Cooking up a good time on Vermont’s culinary trips
Published December 22, 2008
By JAMES ASKEW
Do you want to know what’s hot when it comes to vacation travel? How about a sautéed salmon? Or, a lobster bisque? Or maybe, a pumpkin ravioli would better suit your palate?
Food — that’s what’s hot. And not just what’s on the menu but who, exactly, is doing the cooking. No more waiting to be served, napkin in hand. Travelers are now looking to dig in, get their hands dirty, maybe even learn a little something while away from home.
Through the growing popularity of the Food Network and a whole stew of culinary programs, this one-time side dish of a great vacation has been elevated to the main course.
Just ask Chris Donnelly, owner of Creative Culinary Tours and Sugar Tours based in West Dover. In the last six years, Donnelly has witnessed, firsthand, the sizzling sensation of culinary travel, and he has the burns to prove it.
“Culinary travel is hot,” declares Donnelly.
Donnelly, who has a background in the food service industry, has been part of the group travel industry for more than 20 years. For the past 11, Donnelly has been a wholesale tour provider for tour operators and organizations like Elderhostel out of Boston.
Elderhostel provides educational travel experiences for travelers 55 and over and Donnelly had started out providing American history tours of the region: the Battle of Bennington, Fort Ticonderoga, etc. That is, at least, until his pot of good ideas one day boiled over.
Back in 2002, Donnelly offered a tour package to Elderhostel called “Vermont: A Week of Fine Foods.” The concept was to spend a couple days in the Brandon area, visiting places like King Arthur Flour in Norwich and local cheese makers, attending a cooking class provided by a local chef and , of course, enjoying some of the best fine foods.
“Being on the farm that makes the cheese, then eating it in a meal that evening; that’s what we consider culinary travel,” says Donnelly.
And, from that nascent idea, Donnelly saw a business ripen to perfection. Once employing only himself and one office worker, Donnelly’s business has expanded to include five to six program operators and four people in the office. Between his two businesses, Creative Culinary Tours, the retail side, and Sugar Tours, still operating as a wholesale tour provider, Donnelly says he has more than 1,000 culinary travel clients per year.
That first tour, “Vermont: A Week of Fine Foods,” sold out three times the following year, then five the next, followed by 10 the year after. Now, says Donnelly, they’re planning for 2009 with all tours sold out with a waiting list. Donnelly has also added a number of other tours to his menu, either through Elderhostel or on his own, including “Lobster, Wineries and Foods of New England,” which tours Rhode Island, Maine and Vermont, as well as “A Culinary Adventure of Three Great Cities,” sampling the best foods of Philadelphia, New York and Boston, all in seven days.
Visit Creative Culinary Tours online at www.creativeculinarytours.com. The e-mail address is vttours@sover.net, and the phone number is 888.889.8681. Elderhostel’s Web site is www.elderhostel.org and its phone number is 800.454.5768.
Some other Vermont culinary opportunities
Deborah Kransner’s Vermont Culinary Vacations — Putney, 802.387.6610, www.culinaryvermont.com. A number of four-day package holidays are offered through the year, each focusing on different culinary theme, with an award-winning cookbook author.
New England Culinary Institute — Essex, 802.878.1100, www.vtculinaryresort.com. NECI offers single-session cooking classes as well as a two-day, one-night “Chef Inn Training” getaway package at one the nation’s finest culinary schools.
Rabbit Hill Inn — Lower Waterford, 802.748.5168, www.rabbithillinn.com. The inn offers a three-day, two-night, Sunday-to-Tuesday getaway featuring a Sunday evening wine pairing and three-hour cooking course on Monday.
The Inn on Park Street — Brandon, 800.394.7239, www.theinnonparkstreet.com. Full weekend sessions are available throughout the year, with a Friday-night arrival and three to four hours with the chef, chipping in or simply sipping wine and watching.
Inn at Baldwin Creek — Bristol, 888.424.2432, www.innatbaldwincreek.com. Single-day cooking classes are offered throughout the year. The inn doesn’t offer a package , but accommodation is available.
Kids Culinary Camp of Vermont — Highgate Center, 802.868.3030, www.kidculinary.com. Yes, that’s right, a cooking camp for kids. It offers one- and two-week summer sessions and now offers eight, one-week homeschooling sessions through the winter.
