Destination Kitchen

My family, including 2 teenagers, really enjoyed the Destination Kitchen food/​culture tour. Our guide Phillipe, a retired chef who has lived in NOLA for 50 years, was a wealth of knowledge. Our only suggestions are for Phillips to speak louder, try to finish in 3 hours (our tour lasted close to 4 hours), and to make sure that key information is conveyed to all tour Members.

This was so much fun. Our tour guide provided so much history about New Orleans cuisine and culture. We had no idea there has been so many influences from so many different cultures that have created the one of a kind culture you find in New Orleans. The food was excellent and a wonderful way to try the foods. The tour guide was a retired chef so he knows the good places to go.

We had a wonderful time with our food guide, Wanda. A great way to sample some of the best food in New Orleans & learn history, too.
We LOVED it & highly recommend it to others!!!

Had a great time strolling around the French Quarter with Julie and the group! We went to all kinds of neat places that I never would have found on my own. I loved that we got a taste of so many places; they all seemed to know her and welcome her back — I felt like a regular!
All the food was awesome, as were the drinks! And I loved the historical and background information — three of my favorite things in a fun, colorful city.
I would recommend this to anyone thinking about it — a great way to get an overview of the city via food, drinks, and history.

We did the food tour on Carrollton Street in New Orleans. The thing that really made our tour special was the guide, Lisa S. She was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, friendly, and outgoing. In addition to becoming familiar with the neighborhood we toured, she also made some great suggestions as to how we might spend the rest of our trip, based on our particular tastes and interests. Lisa had just the right personality for her line of work. We always enjoy food tours when we visit cities, and this one was no exception.

I found out about this three hour New Orleans food tour last minute, but luckily, we were still able to get in, and as it turned out there were only 4 people in our group, plus our tour guide.
Our tour guide Wanda was very nice, and had obviously memorized the history she needed to — plus had her note cards to assist her at each stop. I was just hoping for a more personal experience from the guide’s point of view kind of tour. I got the impression that she didn’t really know that much about places that weren’t on her notecards — and I’m the kind of foodie that has questions about most restaurants.
I love that our stops included places in the French Market that were surprisingly good. We had never eaten there, assuming the food would be too «touristy», but the gumbo, muffaletto, and praline we had from there were excellent. The mimosa was also a pleasant treat. We even went back the next day to buy pralines as gifts for friends. Another stop I loved was for sweet potato biscuits-​great place we never knew to try. The only stop that seemed like a sales plug was the chocolate/​gelato store. Our samples were tasty, but little.
The owner of the company, Julie is awesome — we met her doing a cooking demonstration the day before, and I would love to take a food tour with her. I would definitely utilize this company again, as long as I could ensure Julie was my guide.

A good food tour of Nawlin’s staples, good local color, and some unique surprises along the way. We got to taste beignets, muffaletta, gumbo, mimosas, sole dessert, pralines, po’boy, gelato, chocolates, and artists studio. We found some amazing food and some decadent desserts. We’ll return to eat at the French Market again (muffalettas and gumbo)…and Tujague’s (po’boy). I wish there were less sweets void of nutrition… but they’re favorites for most. The mimosas should have been sazeracs, hurricanes or some Nawlin’s specialty. The tour was small and intimate. Another food tour was big and unwieldy… but popular. It lasted at least 3 hours. I wish we had gone to a pepper/​spice shop. I could have done without the pricey gelato/​chocolate shop. The pricey tea shop should have given samples or a discount. The cookbook shop was interesting ($ 5 spices). All in all we stopped by at least 10 places. The «goodie bag» at the end of the tour was too sad (free grocery flyer mag and M&M’s, taffy, Hershey kisses). Thank goodness there was a Unilocal coupon for $ 49/​ea.

This is one of the best tourist decisions I have made. We had lousy weather, but our guide Wanda’s warmth overcame it. Great stories, cultural history and delicious food. And no problem accommodating a vegetarian. Be sure to come hungry.

Had the opportunity to join Destination Kitchen on one of their Eat Local Challenge Tours back in June. It was a fun experience. Half way through the tour, it started raining but our tour guide didn’t let the rain get in the way of great time. We visited Fulton Alley, The Green Goddess on Exchange Alley & Tableau, all the food and drinks were delicious. Will definitely book another Destination Kitchen tour again.

Although I’ve taken the St. Charles tour before, yesterday was a different experience. We went to some of the same places and some new ones and got a taste of different things. Had a fantastic time and met fantastic people, chefs, bartenders and fellow participants alike.

As a local I got to learn about the history of the city, as well as to try different restaurants that I didn’t know before. Julie is very passionate and eager to share the love of the city with you! Overall the tour was a good balance between tasting new orleans food and learning about its history.

Destination Kitchen’s St Charles Ave food tour was a surprisingly great experience. Julie, the owner, has built relationships with chefs, bartenders and shop owners that make this a cut above food tours I’ve taken in other cities. We felt welcome at every stop. I’m really glad I didn’t do the «oh I’m local I’m sure I’ve been there already» thing and let my company go without me. I hadn’t been to all the places. I’ve been back though :-)
Our tour was a mix of history, food tasting (po-​boys, pralines, Irish food, Thai sliders); and talks and demos and tastings from very knowledgeable bartenders.
I would definitely take company on this tour again. Next time we’ll take the streetcar and enjoy all the bar tastings even more.