culinary tour to discover authentic Greek's islands dishes
Cooking and cultural holiday in the Spanish Pyrenees
A mix of cooking, culture and walking
Georgia wine tour, small group
Discover an ancient history of Georgian wine making.
Parma short break food and culture, Italy
Experience the food and culture of Parma, Italy
Douro Valley cycling and gastronomy holiday, Portugal
Experience the magic of the Douro Valley on this tour
Corsica small group holiday, food and culture
Insider revelation of Corsica's food, mountains & beaches
Sweden kayaking and food short break
Swedish archipelago cuisine and culture by kayak
Where to go
Small group or tailor made
Cooking and food holidays can be either small group tours which depart on set dates, or tailor made itineraries allowing you to travel at any time of year. On small group food holidays, you’ll trypically travel with around eight to 12 fellow foodies, along with expert guides, spending between six days and two weeks on the road. That said, some food holidays re super flexible and can run with just two people, making them ideal for couples of a small group of friends. Other tours are tailor made, and last from four days up to two weeks, though you’ll have the flexibility to tweak your itinerary as you please, including upgrades to accommodation and transport.Whichever way you choose to go your holiday will be as varied as it is delicious with typical itineraries including visits to restaurants, cafes and vineyards, taking hands on cooking lessons or eating traditional meals in local homes. You could be centre based, spending your entire visit at the same hotel or guesthouse and going on excursions, tastings and taking cooking lessons during the day, or go point-to-point, moving on to a new destination every day or so, allowing you to soak up the energy, culture and cuisine in several different cities or regions.
Learning to cook
A food tour wouldn’t be complete without getting creative in the kitchen, and many of our holidays have cooking lessons at their heart. You could go hardcore and spend your entire break honing your chef skills, or take a gentle approach and mix cookery lessons with visiting producers and markets, dining out in restaurants and just exploring the region. Options include whipping up tapas in the Pyrenees, learning how to make French classics on the Riviera, or perfecting your pasta in Umbria.Wine tours
It goes without saying that wine plays a big part in our food and cooking holidays, whether that’s choosing the perfect pairings for your meals or getting to know the grape in greater depth. Some trips will have a full-on wine focus, with the bulk of your time spent touring vineyards and wineries as well as meeting the producers themselves. Others will build in an afternoon or two of wine tasting along with other foodie pursuits. Either way, you’ll brush up on your history and practical knowledge as well as improving your palate and getting a few extra bottles for your wine collection, too.Combinations
Vegetarian and vegan holidays
For some people a food holiday in the Mediterranean wouldn’t be complete without a hearty dose of Iberico ham, oozing French cheeses or fresh seafood, but our operators can cater for vegetarians and vegans, too. You could learn the secrets of Mediterranean vegan cooking in Greece; or spend a week indulging in wine and vegetarian cooking in Portugal.Classic Mediterranean cooking
The fertile, sun-kissed lands of the Mediterranean have produced a ingredients and a diet that’s famously healthy, thanks to plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, pulses, olive oil and a smattering of fish, meat and cheeses. Food and dining rituals are hugely important. Meals are to be shared with family and friends, lingered over and savoured, and dining out Mediterranean-style is a highlight for many travellers, with laid-back, friendly atmosphere and many families out until late.Our top Europe Holiday
Short break pasta making & Italian food holiday, Tuscany
A Tuscan food adventure, learn to make pasta
2021: 28 Apr, 20 May, 8 Jul, 2 Sep, 9 Oct, 16 Oct
Highlights
Italy
Piedmont is the birthplace of the Slow Food movement, where specialities include arborio rice, white truffles, Castelmagno cheese and Barolo wine. In Umbria, try norcineria (cured pork produce) or hearty spelt and barley soups, delve into cucina povera (peasant cooking) in the backstreets of Rome, or try Arab-influenced dishes or unique, nose-to-tail street food in Sicily.
Spain
Spain’s sunny climes, lush hills, forests and oceans produce excellent fish, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, and free-range meat – often organic, frequently local, and all cooked to absolute perfection. Fish here is excellent. Andalucíans are famous for their pescaito frito (fried fish) but this is also the heartland of Iberico ham. You can get paella just about anywhere in Spain, but if you’re looking for authenticity then head to its true homeland – Valencia.You’ll find tapas that are a world away from the often lame offerings found outside of Spain. Simple and varied, typical tapas includes olives, tortilla de patatas, croquetas, sardines and a huge array of cheeses and cold meats. In less touristy areas, you’ll still get tapas as they were intended: free of charge with your drink.
France
Then there’s le vin, such an important part of French culture that you can plan an entire itinerary around it, particularly among the never-ending vineyards of the Languedoc. A holiday that combines culture, wine and cuisine will allow you to experience the region in all its delicious, multifaceted glory.
Turkey
Skip tourist menus and dodgy kebabs and instead chow on real local cuisine at simple diners (lokantas), içkili restoran (licensed restaurants) and taverns (meyhane), or amid the fire and smoke of street stalls, and you'll discover a vibrant culinary tradition. Turkey is justly famous for its meze, which you’ll find throughout its Mediterranean region. Well loved dishes include patl?can salatas? (aubergine mash), sigara böre?i (cigar shaped cheese pastries), and imam bay?ld? (aubergine stuffed with onions and tomatoes).Grilled meat is found everywhere and usually served simply with flatbread and some kind of salad. Arab influenced adana kebap, and ?skender kebap, which comes with a hefty dollop of tomato sauce and yoghurt, are highlights. Vine leaves stuffed with rice and spices, sarma, are popular as is Lahmacun: flat break baked with ground meat, tomato, peppers and onion. This being the Mediterranean the seafood is almost as dazzling as the coastline, with sardalya (grilled sardines) and sar?göz (black bream) both great value and delicious. Try the wine, too, and meet small local producers.
Greece
Mezedhes (small dishes) or meze for short are the best dishes for vegetarians, since many are meat-free. Best shared amongst friends they include classics such as tzatziki (yoghurt, cucumber and garlic), melitzanosalata (aubergine) and saganaki (fried cheese). You’ll also find Greek salad everywhere. True to form, it’s made with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta and olives, though it’s often given an extra twist with local greens, capers or nuts.
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