Culinary Familiarization Tour for Travel & Food Writers and Culinary Travel Companies
New England Culinary Travel Familiarization Program
August 16 – 20, 2009
Boston & Vermont
August 16, 2009
Individual arrivals at Logan International Airport in Boston. Overnight accommodations will be provided in the Boston area. Dinner is included at one of Boston’s top restaurants. Meet with local tourism and culinary tourism professionals. (D)
August 17, 2009
Today we travel to Boston’s Famed North End. We start our day with a traditional Italian Pastry and coffee. The secret of Italian cuisine is the high quality of ingredients, a sense of regional tradition, and that very Italian love of life. Sources for ingredients abound in the narrow streets of the North End. But for the outsider, finding the finest is not always easy. Join us on Michele Topor’s original award-winning North End Market Tour and let us unlock for you the secrets of the cuisine and of America’s oldest Italian neighborhood. Discover the pasticcerias that offer the best biscotti, amaretti, sfogliatelle, cassata, taralli, cannoli and other confections. Visit an authentic salumeria in search of the best olive oil, balsamic vinegar, olives, salami, cheese, prosciutto and pasta. Savor the scents of a 70-year-old coffee and spice shop and an Old World candy store. Learn and be inspired by how the Mediterranean diet has influenced peoples’ health since antiquity. Tour an enoteca to learn how to select aperitivi to begin, wine to complement, and digestivi to conclude your meal. Enjoy the colorful sights, the tantalizing aromas and authentic tastes of America’s most vibrant Italian neighborhood. Learn and be inspired by how the Mediterranean diet has influenced people’s health since antiquity. Understand how the Italians adapted their dishes to their new country and created the familiar Italian-American cuisine. The North End Market Tour has been designed to reflect Michele Topor’s passion for all things Italian. Trained as a professional chef, Michele has taught cooking, catered, and consulted on Italian food since 1979. Michele’s cooking classes, market tours and culinary trips to Italy have been featured on television (including the Food Network, HGTV and CNN), on the radio, and in various national and international publications. Following the tour we enjoy a delicious lunch in one of the North End’s top restaurants. This afternoon we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the city followed by some free time to explore Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. Dinner is on your own this evening. (B,L)
August 18, 2009
Today we board the coach for our journey to Vermont. Our first stop takes us to southern Vermont where we enjoy a progressive dining experience that will feature three to four of the top restaurants and inn’s in the valley. We will visit the Hermitage Inn, West Dover Inn, The Inn at Sawmill Farms and possibly two other venues before continuing to the Vermont Water Buffalo Company. At the Vermont Water Buffalo Company you will learn about the production of their gourmet mozzarella and yogurt.
We continue to The Essex, Vermont’s Four Diamond Culinary Resort and Spa. This evening we will enjoy a delicious gourmet cooking demonstration dinner. (L,D)
August 19, 2009
After a hearty breakfast, we board the coach for a day of touring some of Vermont’s best culinary attractions. Our first stop today takes us to the Morse Sugar Farm where we meet with Burr Morse. We will learn about maple syrup production followed by a traditional sugar-on-snow. Next we travel to the Cold Hollow Cider Mill where we learn about the production of their wonderful apple cider and sample some award winning cider doughnuts. We will give you free time for lunch on your own in the charming village of Stowe. This afternoon we visit the Cabot Cheese & Lake Champlain Chocolate Annex and conclude our day with a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. A farewell dinner is served at the inn followed by a bon fire and smore’s roast. (B,D)
August 20, 2009
After breakfast, transportation will be provided to the Burlington International Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston. (B)
Inclusions:
Two nights Boston area hotel
Two nights at The Essex, Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa
Three dinners
Three breakfasts
Two lunches
Guided tour of Boston
Culinary tour of Boston’s North End
Progressive lunch tour of Dover, VT
Visit the Vermont Water Buffalo
Visit Morse Sugar Farm
Visit Cold Hollow Cider Mill
Visit Cabot Cheese and Lake Champlain Chocolate Annex
Visit Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
Fully escorted by culinary tourism experts
Deluxe motorcoach transportation
Estimated Cost for Qualified Journalists: $675.00
Estimated Cost for Culinary Travel Professionals: $675.00
