Share Meals with Locals

Peer-to-peer food tourism gives travelers a chance to share a home cooked meal with locals. Think Airbnb for meals. In-home cooking classes, meals with families, and local market tours are just some of the opportunities available through peer to peer networks. In addition to great food, it’s a chance to chat with locals in a comfortable setting.

Of course you can always find good local food in restaurants. But these peer to peer food experiences avoid the restaurants and often take place outside of major tourist areas. You get a feel for life in a smaller neighborhood. Often these experiences start out with a shopping trip to a market where you might find that you’re the only foreigner. Then you spend time in your host’s kitchen, learning to prepare various local dishes. And once the meal is ready you eat with your host, and often with their family as well.

I have seen significant growth in peer to peer meals over the past 5 years. The delicious opportunities are now available all around the world.

TravelingSpoon is a leader in this field. After more than five years offering curated food experiences their focus on food is paying off with a growing network of excellent hosts and expansion around the globe. I’ve enjoyed meals through TravelingSpoon in Ethiopia, Manila, Tokyo, and Malaysia. I also tried out BonAppetour in Sweden.

While there are companies focused only on food tourism, increasingly peer to peer activities networks include food experiences. I enjoyed a farm tour and meal in Hanoi through WithLocals, a company offering a variety of peer to peer activities.

If you enjoy trying local foods and experiencing local culture, peer-to-peer food experiences are a great opportunity. You can find a list of all the companies facilitating these tours in my spreadsheet. Filter on the sub-category “food” and check out the Location column to find a match for your next trip.