Like Travel? Like Wine? Then you'll love

If you like food & wine, you will love this...

Publisher of the Restaurant Guide of Kansas City, Kathy Denis, a French government certified tour guide in the Bordeaux area in the 1990s, decided to lead twice-yearly culinary tours three years ago. Her husband is from France, and after their marriage, they moved to Kansas City and started publishing the restaurant guide.

     “We had always given advice on travelling to France and helped people plan their vacations. While on a family trip to France in 2012, we decided to ‘officially’ share our knowledge, experience, and personal contacts in France by launching a sister-business called Global Culinary Escapades,” explained Kathy.

     The main area they focus on is the city of Bordeaux, its surrounding vineyards including the town of St. Emilion, and the Dordogne Valley, including the medieval town of Sarlat. Kathy Pelz (Kansas City) and two former Dames have been among the 15 travelers on each tour.

     “We have personally known for years many of the artisans and restaurants that we visit, so the biggest challenge in planning tours is narrowing down the places where we can actually take people on the tours because of time constraints. There are so many fantastic artisans passionate about what they do and amazing places to visit with such rich history that we could easily spend a lot more time in each area,” said Kathy.

     Unusual things sometimes happen during tours. Kathy relates, “We were having dinner in a private room of a castle that had a fire lit in the fireplace, large candelabras and candles everywhere, and it was thundering and lightening When the server left the room, we decided that the atmosphere was more authentic without the electric lights from the chandelier so we turned them off! She was surprised upon returning and thought there was a problem with the electricity. We convinced her that we were perfectly fine without the electric lights on and finished our meal in a completely medieval atmosphere. Also, I ran into French movie star Franck Dubosc when we were visiting Sarlat’s Saturday market and got my picture taken with him.”

     Foods typical of the region where Kathy takes her tours are oysters, foie gras, confit de canard, red wine, canelés (small dessert cakes from Bordeaux), black truffles (from Perigord), and cèpe mushrooms.

     Pleased guests wrote, “We saw and did so much that the trip now seems magical.” “Wow – beyond my expectations with a surprise around every corner.” “Fabulous trip of a lifetime.”

More information click here or 913.766.8067