Turkish cuisine has become world famous for its fresh ingredients and healthy Mediterranean character.
Actually, there is no single Turkish cuisine. The vast Ottoman Empire gathered and exchanged recipes from dozens of countries. Matched with the richness of the Turkey's land and seas, it is certainly a cuisine worthy of learning.
A tour is more than simply a cooking class or two. Besides visiting all the important historical and cultural sites, a culinary tour can include market strolls, kitchen time, wine and cheese tastings, and dining in exceptional restaurants.
If you're interested in savory Turkish cuisine, you can combine a guided tour of Turkey with direct experience of its agricultural abundance and traditional cuisine. It's a great way to tour this food-rich country.
Guided Food Tours
Yummy Istanbul Food Tours
Istanbul is synonymous with amazing food. There’s no better way to discover the delicacies of this culinary capital than with a guide to take you to the best eateries. Book the #1 Most Loved Istanbul Food Tour with Yummy Istanbul. Too often, tourists are surrounded by restaurants that cater only to visitors to the city. You need a local to show you where the best spots are and what the local delicacies really are.
The captivating food guides at Yummy Istanbul bring the gastronomy of Istanbul to life and allow you to experience the colorful neighborhoods of Istanbul and the culinary delights within. Discover the city’s best-kept secrets and the most delectable dishes. Since 2013, more than 50,000 foodies have explored Istanbul’s most mouth-watering dishes with Yummy Istanbul. Book a tour here.
Turkish Village Cooking Class & Bosphorus Tour
Turkish culture is rich and vibrant, with centuries of history that have influenced the country's cuisine, artistry, architecture, and more. There's no better way to experience a country than through its food.
Come join our culinary adventure away from the hustle and bustle of the city. After taking a private boat trip across the Bosphorus with our guide, you’ll arrive in our peaceful village and be welcomed as our guest. Get the unique opportunity to experience life in a Turkish village, with our local guide offering extra insight in English.
You'll learn how to prepare some traditional favorites such as eggplant moussaka, also known as imam bayıldı (the priest fainted). You'll also learn about the ingredients that make up the local cuisine, with ingredients sourced locally from our garden. Book a tour here.
Argeus Explore Turkish Flavours Tour
This 11-day tour led by experienced chef and culinary instructor Ms Selin Rozanes shows you all of Turkey's top sights—Topkapı Palace, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Cappadocia (including a hot-air balloon flight), Ephesus, etc.—with emphases on both cultureand cuisine.
What was it like in the kitchens of Topkapı Palace, cooking for the imperial family and their staff of 5,000? What are all those exotic herbs in Istanbul's Spice Bazaar? How does Cappadocia's volacnic soil affect the choice wines made there?
You'll see how Turkey's best wines, cheeses and olive oils are produced—and get to taste them. You'll visit an ecological farm to see how well traditional agricultural methods are suited to today's desire for organic produce.
Contact Argeus Tourism & Travel for full information.
Erkut Aldeniz's Culinary Tour of Turkey
My friend Mr Erkut Aldeniz is a world traveler as well as an expert in Turkish cuisine, with deep knowledge of the ingredients—produce, herbs, spices, etc.—that go into it. He is also a licensed guide, so you get the full historical and cultural picture of Turkey along with market strolls, cooking classes, and fine dining with Turkish wines.
Erkut Bey offers a 3-day Istanbul Cuisine Tour with a cooking class; a 4-day Anatolian Cuisine Tour in Cappadocia; and a major 14-day Delights of Turkey Tour visiting all the major sights, but with an emphasis on cuisine. Travelers from champspinco.com receive special consideration: mention the code TTPCUL14 to get it. More...
Istanbul
Learning about Turkish cuisine can be in a quick half-hour course helping a chef prepare lunch, a half-day or full-day of market shopping, preparation, cooking and dining, or a multi-day journey through the regional cuisines of this food-crazy country.
Quick Cooking Class
Several Istanbul hotels offer their guests short cooking classes in the kitchen, among them the Sirkeci Mansion. More...
Istanbul Street Food Walk
You see Istanbul street food, but you don't know what it is, whether it's safe, whether you'll like it. Sirkeci Mansion offers a street food tour of the neighborhood, tasting such traditional treats as çiğ köfte, içli köfte, kokoreç, pide, and Adana kebap, followed by a dessert fiesta and Turkish coffee or tea. Cost is surprisingly reasonable. More...
Best One-Day Cooking Course
Perhaps Istanbul's most renowned cooking course is that of Cooking Alaturka in the Cankurtaran district very near the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque. More...
Cappadocia
Several recommended travel companies in Cappadocia offer Turkish culinary tours specializing in the cuisine and wines of Cappadocia:
Travel Atelier Cuisine Tours & Wine Tastings
Travel Atelier organizes exclusive, high-quality private culinary tours and Cappadocia wine tastings for individuals, couples and small groups. Contact them for details. More...
Gastronomic Gulet Cruise
A genius idea—combine two of the most popular activities of a Turkish vacation: a fine introduction to Turkish cuisineaboard a sunny Turkish gulet yacht! It's Peter Sommer Travels' 8-day/7-night Gastronomic Gulet Cruise along Turkey's Mediterranean coast. More...
—by Tom Brosnahan
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