Too many people view food as mere fuel. Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, as a high-end art form involving tiny bites of obscure ingredients and cooking methods. What both of these groups miss is that there is a whole wide world between these two extremes.
Food is fuel, and it can be high art. Food is also Culture. It’s the chance to travel the world from your dining table. More and more cookbooks today are as much travel guides and personal memoirs of growing up in different countries and cultures as they are recipe books.
Food can also be an adventure. From trying a new-to-you dish as simple but iconic as Greek roasted lemon chicken and potatoes to the more exotic şırdan, spiced rice, and intestine-stuffed sheep stomach, of Turkey’s Anatolia, trying new foods can be an exciting part of travel.
That firmly held belief is what makes gastro-tourism as important to Roots Adventure Travel co-founder Rikki Roath as are the company’s various hiking tours and cycling holidays.
Rikki Roath
Rikki Roath is many things: wanderer, chef, TV show host, linguist, and explorer, but foremost a believer that food is the heart of culture.
Growing up in the northern American state of North Dakota, Rikki would not have found much to spark her interest in foreign languages, cuisines, and cultures. One of America’s more isolated states, it’s not known for its cultural diversity. As far as the food…mostly what anyone outside associates the state with are Scandinavian and German dishes like lutefisk (Google it, we dare you) inspired by the state’s early settlers.
Despite this, Rikki showed an early fascination for foreign cultures and food. She started inventing her own recipes as young as 10 years old! This allure led her to Berkeley, CA, where she seriously studied culinary arts. She went on to work in various restaurants but soon realized that this work nourished only half her soul. She had the food but missed the travel.
For a time, Rikki gave up her chef’s whites to travel, visiting dozens of countries. Eventually, she landed in Turkey. It was here that she finally managed to combine her loves for travel, food, and culture. As a chef, host of travel and cooking shows, and co-founder of Roots Adventure Travel, Rikki immerses herself in the culinary traditions of Turkey, past and present.
Cuisine at Its Core
Gastronomic tourism isn’t new. But Roots Adventure Travel takes it to a new level by connecting its guests to the heart of food.
“Food is multifaceted. Food is history and happiness. Food is tradition and innovation. Food is beauty and nourishment. And most of all, food should be full of soul. From the farmer who grew it and the chef who cooked it to the family and friends joining you at the table, the most delicious taste imaginable is the taste of passion, love, and care.”
The Roots Kitchen
With Rikki at the helm and working with other experts in food and wine, Roots Travel Adventure offers many opportunities to explore the cuisines and experience the cultures of both Turkey and Greece.
Turkey, in particular, has a misunderstood cuisine, often associated with the assumption that there’s only kebab. While there is a lot of kebab (many, many different kinds!), there is so much more. With Roots Travel Adventure culinary tours, you enter a world where food and wine take center stage, immersing you in the culinary heart of each destination.
On these gastronomic explorations, you will connect with the people and places in Turkey and Greece by experiencing their flavors. Wander through local markets and meet the people behind the local agriculture. Sample spices as warm as Turkish hospitality and marvel at the fresh flavors of dinner pulled out of the Aegean. Sip on stories of wines that were ancient even before Homer’s Odysseus went on his epic journey.
Of the many food excursions that Rikki has curated, some of our favorites include:
- Wineries and traditional food of Ikaria.
- Meze and raki in Bodrum.
- Milas farmer’s market.
- Restaurants of Sifnos and Tinos, blending tradition with modernity.
- Private dinner in Ihlara Valley (Cappadocia).
- Dining with the locals in Crete.
What are you waiting for? Join us on a delicious discovery of cuisine and culture.
