2017 Gourmet Food Tours: Vietnam, Burma & Cambodia

Savour Southeast Asia's food scene with award-winning cookbook author Robert Carmack and textile authority Morrison Polkinghorne. The Globetrotting Gourmet duo host three gourmet small-group tours in 2017. Join them in Hanoi and northern Vietnam in April and in July the duo return to Burma/Myanmar, following their win for Best Asian cookbook, The Burma Cookbook”. Cambodia rates a trip in late September, including the former French colonial city of Battambang, where the pair run deluxe hotel Bric-à-Brac (www.Bric-a-Brac.Asia).

Northern Vietnam: Revolutionary Cuisine & Dining Revelry

3-10 April
Not only do you see all the local sites, the dynamic duo have organised a series of unique meals, such as a morning pho noodle soup "crawl" on rickshaws through Hanoi's Old Quarter, and a cooking class with celebrity chef Didier Corlou. Deluxe accommodation, including gala final dinner at Verticale, arguably the country's finest restaurant. Plus optional pre- or post-tour options to Ha Long Bay & the highlands of Sapa.
Priced from US$2695. Single supplement special: we'll absorb the surcharge!

Savouring Burma + Savoury Rangoon

2-11 July + 11-16 July
Tour Burma with the authors of The Burma Cookbook, winner for Best Asian cookbook of the year at World Gourmand awards. Discover a world where time stands still, but whose culinary delights trek new roads. Beginning upcountry in the imperial capital Mandalay, the floating villages of Inle Lake, and ancient Bagan from 2-11 July; with a consecutive tour running 11-16 July in Rangoon and environs, staying exclusively at The Strand Hotel.
Priced from US$2495. Special: Join both tours and get one extra night free at The Strand.

Cambodia: Temples & Tastings

25 September - 4 October
Cambodia is famed for its ancient Khmer temples but less known for its delicate cuisine, a crossroads between fresh Vietnamese and fiery Thai. Few know this country better than Robert and Morrison, former Sydneysiders who now call Cambodia home. Their tour begins in Phnom Penh, and includes little-visited temples along the frontier plus the charming colonial city of Battambang. The tour ends in Siem Reap with a gala dinner at Cambodia's finest, and includes cooking tours, market tours and temples galore, plus meeting the country's best cooks and chefs.
Priced from US$2870. Early bird special: save $250 per couple, $150 single.

The boys at Globetrotting Gourmet note a trend emerging in food travel. Rather than just learning a series of recipes, participants seek grounded knowledge of ingredients, taste combinations and technique, to explore Asian cooking through tastings, market tours and by talking to the local experts.

"People want the genuine experience, something they can't achieve on their own. So they come to us," explains director Robert Carmack. "These are not cooking class tours, they are truly food and culture tours -- and better yet, we include all the cultural highlights as well. And we ensure you are eating deliciously throughout."

Globetrotting Gourmet food tours, now in its second decade, offers just a few trips a year– and each one is unique, taking food lovers well off the beaten track, to a world of Asian authenticity. Each program is personally organised and hosted by Robert and Morrison.

"If we simply farmed the tour off to a local company, they would presume wrongly what our clientele wants. They want authenticity, uniqueness, and a chance to break baguettes with the locals. So we organise the sites and restaurants ourselves," explains co-host Morrison. “It's much more fulfilling and it definitely works, as we have so many repeat customers.”

Tour details and full itineraries available at www.globetrottinggourmet.com.