Casa Artusi sul New York Times

Il tour dell'Emilia-Romagna conquista le pagine del NY Times

CHEF BIKE TOUR proposto da Tourissimo di Beppe Salerno: nella foto un momento della la tappa per il corso di cucina pratico in Casa Artusi a Forlimpopoli (FC); il tour permette di conoscere alcuni dei 44 prodotti a marchio DOP e IGP dell'Emilia-Romagna attraverso un percorso in bicicletta che spazia dall'Appennino al mare, attraverso le città d'arte ovvero luoghi identitari ricchi di storia, cultura e naturalmente sapori. Nella #foodvalley e #wellnessvalley d'Italia.

Leggi l'articolo del NY Times del 18.05.2018

Eating and drinking your way through a trip and learning something in the process

by Elaine Glusac

Culinary travel is on the rise, but it’s not just food on the menu: Tours are offering deeper investigations into the cultural and geographic factors that surround what’s on your plate.

When it comes to consuming a culture, it’s hard to beat digesting it in the literal sense, which may explain the explosion of food-related trips.

From Texas to Turkey, food is a point of differentiation for many destinations and, according to the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization, has helped drive tourism to rural regions, giving often needy areas new income to supplement agriculture.

Counting culinary travelers is nearly impossible; after all, everyone eats. But in a 2016 survey, the World Food Travel Association, a nonprofit organization devoted to education and research in the culinary travel field, found that 59 percent of respondents believe food and drinks are more important when they travel than five years earlier.

In the decade or so since culinary travel began whetting the appetites of gastronauts, food-related travel has shifted from pure consumption — hitting that bucket list of Michelin-starred restaurants — to deeper investigations into where food comes from and the cultural and geographic factors that influence it.

“Food tourism is where walking tours were in the 1980s when there was confusion about walking versus trekking,” said Kathy Dragon, a veteran guide who now owns Whole Journeys, which organizes active trips with a food focus. “I don’t use the term ‘culinary tours’ because it puts too much emphasis on food rather than culture.”

The latest in food trips, which follows, runs the gamut from addressing food waste to forging connections with those growing, raising and making the food (all rates quoted are per person).

Eat and exercise

In addition to burning off calories, active food trips can offer ground-level entree to food producers.

(...)

Beppe Salerno, the co-founder of the bike tour company Tourissimo, combines his passion for biking with his training as a sommelier in food-focused itineraries. This year, the company plans trips with well-known American chefs to bridge the two cultures. Brooke Williamson, a “Top Chef” winner, will accompany a new trip to Emilia-Romagna, the home of Parmigiano-Reggiano and prosciutto di Parma