Since 2000
Twenty-five years at the table
A quarter-century of eating at the world's best tables — and the relationships that opened every door.
As seen in
A Note From Our Founder
“I started Gourmet On Tour because the best meals of my life were never on an itinerary. They happened at someone's kitchen table, in a village no guidebook mentioned, because a friend picked up the phone. Twenty-five years on, that is still the only thing we sell — the table you would never have found on your own.”
— Judith von Prockl, Founder
Our Story
How it began
In 2000 I was travelling for the food and finding the same thing everywhere: beautiful brochures, careful itineraries, and not one meal worth remembering. The cooks I wanted to learn from weren't in any catalogue. The cellars I loved didn't take bookings. So I started doing it the only way I trusted — by going myself, eating at every table, and only sending guests where I had already been welcomed.
What began as a handful of trips for friends grew, slowly and entirely by word of mouth, into a quarter-century of relationships. A nonna in Puglia who now expects me each spring. A Burgundy domaine that opens its barrels for us and no one else. Forty destinations, and not one of them chosen from a desk. Every door we open was opened to me first.
Gourmet On Tour has never been about ticking off restaurants. Food is simply the most honest way I know to understand a place and the people in it. Our groups stay small, our plans stay personal, and what I want every guest to carry home isn't a photograph of a famous dish — it's the feeling of having been let in.
How We Work
What sets us apart
01
Access most travellers never find
The Basque society that admits no outsiders. The cellar that doesn't advertise. The kitchen that has never taken a walk-in. Over twenty-five years Judith's address book has become the thing we actually offer — and on your journey, it opens for you.
02
Built from lived experience
Every destination has been visited in person, every recommendation earned at the table rather than read in a brochure. Twenty-five years of eating, cooking and travelling sit behind even the smallest detail of your itinerary.
03
Genuinely small groups
Six guests on average, ten at the very most. It isn't a marketing line — it's the only size at which a chef will cook with you rather than for a crowd, and the reason our guests come home with stories no large tour could promise.
The Ingredients
What goes into every journey.
The Table
Amazing Food & Wine
From Michelin-starred kitchens to a Tuscan farmhouse table, every meal is chosen for what it reveals about a place. Our wine access runs far deeper than any public tour.
The People
Our Chefs & Guides
Eclectic, generous, and extraordinarily well-connected — these are the people who know which door to knock on and who answers. They are the heart of every itinerary.
The Places
Destinations & Culture
Every location is chosen for its character, not its profile. The goal is always the same: to make you feel like an invited guest rather than a tourist passing through.
The Stay
Where You'll Stay
Converted farmhouses, private chateaux, family-owned hotels where the owner knows your name. We know which rooms are the best in each property — and which cellar they'll open for you.
Our Credentials
Recognised, trusted, and well-connected
Awards & Recognition
World's Best Culinary Tour Operator
World Culinary Awards · 2024
World's Best Culinary Tour Operator
World Culinary Awards · 2023
Top Travel Specialists
Condé Nast Traveler · 2025
Experts' Choice
Saveur Culinary Travel Awards · 2013
Women Travel Leaders
Member
Reader Awards
Food & Travel Magazine · 2014
Pure Life Experiences
Member Since 2013
Takumians
Network Member
Trusted By
Michelin
Mastercard
BNP Paribas
Disney
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