Featured image: Food is a sensory experience that brings us deeper into culture / Photo from By NomadSoul1 n Envato

Culinary travel helps us delve deeper into culture

What better way to experience a new culture and forge lasting connections than exploring the universal language of food?

Whether you dream of eating in a Michelin-star restaurant in France, looking for local ingredients in markets in Mexico or foraging for wild truffles in the Croatian wilderness, our goal is to help make culinary exploration part of your travels.  We’ll also answer your questions about culinary travel, like: how do you find local food experiences and tours?  How do you decide what to eat in a way that respects the local culture?  Do you really have to be a foodie to understand food and culture? How do you find the most authentic food experiences? And more! 

In this webinar, our panelists will offer thoughtful insights, practical tips, and firsthand experiences that empower you to explore the world—one bite at a time. So, grab your passport and your sense of adventure—let’s embark on a journey where every meal tells a story.

Webinar details: Culinary Travel, hosted by Maureen Littlejohn

Date: Monday, February 24, 2025

When: 7 pm EST (check local time zones here)

Where: Zoom! Sign up below for the link. Capacity is 100 women. The session will be recorded and shared on our YouTube channel for those who can’t join us. As always, participants are welcome to share their experiences and ask questions.

These webinars are offered to all women at no charge, but we are asking for your support to pay our hosts and team who help produce these. Please consider supporting our efforts to help women travel safely and well here. 

Our expert panelists

For this event, we’ve invited culinary travel writer Maureen Littlejohn to host, alongside  experts from our Women’s Travel Directory who specialize in culinary trips to France, Croatia, Mexico and other places around the world. A very special thank you to Explore France/ Atout France for joining and supporting this event.

Mélanie Paul-Hus , Explore France

Find more culinary opportunities on the Explore France /Atout France website. 

Speaker Biographies

Maureen Littlejohn is  JourneyWoman’s culinary travel writer. Maureen is a curious Sagittarius who loves to delve into the cultures, traditions and beauty of countries around the world. An award-winning travel journalist, she has worked in Canada, the United States, Africa, and Vietnam. Her articles have appeared in CNN Global Travel, nationalgeographic.com, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Panoram Italia, USA Today’s 10 Best and of course, JourneyWoman. She is on the board of SATW (Society of American Travel Writers), and the World Food Travel Association and is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC).

Steena Holmes is a New York Times & USA Today best-selling author who creates personal, memorable experiences as a host of Sweet Tours with Women’s Travel Directory partner Tours with Absolutely.

Kris Rudolph is the founder of Mexico-based Delicious Expeditions, believes in the art of eating well. From pizza slathered in truffle cream in an off-the-beaten-track Tuscan village to the simplicity of an oyster pulled from the cold waters of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Coast, she’ll share her discoveries, as well as her culinary secrets and obscure travel-related knowledge.

Wanda Srdoc is a culinary expert and owner of Toronto-based ROOT44, curating private, all-inclusive, small-group tours, connecting food lovers and travellers alike with Croatia’s most treasured ingredients at their source.

Mélanie Paul-Hus is the Director for Canada / Directrice au Canada at Atout France – France Tourism Development Agency, a role she has held since 2017. Based in Montreal, she joined Maison de la France now Atout France in 2007, was promoted to Deputy Director in 2012 and became interim director in 2016.

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