Why You Can Trust CNET 8 Incredible Food and Drink Experiences to Gift This Year
These giftable culinary adventures are anything but ordinary.
Forget the restaurant gift card and book something extra special.
There's a phrase that says the way to a person's heart is through their stomach. Basically, there's one simple equation can result in pleasing nearly everyone on your gift list. Ready? Here goes: Food + Experience = Holiday Gift Win. Incredible dining and culinary experiences can be found all over with local chefs, gourmands, historians and other such food experts curating delicious events throughout nearly every city in the US. Is it possible that one of them could be the missing puzzle piece in finding the right present for that impossible-to-gift person in your life? You bet it is.
Eatwith, Airbnb and Viator are just a sample of numerous online travel- and experience-booking services that offer a plethora of unique food tours, culinary classes and interactive or immersive sit-down meals. Whether in a person's home, an avant-garde space or out in the bustling street, these experiences add to the love of travel and expand the romance of it all. Simply put, each of these experiences are one-of-a-kind, informational and the perfect fix to disrupting the regular humdrum gifting routine.
From a secret bar crawl through Austin to Mexican chocolate 101 in Brooklyn or a Spanish feast in an LA loft, there are literally thousands of cool food experiences connecting cool spots on the map from coast to coast. Check out our favorite intimate food and drink experiences to book for a loved one this year.
Don't live in any of the cities we covered below? Don't worry. All three offer cooking and dining experiences in most major cities around the world.
I don't think there's a sexier cuisine on the planet than Spanish food. All that saffron and silky Jamón (Spanish ham) is enough to get anyone in the mood for love, and having a few great tapas in your cooking arsenal is key for hosting a killer party. Kill two birds with this Airbnb experience in which your host teaches all how to make Spain's national dish, paella, along with a few other decadent tapas dishes. Then sit down to enjoy the meal together and drink wine up on the roof overlooking the city at sunset.
Forget buying a boring box of chocolates for your special person. How about learning to make the darn stuff? At this hands-on workshop in trendy Bushwick (Brooklyn), you'll be immersed in cacao beans from their raw form all the way through roasting the beans (can you smell that?) and processing into edible treats -- all made by you, of course -- like hot chocolate, chocolate truffles and more to be taken home and devoured.
Take your little dumplin' to a hands-on dumpling-making class in the heart of Manhattan. Your host will begin with a history of dumplings in various regions of China and then it's time to get down to business: making the perfect bite-size pocket foods from scratch. You'll learn to roll them like a pro (very important) and eat them with a family recipe for spicy Szechuan sauce.
If you love Japanese omakase or kaiseki tasting menus, you'll dig this unforgettable evening of fresh Bay Area seafood prepared by award-winning seafood chef Geoff Reed. The multi-course meal happens within the walls of San Francisco's only sake producer, Sequoia Sake. You'll dine in a traditional Japanese manner -- that means no shoes but lots of incredible and meticulously prepared seafood, much of which has been pulled from nearby California waters. Sake pairings will be available for purchase too.
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Once you get your hand in there and start working the dough, you'll realize why people become obsessed with making pasta from scratch. It's work, to be certain, but there is something so rewarding about taking a few basic ingredients -- flour, eggs, water -- and turning them into one of the world's great foods in just a matter of minutes. But there are important skills to be learned, and this class led by chef Phillipe (MasterChef finalist) will teach them as you make two types of pasta from scratch, accompanied by a tasty sauce.
I live in New York, but I still contend there is no greater city than New Orleans for walking aimlessly and eating everything in sight. I love doing it without a plan, but if it's your first time, this Airbnb Experiences walking food tour is the perfect way for you and your favorite person to get your bearings (plus a belly full of amazing Cajun and Creole chow). Native New Orleanian Butch will take you to neighborhood haunts, hidden gems, and some of the more iconic spots, too, all while dousing you with a little local history and lore.
Start at Austin's historic Driskill Hotel and then wind your way through the city, hitting some of its coolest and most historic bars, including an old brothel, a 19th-century fire station-turned-speakeasy and a few bars so exclusive you'll need a special code to get in. You know, the type of place you roll your eyes at but secretly totally want to go to? Don't worry, they've got the code.
If you loved New York's long-running immersive theater experience Sleep No More, chances are you'll die (sorry) for this interactive murder mystery and dinner theater set on a train in London's hip Shoreditch 'hood. Nibble on a four-course meal courtesy of Master Chef Louisa Ellis and tip back classic cocktails while the harrowing plot unfolds all around. You'll definitely have to cuddle up for comfort during this somewhat stressful dinner affair. Now, how romantic is that?