Who We Are

Peggy Markel’s Culinary Adventures delivers personalized, educational, hands-on travel experiences that feed the soul. With a perpetual curiosity and reverence for the rich tapestry created by food and culture, Peggy Markel has designed and directed carefully hand-crafted food and culture trips around the world for close to 35 years. She is a pioneer not only in culinary travel, but was instrumental in bringing Slow Food to America and championing the farm to table movement as early as 1993.

Following her intuition and inspiration, Peggy built lasting relationships with chefs and purveyors throughout Italy and continued designing adventures that include Morocco, Sicily, Gulf of Naples, Aeolian Islands, as well as Spain, Scotland, Portugal and India. Though the market for culinary travel has certainly grown since these early years, no one has been able to match the depth and dimension of her programs.

What We Do

With each handcrafted experience, Peggy creates a container that allows her guests to relax immediately and drop beneath the surface. Good choices, deep relationships and loyalty have their benefits. It’s like traveling with a friend of a friend: someone you don’t know, but you feel like you do. And as you do get to know her, her friends become your friends with ease. Suddenly, you’re a regular. It’s this unfolding that immerses every guest in the experience at hand. Each program is designed to flow like an easy in-breath-out, carrying you from one experience to the next. There’s a bit of magic to it.

All of our trips are food-focused. Each itinerary is designed for immersion. We dive deep into the most delicious thing happening and learn either how it’s done or how to do it ourselves. Every program has a hands-on element. When we aren’t getting our own hands dirty, we’re getting an insider’s look into kitchens, workshops, bodegas, studios, tasting rooms and secret chambers. Yes…at times we go behind forbidden doors. It takes a village to create special experiences. We tap into the local underground root system and make the connections wherever they arise.

But it’s not all about food. It’s about the art of living. We are the real deal and consider your experience and care paramount. Programs are built on long-term relationships, handpicked properties and carefully crafted itineraries. We welcome small groups of individual travelers from 6 to 16, depending on the journey.

About Peggy Markel

Peggy is a writer, photographer, illustrator, a Southern storyteller and seeker. She left home at an early age to explore the world and has since designed and directed far-flung food and culture trips for over 25 years. Peggy designs programs for small groups of individual travelers that are built on long-term relationships, handpicked properties and carefully crafted itineraries. Each trip is a deep dive into the most delicious culinary happenings in each destination with a hands-on approach. Guests learn how food is made or learn how to make it themselves. She offers an insider’s look into the most influential kitchens and tasting rooms around the world from Morocco to India.

It’s hard to describe a Peggy Markel Culinary Adventure until you experience it for yourself. She has mastered a balanced rhythm and flow, and her deep, authentic relationships with locals allow you to feel like you’ve been dropped into an instant, welcoming circle of friends at the most interesting dinner party wherever you are. A true multi-hyphenate, Peggy’s trips are as wonderfully dynamic and soulful as she is. She plays the role of curator, translator, educator, poet and provides the context for guests to experience a perfect alchemy of place, people, and food. For Peggy, food is a pathway to deeper learning, self-nourishment, openness and connection.

When not traveling, she lives on the fourth floor of a 16th century Palazzo in the center of Florence as well as in a pied-à-terre in Boulder, Colorado to be near her family.

 

Our Philosophy

We welcome curious travelers who love to cook, chefs, food artisans, artists, poets, surgeons, bankers, gardeners, philosophers, therapists, teachers, pole dancers and anyone who has an open mind and appreciates good taste. Sharpened senses are a reflection of awareness; therefore, we see the world through a wide lens, open mind and heart, and yet in fine detail. Everything leans. It’s a circle game of connections, through a friend of a friend. That is one reason why the labyrinth, our new logo, is a good symbol for us, nothing short of cosmic.