Our Philosophy

We draw on our experience, research, and deep personal connections in the region to create delicious, memorable, and authentic food and wine experiences. At the heart of these experiences is learning about the region’s cuisine and wine via its flavors, history, culture, and context in the larger world.

• We focus on what we do well. There are plenty of others who you can expertly tour the major sights with. But if you want to know how Hungarians eat and drink, what they eat and drink, and why they eat and drink those things, then let us show you the way.
• We are not just another tour company. We come from a food background, and the quality and authenticity of food and wine informs all of our tours. If others offer you a bowl of goulash and a glass of wine and call it a food tour, we put that bowl of goulash in perspective by explaining how it is made, where the recipe originated from, and how today’s chefs are creatively tweaking those recipes.
• We believe in small groups. Our small group walking tours are capped at eight guests (and are always happy to do any of our tours with a minimum of two guests), and our wine tours are capped at six guests. That means no guides screaming through megaphones or carrying umbrellas. We can get to know you, and you can get to know us.
• But we will happily organize special tours or tastings for larger groups. On that note, if you have something in mind for your trip but do not see it listed on our site, just drop us a line. We are always willing to custom create special tours and experiences.
• We’ve done our research…and we continue to do so. We’ve written books and articles, and contributed to films and TV shows about the region’s foods. We’ve also eaten, drank, and slept (in hotels, that is) our way around the region in order to get the inside knowledge needed to show the best that this region has to offer.
• Our guides are all food-focused. They are multilingual winemakers, food writers, and bloggers (among many other things), who continue to educate themselves in various aspects of food and wine.
• We believe in service. We strive to give good service, and we appreciate getting the best service possible for our guests.
• We have high standards. Many of our clients are professional chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, food/wine retailers, and food/wine journalists. We need to seek out the best and most authentic foods, people, and places for them. But, be assured that we do the same for all of our guests.
• Authenticity is our mantra. And authenticity can mean many things, from a lángos eaten on the street to foie gras at a contemporary restaurant.
• We want you to love the region’s food and wine as much as we do. So we will do everything that we can to make sure that happens. It is supremely important to us that your tour with us is more than just a tour, but an experience that you will remember.
• We believe in discovery (and re-discovery). The foods and wines of Central Europe were once a celebrated and widely known part of the larger culture of food and wine in Europe—until those countries were cut off from the rest of the world during Communism. Now there are many things to re-introduce to the world…but many of them still need to be re-discovered! We love it when our guests discover something fabulous which they didn’t even know existed.
• History and cuisine cannot be understood without looking at the region as a whole. This is an ethnically mixed region with many languages, recipes, and traditions. But if you look at the big picture, you’ll find just as many similarities as differences. We focus on both. Recipes and grape varietals never respect political borders, and if you don’t look at the other side of the border you’ll miss half of the story.