A Gastronomad is someone who travels to explore the food of another place — anyone who travels to seek out food and drinks and all that goes with it — community, history, culture, adventure and joy.

The Gastronomad Experience is a way to deeply explore the Gastronomad lifestyle. These are intimate gatherings where we — Amira and Mike Elgan — welcome adventurous food-lovers to some of our favorite places around the world, including Provence, Venice, Barcelona, Morocco, El Salvador, Mexico City and Oaxaca. These are not "tours," but immersive experiences where guests are embraced as friends and get to enjoy the best and most authentic food, drinks, and cultural activities in those regions.

We are food- and drinks-obsessed travel lovers who have lived the Gastronomad lifestyle since 2006 (with the exception of two years), traveling full-time and writing about our many culinary adventures. Mike wrote the book, Gastronomad, and Amira creates The Gastronomad Experience.

Our mission is to harness the transformative power of food to champion sustainable agriculture, the preservation of traditional food varieties and the communities that produce them, human equality and resistance to climate change. We believe that every culinary journey and every bite can be a statement of our values, a catalyst for positive change, and a celebration of cultural preservation.

Gastronomad Experiences are transformative, inspiring and unforgettable. Guests get to meet extraordinary food artisans, world-renowned chefs and visionary winemakers, and participate in cooking, learning, exploring, tasting and experiencing the best hidden gems of each destination.

To stay connected with our views and travel adventures, and to stay up to date with Gastronomad Experiences, please sign up for our free (and ad-free) email newsletter. If you're on Instagram, you can also follow our Instagram account.

Simply visit our home page and click on the Gastronomad Experience of your choice. On each page, find the dates that may work for you, click the "Details" button, then click on Book Now to get pricing or to book an experience.

Once you sign up for an Experience, we'll send you a preliminary email to let you know how to prepare for your Experience and what to expect, plus advice on what to pack. We'll stay in touch with all details right up until the Experience.

We love any and all questions. At any time, please contact Amira at amira.elgan@gmail.com and she will answer your questions.

Gastronomad Experiences have been hosted in a variety of destinations around the world, including:

Provence, France

Venice, Italy

Barcelona, Spain

Morocco

El Salvador

Mexico City and Oaxaca, Mexico

The Gastronomad Experiences immerse guests in the local food, drink and cultural traditions of each destination. Activities may include:

• Cooking classes and demonstrations with local chefs

• Visits to artisanal food and drink producers

• Guided market visits and tastings

• Winery tours and wine tasting

• Cultural activities like art, music, dance, and more

The Gastronomad Experiences are designed to be intimate, and range from four to 14 people, with an average of 10 people.

You book and pay for your flight to the destination, and everything else is included, including all costs for accommodations, meals, drinks, tastings, activities, transportation and more.

With four or more people, we can create a bespoke, custom Experience just for you. Just contact Amira at amira.elgan@gmail.com, to start a conversation about your custom Gastronomad Experience.

Most Gastronomad Experiences are six days and five nights long. Our Morocco Gastronomad Experience is typically 12 days long. And some others vary slightly.

Yes, the Gastronomad Experiences welcome solo travelers. The intimate group size and immersive nature of the trips make them a great option for individuals looking to travel and connect with like-minded food lovers.

Yes. Amira is a food expert and works with all chefs and food providers to make sure that any dietary restrictions you have will be met. Whether you're vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant or allergic to anything, you will simply never be served any ingredient or food that's not on your diet.

Most of the costs for each experience are paid far in advance in non-refundable payments. We are therefore unable to provide refunds or discounts at any time or for any reason or circumstance. Each event, meal, outing, and activity is optional, but no refunds or discounts will be provided if any is missed, either due to opting out or due to other circumstances, such as flight schedules or other events.

In cases where circumstances (such as country restrictions due to a pandemic) require the postponement of Experiences all payment for the postponed event will be applied to the event on the new date. If we cancel an event, guests will get a full refund. If we hold an event, and the guest cancels for any reason, we reserve the right to not issue a refund. (We recommend travel insurance to compensate for a trip you cannot take and an Experience you cannot attend.)

In all cases, of course, we will pursue reasonable accommodation.

Yes. Mike is a professional photographer and will photograph everything.