Spring 2018

European Culinary Tours
with Passionate Nutrition

to
– Croatia  and  Hungary –

Choose one trip or attend both!

Our Culinary Tours have been so successful that we have decided follow up with additional tours, in Croatia, as well as a brand new Best of Hungary Culinary Tour. (Hungary was listed this year in the New York Times as one of their “Must See Places!”). 

A sampling of testimonials from previous Culinary Tour attendees:

“It was a trip of a lifetime!”

“Outstanding meals in special and unique settings!”

“If I planned my dream vacation it would have looked a lot like this.”

“Amazing tour: very well organized, well planned.”

“It is impossible to decide my favorite part of the tour, everyday I think I find a new favorite.”

“We loved the food, food, food. It felt very authentic and we love the off the beaten path places where we were able to meet the families and chefs.”

“Knowledgable and welcoming guides, tour operators and tour leaders! Simply Outstanding.”

“There was no way I would have ever experienced these meals and views and methods of cooking.”

“Thank you so much for organizing the most incredible tour. I cannot imagine better food, sights and group of individuals. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The activities were all extremely noteworthy and left me with the feeling of being on a travel channel show.”

“This was so beyond my expectations and more than appreciated. What an incredible value.”

“I loved it 200%. I am so happy I came.”

After living in Europe and connecting with local natural food communities these tours have been crafted through my relationships with chefs and farmers. They are hand-selected, one of a kind authentic experiences that would not be possible as a typical tourist…incredible people serving amazingly fresh caught seafood, farm-raised meats and hand crafted cheeses, the finest olive oil in the world, world-class wine, and, of course, truffles. All served to us as we’re surrounded by stunning natural beauty and up-close history.

Enjoy the best of “Agro Tourism” as we enjoy classical dishes in local taverns and farms. I absolutely love these places! While I won’t be attending the tours myself, I am absolutely thrilled that my dear colleague, Nora Dummer, will be leading the tours and answering your nutrition questions in my absence.

Warmly,
Jennifer

Sign up for a Culinary Tour of Croatia or a Culinary Tour of Hungary or both for a 10% discount.

The Best of Croatia Culinary Tour

The dates for our week-long culinary tour of the Istrian Peninsula of Croatia are May 4-10, 2018

Coastal Istria was recently named one of the 50 Places You Must See!

Prepare to experience:

  • Guided tours of the postcard-like Istrian towns of Rovinj, Montovan and Porec dotting the Tuscany-like rolling hills of the area
  • The regions best “off the beaten path” farm to table restaurants and rustic farm-based restaurants where we’ll eat amazing, regional cuisine, prepared in age-old fashion
  • Visits to incredible Roman ruins, including one of the most well-preserved amphitheaters in the world
  • Tour of one of the area’s finest winery and olive oil farm. Voted the best olive oil producing region in the world by the Flos Olei, The World Guide of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Truffle hunting demonstration in the Motovun area where the largest white truffle in the world was found
  • A boat tour of the dazzling coastline and on-board picnic lunch with traditional music
  • Lodging in waterfront Four-Star hotel accommodations in Vrsar
  • Cooking class with co-host for the week Nora Dummer. (Her bio is below). 

Because coastal Istria (Rovinj) has only recently been discovered – Rick Steves names it “a little Venice on a hill”, and “one of my favorite small towns in the Mediterranean.” Plus it still very affordable.

This all inclusive tour includes accommodations, transportation, meals, cooking class, boat tour, entrance and guide fees, and is priced at $1580* for guests who sign up before November 3. For sign-ups after November 3 the price is $1780. Space is limited. Secure your spot with a $500 deposit.

*Not included are airfare, airport transfers and beverages (unless specified in itinerary). Prices are based on double occupancy. Single occupancy price is increased by $400 and based on availability.

Please note that on past trips most people have chosen to fly into Venice. (I have helped with organizing group transportation from/to the airport.)

If interested please email: jennifer@passionatenutrition.com to receive the fully detailed itinerary and additional travel planning information.

The Best of Hungary Culinary Tour

The dates for our Best of Hungary Culinary Tour are May 12-18, 2018

Hungary was listed this year in the New York Times as one of their “Must See Places!”

Prepare to experience:

  • Accommodations in a rustic country guest house or hotel located just outside of Budapest in the heart of a wine producing community
  • Traditionally-styled homemade meals crafted with fresh, local, organic ingredients
  • Guided tours of all main historic sights in Budapest including the UNESCO Castle district, the Citadel, best views of the Danube and the Iron Bridge, plus “off the beaten path” sights like the first Ruin Bar and farmers market
  •  
  • Tour through the beautiful Danube Bend countryside
  • Visit organic food and herb farms, producers of some of the finest produce and traditional herbal medicines in Europe
  • Take an Herbal Medicine Making Workshop
  • Enjoy a traditional Hungarian cooking class
  • Two winery tours and tastings
  • Visit the “City of Queens” along the gorgeous lakeside of Balaton as well as other nearby villages such as Szentendre &Visegrád
  • Walk through the medieval castle and endless lavender fields of the Tihany Peninsula
  • Sample traditional Hungarian foods throughout the week including Goulash & home-baked bread (both made over an open fire), Langos, and amazing grilled sausages
  • Cooking class with co-host for the week Nora Dummer. (Her bio is below). 

This nearly all inclusive tour includes accommodations, transportation, transfers to and from Budapest airport, most meals*, cooking classes, entrance and guide fees, and is priced at $1580* for guests who sign up before November 3. For sign-ups after November 3 the price is $1780. Space is limited. Secure your spot with a $500 deposit.

*Not included are airfare, additional meals if needed and beverages (unless specified in itinerary). Prices are based on double occupancy. Single occupancy price is increased by $400 and based on availability.

If interested please email: jennifer@passionatenutrition.com to receive the fully detailed itinerary and additional travel planning information.

Nora’s love of food began with working in the kitchen of a retirement community in rural Minnesota.  The power of food to forge connections, to nourish, and to honor tradition and culture was apparent to her even as a young teenager.  Eventually she moved from the Midwestern kitchen to the Puget Sound region where she earned a degree in Community, Environment, and Planning from the University of Washington; there she acquired a culinary internship in an organic kitchen in Tamil Nadu, India.  While preparing dosas or mixing millet cakes, the owner, Anandi, introduced her to whole foods nutrition.  Every day for three months, the two would talk extensively about the connection between the foods we eat and the way we feel. This pivotal experience inspired Nora to seek a degree in Nutrition and Culinary Arts from Bastyr University upon returning to the States.

Since graduating from Bastyr, Nora strives to apply her passion for whole foods cooking, writing, and community activism to the Puget Sound region and beyond.  She has established herself as a personal chef and caterer, has worked in the kitchens of numerous local restaurants (Sutra, Bar Sajor, London Plane, Harvest Beat), and has written for a local cookbook (Fresh and Fermented by Firefly Kitchens) and a national nutrition blog.  Currently she teaches cooking and nutrition classes to kids and adults through The Beecher’s Foundation and at Culinary Essentials in Seattle, and attempts to keep up with her own blog, for the love of cuts and burns.  

Nora has traveled extensively throughout Western and Eastern Europe seeking culinary traditions across the globe.  To date, she’s spent time in fifteen different countries, and strives to embrace the unique food customs of each location.  While she’s come a long way from small town Minnesota, her love of food, community, culture, and casserole follows her to this day.

3 Comments

Michael Foster - Reply

Hey Jennifer,
Since I first saw your kayaking kelp trips, I have enjoyed getting your materials. Not sure whether you remember meeting many years ago, but I was a counselor like yourself, though focused on relationship to earth, which centers on food and lifestyle. I feel sick when I consider what Culinary Tours are doing to your clients and our family tree. Much like sugar, we are all addicted to burning fuels in this country, which altered our atmosphere and killed over a million people last year. Climate-enhanced disasters cost the US $300+ billion in 2017. Over-consumption has initiated the 6th great mass extinction, which will remove 25-95% of Earth’s species in a great geological sneeze unless we change behavior now. We can no longer deny science or mindlessly ignore the collapse of all we love. Today’s kids won’t be able to look away. Clearly we are the only ones pulling the trigger against life to come. The data doesn’t lie and still we pollute more every year. Travel for personal growth promises to blow up the annual carbon budget of each client you know, more than any other single thing we do, save having one less child. Luckily, travel for pleasure is the easiest thing to give up of all. If your clients miss out on a great trip to see wonderful sights and taste amazing cuisines, maybe you can teach them mindful living at home, and save money.
There is no real offset for CO2 spewing at 30,000 feet in 2018. Although jets fly over my house all day, kids won’t survive this anymore. You are a great help to people who need you. Please find another way to instill healthy consumer habits.
Feel free to give me a call anytime within the next two weeks. Or check out International Transformational Resilience Coalition.

Melissa - Reply

I’d love to participate in a culinary tour! What an excellent opportunity. Unfortunately the timing for this Spring isn’t possible for me. I hope there are other opportunities in the future!

Donna Amira - Reply

Dear Jennifer,

This is Donna Amira, one of your long lost customers.

How are you?

The Jewish holiday of Passover is coming up and some folks leave home and spend the holiday away at a fun and unusual location.

By any chance, do yo know of any Passover programs in Croatia or some other wonderful place?

Thank you so much,
Donna

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