Reviewing a Vacation in Bellagio on Lake Como
Filed Under Destination Features, Interviews, Travel Tips Italy
One of the benefits of having a culinary traveler who is also a journalist is getting wonderful feedback when they return from our culinary vacations. Writer David Sharos shared his experiences of our cooking vacation at Don Alfonso 1890 some years ago, and now he is back with his take on a tour of Bellagio and Lake Como. My last trip to Italy was back in 2019 when my wife… Read
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Changing the Lives of Women One Box of Aprons at a Time
Filed Under Interviews, What's Up at TIK India, USA
Today we're featuring an interview not with one of our chefs or tour guides, but with Theresa VanderMeer, the founder of the company that makes our aprons, totes, and document holders. If you've traveled with us on one of our multi-day cooking vacations, you've received one of these textile goods with your documents package, and we hope you noticed the tag on it that explains that your item was made… Read
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Spectacular Spoleto with Richard di San Marzano
Filed Under Destination Features, Interviews Italy
Today we're thrilled to offer a guest blog by our long time collaborator, artist and curator Richard di San Marzano of Spoleto. He leads and perfectly organizes every aspect of our Secrets of Spoleto culinary tour in Italy, in one of our very favorite towns. I started conducting unique and authentic culinary, art, and history tours based in Spoleto in the mid 90’s. Much of my inspiration came from my… Read
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Tuscany Culinary Trip: Chef Interview with Marco Ortolani
Filed Under Destination Features, Interviews Italy
For a short luxury stay in Tuscany, nothing beats the wonders of our Luxury and Gastronomy at L'Andana cooking vacation. The accommodations are a beautiful manor hotel on a large estate, and the classes are at the Michelin-star restaurant La Trattoria Enrico Bartolini with Chef Marco Ortolani, whose passion is to make gourmet Tuscan cuisine approachable and fun. The restaurant's philosophy, following that of master chef Bartolini, is "contemporary classic"—or… Read
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Greek Culinary Tours: Chef Interview with Diane Kochilas
Filed Under Destination Features, Interviews, Travel Tips Greece
The next installment of our series of Chef interviews is with Chef Diane Kochilas, cookbook author, TV personality, and one of the most well-known names when it comes to Greek cuisine! What is your name and where are you from? Diane Kochilas. I am a native New Yorker but have made Greece my permanent home for the last 23 years. See our culinary vacation on Ikaria with Chef Diane. What… Read
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Christmas Eve Culinary Traditions in the French Alps
Filed Under Destination Features, Interviews, Special Occasions France
All over the world, families and loved ones gather together to celebrate the holiday season. For many, traditions revolve around the dining room table, and in France, there are quite a few traditions in regards to what's served and when. In today's blog, Chef Nikki, of our fabulous Cooking in the French Alps culinary vacation, shares what her traditional meal consists of, complete with luscious descriptions of all the different… Read
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