20 Sep 2024
We have been on many food tours in the US, Mexico, Canada, and throughout Europe. This was probably the worst and most disappointing. . One full hour into a food tour before we got any food or drink. During this time, we were in a mobbed market area of Bologna..constantly having to move around to avoid getting run over by crowds...no place to sit...our guide frequently repeating himself explaining facts about food products we don't get to eat or even smell.
We had 1 real stop in the entire food tour...it was a meat shop that served food...it was not a restaurant. The owner served cold meats and cheese and the circular bread Bologna is known for. This was fine..but the only bright spot in the tour.
The guide was well-aware that my spouse had a gluten allergy. His solution? Tell us where we can go after a $150 food tour to have dinner...because apparently this food tour company doesn't go to restaurants.
Yes a food tour in Italy without any pasta.
Maybe share that no warm food will be provided before taking $300 in exchange from tourists in exchange for $40 worth of food and the same 15 minute history lecture repeated 5 times.
From the description:
"Visit a variety of different eateries, and sample 6 or 10 [we booked the 6] local Shoreview along the way - from savory to set, and even local drinks. Potential views depending on the option of the tour that is booked in include torta di risotto (a local dessert), tortellini fritti, formaggio bianco (a local cheese), piadina (a local sandwich)."
We had:
1 wine with water at the meat shop (no other drinks)
No torta
No tortellini - no pasta at all!
No piadina
Just formaggio with our meats
Then seemingly as afterthought as we kept asking what was next...
A taste of parmesean with balsamic (one bite)
Chocolate salame
Gelato
The food tour guide also rudely and wholly unecessarily corrected an overseen text message to my mom "chocolate salami" as needing to be spelled "salame". It was explained to him that the recipient message would understand the spelling because that is the way it is spelled where they are.
It was a disappointing experience. There wasn't enough variety in the food offered, there was enough food period....there was no pasta, and the tour guide seemed to want to get rid of us all along. Try someone else other than these guys.