We are very proud to have been included in a New York Times article about small group culinary tours that appears on the front page of today’s Dining section. Looking at food walks in Istanbul, Paris, Rome and a few other culinary capitals, the article hails the arrival of a new kind of guide – the “food Sherpa”:

Just as a traditional Sherpa guide helps a mountain climber navigate the stresses and mysteries of a Himalayan peak, a food sherpa is a local expert who brings a hungry traveler to pockets of the culinary landscape that may otherwise seem out of reach.

You’ll find them in Paris and Barcelona, in Malaysia and Mexico. But don’t go looking for a long, tortoise-paced phalanx of tourists in white sneakers trailing behind a guide who’s waving a flag and barking memorized data through a megaphone. Food sherpas pride themselves in offering something different: an experience that gives small groups of visitors (sometimes as few as 2, and rarely more than 12) an intimate encounter with what’s off the eaten path.

For those interested in finding out more about where our own “sherpas” might take them, more information about our culinary walks (currently offered in Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona, Shanghai and Mexico City) can be found here.