Spotlight on: Food
What better way to connect with a destination than through its food and the talented people who make it? In this delicious lineup, each of the By Georgie DMCs has put forward an exciting experience that truly represents the heart – and tummy – of their country. Guaranteed to make your mouth water!
GUY RITCHIE’S WILD KITCHEN
EXP Journeys, USA
The team at EXP Journeys loves including WildKitchen at the Blue Sky Lodge in itineraries. Designed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, this alfresco dining experience uses “smoke and flame” on a menu that includes locally sourced Utah trout, seared elk loin and organic produce grown on Blue Sky’s own farm.
This elegant outpost kitchen – featured in his Netflix hit series The Gentlemen – is set in a high-alpine field overlooking the dramatic Wasatch Mountain Range. It’s one heck of a view.
HELICOPTERS AND LOBSTERS
Ahipara, New Zealand
Jean-Michel at Ahipara never does things by half and for the foodie spotlight he’s chosen the West Coast Wilderness Private Helicopter Adventure Wild Food. As the name suggests, guests will take to the skies discovering mountains, glaciers, beaches, wildlife, waterfalls and the fiord of Milford Sound.
As for the tasty part, the experience includes snorkelling for your lobster and abalone and spending time with whitebait or lobster fishermen, hermits or farmers. Epic stuff.
HUNT AND GATHER SEAFOOD
The Tailor, Australia
This one-of-a-kind seafood experience is in Port Lincoln, a remote outpost of the South Australian Coast. Conditions there are perfect for some of the highest-quality seafood in the country.
Pristine beaches are the ideal setting for wriggling your toes in the sand and collecting cockles or casting a line right into the surf and hooking your own fish for lunch. Guests can also enjoy fresh abalone, plucked from the shallow waters.
A TASTE OF THE HIMALAYAS
Banyan Tours, India
After one particularly challenging trek 16 years ago, Banyan founder, Jamshyd Sethna, remembers being served terrible food and coffee. Duly, he brought in a roll-call of top chefs from around India and the world to share their knowledge with the team when setting up Shakti Himalaya.
This gave them confidence to work with the ingredients available locally without having to rely on supplies from the cities. Today Shakti’s food is central to everything they do. Signature dishes include a Burmese Khow Suey, passed down from Jamshyd’s mother.
CEVICHE: 1,500 YEARS OF CULINARY HISTORY
Enigma, Peru
What could be more Peruvian than ceviche? They even have a national holiday for it on 28th June. What I love is that there’s no fixed recipe and understanding the variations is like looking directly into Peru’s dramatic history.
Enigma offers clients a culinary journey through ceviche's evolution – from classic lime-cured fish to exploring Nikkei and Chinese influences, and modern renditions with innovative techniques. Each experience is bespoke to the client and is delivered by a culinary expert exclusive to Enigma.
A FLOWER SALAD IN OLD CITY CARTAGENA
Galavanta, Colombia
Chef Jaime Rodriguez has been researching Colombian-Caribbean cuisine for over a decade and the fruits of his work have earned him and his restaurant Celele a high-ranking position in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.
One of our favourite dishes is the flower salad, where Jaime uses edible flowers harvested in the urban gardens of Garnitos de Paz, a foundation that helps low-income women harvest herbs, flowers and produce in their gardens in the Olaya Herrera neighbourhood. For clients with a deeper interest in local cuisine, Galavanta always tries to factor in lunch or dinner at Celele.
BORN ON THE BOSPHORUS
ITEM, Turkiye
ITEM’s top foodie tour in Istanbul is called Born on the Bosphorus, where guests can explore the food of three of the city’s neighbourhoods, either side of its famous strait.
The tour starts with a menemen breakfast: Turkish style scrambled eggs, with bal kaymak (clotted cream) covered in honey. Then it’s on to an Ottoman-era bakery for bagels, to be enjoyed on the ferry across the Bosphorus. On the Anatolian side there’s Üsküdar market, where guests can sample Turkey’s best honey and the fruits of a third-generation candymaker.