Culinary Tourism isn’t a new concept, but it is an emerging trend that is set to grow in the coming years – and we’re thrilled to be a part of this journey. Being a popular chef school in Cape Town and particularly where Culinary Tourism is exploding, we’re seeing first-hand just how exciting this trend is becoming amongst our chef students. They are able to take their skills and invite tourists to experience them in a very real way – a magical city combined with talented young chefs.

So what is Culinary Tourism?

It can be defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. By combining travel with these edible experiences, culinary tourism offers both locals and tourists alike an authentic taste of place. It’s an opportunity to showcase local dishes, local ingredients, authentic dining experiences and cultural heritage to tourists who want to feel like a local and eat like a local.

Why is this trend so popular?

For a number of years now, consumers have been exposed to brilliant food, wine and beer festivals the world over. They are very popular with locals and with these festivals has come an influx of food blogs, foodie websites, Instagram pages, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and Flickr) and more exposure to gorgeous local foods than ever before. Now consumers want to take holidays where they can travel to new places and combine local cultures with local cuisine’s that they’re seeing online, and experience it for themselves. Travellers want to experience first-hand the flavours they have read, seen and heard about for so long. Enter the boom in Culinary Tourism – a chance for tourists to experience grass-roots local eateries, home-cooking, bars, clubs, food trucks and everything in-between.

How does this impact South Africa?

You don’t have to search long on the internet to find amazing local operators offering wonderful culinary tours around South Africa. The only real difference now is that we’re going from a market that’s growing, to a market that’s booming. Many travellers from abroad don’t want to experience the ‘luxury’ version of a food tour – they want a more authentic experience, like a local would enjoy. Everything from Shabeen trips to Cape Malay cooking to cooking prawns on the beach and curries that explore century-old recipes, spices and herbs. And of course, our cultural heritage lends itself to a colourful, rich and flavourful journey through some of South Africa’s most lush and verdant sights.

Many local operators draw inspiration from the thousands of outstanding food markets held around South Africa each year. Authentic, well-attended and showcasing truly gorgeous South African ingredients, foods, beers and wines, we’re spoiled for choice as locals. Imagine how our international guests feel? Look at Franschhoek or the Midlands Meander – you can find local cheese makers, wine farmers, chocolate makers and so on…. it’s a storyboard of history that tastes as good as it looks and sounds.

How do our students benefit?

Well, there are more and more job openings in this sector as it grows. And this doesn’t mean that only our culinary graduates can enjoy these job opportunities – our hospitality graduates are in demand when it comes to preparing itineraries, planning routes, taking tours, guiding tourists and so much more. It’s a chance for graduates to themselves explore local sights, historical cooking techniques, and new flavours every time they visit a new part of the country.

For those interested in studying a career in culinary arts with International Hotel School, you’re in a front-row seat for a culinary journey of a lifetime. IHS offers 3 culinary courses and these include the one-year Culinary Arts programme; the 6-month Patisserie and / or 6-month Culinary Supervision programme as well as the 3-year Traineeship in Professional Cookery. We offer students an opportunity to get nationally and internationally recognised diplomas, and our superb practical training takes place in leading hospitality establishments.

Drop us a line in the comments section below if you have any questions about Culinary Tourism – we would definitely love to hear from you. Alternatively, visit us on Facebook or Instagram for ideas and inspiration in the exciting world of hospitality!

(Sources and images: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/parmjit-parmar/the-rise-of-culinary-tourism_b_7596704.html; http://www.wine.co.za/news/news.aspx?NEWSID=27297; http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/news/entry/news-southafrica.net-investing-in-culinary-tourism; www.finedininglovers.com; www.bokaapcookingtour.co.za; https://www.bookculinaryvacations.com/explore-sideways/3-days-culinary-holidays-wine-tours-south-africa; www.chiccollection.com)