Plan Your Trip:
Tour length: Most are six nights, although custom lengths are available for groups and individuals.Group size: Individual tours are available, most group tours operate with 24 to 32 people.
Price: From $200 to $250 per person, per day.
Transport: via walking or bus, depending on the location.
Booking: Three months advance reservation preferred.
Phone: (888) 889-8681
Email: vttours@sover.net
Website: Creative Culinary Tours
Interview with Chris Donnelly, owner of Creative Culinary Tours:
Q. How is your service different from other tour operators in your area?
A. The programs we offer are a more in depth look at the foods. We feature backstage access to many culinary attractions that are not offered by other operators. Other tour companies offer a meal with a focus but not a total experience or immersion into the foods.Q. Who guides your tours? How are they selected and what are their qualifications?
A. Our guides are professionally trained escorts and some have a culinary background. I also guide many programs. I spent over 15 years in the restaurant industry and have a background in Italian cooking and wine.Q. What's your most popular offering?
A."A Culinary Adventure of New England" is one of our most popular. We visit Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont, focusing on the popular foods of the area. In Rhode Island, we focus on johnny cakes, Rhode Island chowder and wine. In Boston, we visit the North End where we work with two chefs who provide a tour and dining experience. In Maine, we look at lobster fishing, potatoes and blueberries and in Vermont, we learn about maple sugaring, different cheeses and cider making.Q. Please share three or four unique experiences that a traveler will have on your tours that they couldn't experience on their own.
A. Of course, many of these things can be done by individuals but many of the places that we visit offer us the extended backstage experience. In Rhode Island, for example, we visit The Kenyon Corn Meal Company. People can visit the mill on their own but during our visit we are given a tour by the owners and then we have a tasting and a johnny cakes cooking lesson.Our tour in the North End in Boston is hosted by two professional chefs and we includes a traditional lunch with wine at the conclusion. In Maine, we meet with the owner of an artisan bread maker for a talk and tasting. In Vermont, we offer many behind-the-scenes tours that are not offered to the general public. We visit an organic cheese maker for a guided tour and tasting, we go behind the scenes at a cider mill on an extended tour of their production.
