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Food tasting and tours on RedBalloon take you through city laneways, working markets and farms, with a tasting at every stop. Follow truffle dogs through a farm near Oberon, or spend a morning behind the scenes at a Perth bakery and dairy. Book a date for one tour, or give a voucher and let them pick the city.
At Sydney Fish Market, a seafood expert walks you through seven seasonal tastings, and at Coffin Bay you pull on waders and learn to shuck your own oysters. Many are led by a local guide who knows the traders by name, so you can eat well without planning the route.
The Queen Victoria Market foodie tour is a two-hour walk with generous samples and stories about the traders who have been there longest. The Melbourne gourmet food tour threads through the laneways and arcades with five tastings at five stops, and the Flavours of Melbourne night trail turns Chinatown and the city after dark into a progressive meal across four stops.
The Sydney Fish Market tasting tour pairs the seven tastings with a drink of your choice. For street food, the Chinatown tour stops at four food counters and ends with a map of where to eat next, and in Newtown the street art and food tour ends with a brewery paddle. Inland near Oberon, the RedGround Truffles hunt sends you out with truffle dogs, then back for truffled canapés and sparkling wine. The Southern Highlands trail pass is self-guided, with five tastings to spend across more than 15 producers.
The Adelaide Central Market has a market breakfast tour, a lunch version and a 90-minute discovery walk. The Adelaide food walking tour hands out samples of fritz, Haigh's chocolate and frog cakes before a market lunch. At Coffin Bay, the oyster farm tour starts with waders and a shucking lesson, then serves six oysters, four Spencer Gulf prawns and a glass of Riesling, sparkling or beer. In the Barossa, Maggie Beer's Farm pairs a cooking demonstration with a seasonal lunch.
Perth's market and makers food tour gets you into the wholesale food markets before the city wakes up, then on to breakfast, a chocolatier and a seafood tasting. The artisan bakery and dairy tour visits an urban mill and the oldest dairy in WA. At Mandurah, hauling in cray pots of Western Rock Lobster leads into a seven-course seafood lunch. In Tasmania, the Bruny Island food tour combines a ferry crossing, Cape Bruny Lighthouse and a beach picnic of oysters and cheese.
For someone who already eats well, give them a place they haven't been: a morning in the Adelaide Central Market with a market breakfast, or a truffle hunt with the dogs doing the digging.
Check diets before you buy, because some tours cannot cater for them. A RedBalloon gift voucher lets the recipient pick a tour that suits their diet, their city and their calendar.
A food tour is a guided visit to several producers, stalls or kitchens, with a tasting at each stop. The Melbourne gourmet tour has five tastings at five stops, and the Sydney Chinatown tour covers four food stops with a map of recommended restaurants to take home. Some, like the Southern Highlands pass, are self-guided, so you choose the order and the pace.
Food tours are listed for Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane, with regional options such as the Daintree in Queensland, Oberon in New South Wales and Bruny Island in Tasmania. In Brisbane, the Founding Flavours Trail is a small-group walk limited to 8 guests, and it runs in light rain.
It depends on the tour, so check before you book. The Melbourne gourmet tour offers vegetarian and vegan substitutions, and the Melbourne night trail says all dietary requirements can be catered for. The Queen Victoria Market tour cannot cater for specific requirements, and the Adelaide walking food tour is not suitable for vegans or people with intolerances.
Not much on the city tours. The Melbourne gourmet tour is described as suitable for most ages and fitness levels; the Sydney Chinatown tour covers about 30 minutes of walking over 1.25km, the Melbourne foodie culture walking tour about 30 to 40 minutes in total, and the Melbourne night trail 40 to 45 minutes between four stops. The full-day Perth tours add a bus, which you get on and off several times.
Some tours welcome them. The Newtown street art and food tour suits all ages, including teenagers; the Sydney Chinatown tour is recommended from 8, and the Bruny Island tour starts at 5. The Perth full-day food tours are 18 and over, and the Coffin Bay oyster farm experience includes smaller oyster portions for children.
A food tour lets you taste what other people make, and a cooking class has you make it. The cooking demonstration at Maggie Beer's Farm sits between the two, with hands-on cooking and a seasonal lunch. If you would rather cook, browse the classes where you make the food.
For a single drink, look at wine tasting and winery tours, beer tasting or whiskey and gin tasting. To cook rather than taste, see cooking classes, and for an outdoor meal, try a picnic or time on a farm.