The International Kitchen

Ikaria for a Week-aria!

🌸🌊🍉

"The International Kitchen expertly covered many of the details of a fabulous trip to Ikaria to visit the kitchen of Diane Kochilas." "We thoroughly enjoyed our classes with Diane and the activities that had been arranged for us-including dinners out, a w**e tasting, a nature hike...even milking goats! The schedule was perfect as it allowed us free time in the afternoon for exploring Ikaria on our own. We loved swimming in the Aegean, and the hotel pool. It was an excellent adventure."
-Frances S.

🌸🌊🍉

**etours

Food Fact Friday: The Legend of Tortellini

🍝🥠💌

Pastas abound in Italy, but none quite have the legend that tortellini does. The navel-shaped pasta has an origin story unlike any other. Legend says a sixteenth-century innkeeper in the Italian town of Castelfranco Emilia once saw the naked navel of Venus, the goddess of love, and created a tribute to her in the form of a pasta that resembled her belly button. While the other story goes, sometime around 1570, someone figured out the way to keep filling inside of a piece of pasta. They folded the pasta around their fingertip to prevent the meat filling from spilling out and voilà! Tortellini!

Whichever origin story you prefer, tortellini holds a special place in the people's hearts and stomachs. Take a look at our " Emilia Romagna Food & W**e Tasting Tours" and learn to make fresh pasta in food basket of Italy!

🍝🥠💌

**etours

NEW TOUR: Ecuador Flavor Fiesta

🦋⛰️🥘

This immersive journey across mainland Ecuador offers you the opportunity to visit the highlights of the Andes Mountains, followed by a unique, luxury retreat in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. You will also spend time in the capital city of Quito, where you will learn about the city’s history through its gastronomy and architecture.

Taste the many delightful flavors of Ecuador, from a simple cassava to a decadent Seco de Chivo stew. Book this new TIK tour today!

🦋⛰️🥘

**etours

A Taste of Emilia Romagna!

🍇🍖🍷

Emilia Romagna is a food lover's paradise...
“We loved our stay in Emilia Romagna! We particularly enjoyed the visit of Antica Corte Pallavicina. The glassed-in restaurant was amazing and the culatello was to die for! It was fun to see thousands of them hanging in the cellar. Everyone we encountered in Italy was friendly and happy we were there.”
— Richard

🍇🍖🍷

**etours

Hola Winter Travel!

🌺🥘🌵

What sounds finer in the winter than a culinary vacation to a cooking school in Mexico? Trade the cold for the mountain village of Tepoztlán, just about 90 minutes outside Mexico City, and spend your days immersed in the best of Mexican cuisine.

Our Hola Mexico 5 or 7-Night Tour has you staying right at your hosts' villa, learning hands-on in a classic cooking vacation setting surrounded by mountain views. It's the kind of trip that makes you forget winter is even happening back home. Check out this and more warm-weather stays on our website today!

🌺🥘🌵

**etours

Costa Rica Lipstick Tree

🌶️🍗🍚

Cooking in a new country typically introduces you to new ingredients that you may not be familiar with, but are a staple of that cuisine. Achiote is that in Costa Rican cooking! While it's a staple to the cuisine, it adds relatively no flavor at all! It's used for its beautiful red color and adds that signature Costa Rican hue to a dish.

Achiote comes from the seeds of the Bixa orellana tree, sometimes called the "lipstick tree" because of the vibrant red-orange pigment coating the seeds. In Costa Rica, it's typically sold as a paste or powder and stirred into rice dishes, stews, and sauces. Pollo con achiote (chicken braised in an achiote-based sauce) is a classic example, usually served over white rice. It's such a small ingredient, but it's part of what gives so many Costa Rican dishes that warm, golden-red color you see on the plate. Learn to cook with achiote on our " Luxury Insider's Tour Costa Rica" Book today!

🌶️🍗🍚

**etours

Visit Southeast Asia!

🍜🛕🌏

Travel to the most iconic destinations in Vietnam and enjoy a stop in Cambodia on our "Southeast Asia Food Tours: Hanoi, Hoi An, Saigon & Siem Reap" 8-Night Tour. Highlights of your Vietnam journey include a cultural tour of Hanoi, a cruise on the Thu Bon River, and much more. Visit the famed temple ruins near Siem Reap, Cambodia, and learn about the Khmer culture and gastronomy during a hands-on cooking class. Not sure where to travel this winter? Keep this trip in mind as you think about travel for the cold seasons ahead. Link in bio

🍜🛕🌏

Photo Credit M.D. Walters

**etours

Green with Food Envy?

🍝🍏 👀

Have you every been caught staring at someone else's plate and immediately regretted your order? We've all been there! In German, there is a specific word for that type of jealousy: futterneid, or "food envy." It's the feeling of wishing you could try every dish instead. Book a culinary vacation with TIK and you can't miss out on amazing flavors! Link in bio

🍝 🍏👀

**etours

Autumn in Bordeaux

🍂🍷🥖

If you love w**e and hearty meals, then Bordeaux is the destination for you! There's nothing quite like a fall vacation in an elegant and cozy historical chateau, cooking up meals and memories worth revisiting forever. This w**e and food vacation in Bordeaux is one of our staff favorites, and soon it will be yours as well!

"Cooking in a French Chateau and Bordeaux W**e Tours" Available dates: October 5–11, October 11–17, November 23–29 — Special Thanksgiving Itinerary! Please inquire if you have questions or want to check other available weeks.

🍂🍷🥖

**etours **es

Food, W**e, and Friends!

🌳🍷🍇

"Peg was key to a great vacation. She asked alot of pertinent questions and was able to assemble a great culinary week in Campiglia Marittima and plan the next two weeks in Cortona, Florence and Venice. We wanted, food, w**e and people and got all of that and more. From food, w**e, to friends to a clandestine marriage vow renewal she planned all of it. We made permanent memories and friends. People make the difference, planning and visiting. Can't recommend them enough."
- Tom B.

🌳🍷🍇

**etours