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Join Alberta Food Tours in September, 2020 for this once in a lifetime Alberta road trip There are as many ways to explore Alberta as there are range and township roads criss-crossing the province. But, how many of us have the time to plan a trip to truly get to know this beautiful place? We dream of meeting Alberta’s leading edge food artisans and tourism entrepreneurs but don’t know how to make the connections? We search for meals brimming with Alberta’s signature foods and end up settling for roadside fast food. We long to slow down and soak up the beauty of this land but are too busy navigating life to take it all in. Finally, here’s a trip where you just have to show up and every detail has already been taken care of for you.   DAY #1…

We are celebrating! For six summers now, we’ve kept two beehives with the help of our mentor Eliese Watson the founder of Apiaries and Bees for Communities . Five years ago we moved the bees to the garden of our business partner Rouge Restaurant in Inglewood and both the garden and the bees are better for it. Rouge owners Paul Rogalski and Olivier Reynaud say that the bees have clearly doubled the pollination and harvest yield of their garden. Last year, we harvested 80 pound of honey from our two hives and left that much more for the bees to overwinter on. Beekeeping is a skill that requires mentoring.   As president of Alberta Food Tours, I was moved to start keeping bees when I heard that although large commercial scale bees were suffering colony collapse disorder, urban bees, with…

Someone asked me recently, what is Alberta Food Tours’ competition in Edmonton? A light bulb went off over my head. I realized our competition in Edmonton isn’t other food tour companies. Edmonton has lots of room for others to join our celebration of the local food scene. Nope, that’s not it. Our biggest competition is…

2019 is a year where Alberta Food Tours is recognized for our ability to create unforgettable moments for visitors. First, in February, Destination Canada designated our Inglewood Edibles: Made by Mavericks tour as a Canadian Signature Experience (CSE). Now, in partnership with the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (FBSH), our Eat the Castle tour has just received the same designation. This means that these tours are part of Destination Canada’s permanent collection of must-see, must-do experiences for visitors to Canada. Travel Alberta explains that “CSE is a curated collection of over 200 unforgettable travel experiences offered by Canadians who are passionate to share their extraordinary part of the country with international visitors. The program helps change international perceptions of travelling within Canada and broaden the view of what Canada has to offer.” Marty Eberth, Vice President of Travel Alberta adds, “Visitors…

This is it! It’s time to ramp up our food tour season across Alberta. Here are the top five things we’re looking forward to sharing with you this year. We’ve got three new world-class chefs to work with – Robert Ash, Ashley Cawdle and Dwayne Ennest. Murietta’s Mountain Grill has joined our newest tasting experience on our Canmore Tasting Trail. Our Inglewood tour in Calgary is designated as a Canadian Signature Experience by Destination Canada. We are going to host our first ever #EatAlbertaFirst dinner in partnership with Rouge Restaurant and ABC bees in July. It’ll feature a multi-course honey-themed dinner in honour of the two beehives we keep at Rouge. Soon, we’ll announce a four night, five-day #EatAlbertaFirst trip to discover the secret gems of Southern Alberta. It’ll be October 3 – 7. Subscribing to our newsletter will get…

There is no offseason The nicest thing has happened. We don’t really have an off-season anymore. In the photos above, you see our guide Nora Comerford-Seto with Santa on our last tour of 2018 at the Fairmont Banff Springs on December 21. The photo beside it is a private tour we did for ATB in Canmore on January 6. Hallelujah! It was great to only have three weeks as our offseason. Quiet activities Overall, November to April are quieter than May through October when we are in full swing. That’s important for me as a business owner and serial entrepreneur. I also have a writing and publishing company and a spice box importing company and am currently working on a new South Indian cookbook. I need some balancing time to pursue these other passions and to take care of myself….

THE MAKING OF A CANADIAN SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE – YOU’VE GOT TO START SOMEWHERE When I started Alberta Food Tours in 2006, I focused on tours that showcased the breadth and depth of Calgary’s diverse food scene. I’d hire a van and driver to transport guests to all four corners of the city. We captured tastes…

Tantalizing Tastes of Thailand – January 12 -26, 2020 – NOW SOLD OUT! ATTENTION: this tour is now sold out. Watch for other tours coming soon. Join Alberta Food Tours’ guide and Edmonton Journal writer, Liane Faulder for this sumptuous taste of the food and culture of Northern Thailand. Thirteen nights of luxurious accommodation, 38…

Thought for the year – “There is only success.”  Sadhguru Summary AFT conducted 373 tours in 2018. We served close to 2000 guests. We employed 20 guides. Corporate tour clients included: DIRTT, ATB, Bennett-Jones, Restaurants Canada, Focus on the Family, Pinnacle Renewable Energy, Crystal Dental, Pensak Houghton Dental, Caldwell, Enbridge, and Backstreet Creative January AFT became a member of Banff Lake Louise Tourism. There is lots of travel throughout Alberta meeting with all our vendor partners to review the previous year, scout new partners as needed, and plan for the new year. February Launched both our Craving Kensington tour and the Calgary Farmers’ Market tour for the year this month. Our operations manager Callandra Caufield attended a Travel Alberta tourism development conference called “SHiFT” to help us develop a new culinary experience in Banff. March AFT featured in The New…

Travel is the theme of this year’s Christmas Gift list for Alberta Food Lovers I’ve got travel on the brain. It’s always there and it’s usually fighting for attention with my other great love – FOOD!  I’ve brokered a peace between these two great passions by calling myself a food traveller. Are you with me? A food traveller is defined as someone who would travel across town or around the globe to experience food and/or drink. It’s a pretty inclusive definition and I’ll bet since you are reading this, you are like me, a food traveller. Here’s some great ideas to whet your whistle and inspire you to keep on exploring Alberta and the world. 1 – Make the vegan on your list happy In Calgary, you can drive across town to stock up on vegan goodies from the freezer at…

  What’s your business model, cash flow projection, break even point and profitability targets? Questions like this used to make my head spin. If I’m honest, they still do. But now, I just take a deep gulp of fresh air and dive in and figure it out – with the help of the wonderful team I now work with. You see, for the first few decades of my working life I was a Nurse Practitioner. I never needed to think about the bottom line let alone marketing or advertising. In the health care biz, people were always lined up out the door. It was gratifying career caring for people and helping them manage their diseases. Until the day it wasn’t. Something changed in me. I developed a deep desire to work with healthy people and help them stay that way….

Today, we want to gift you with these holiday party ideas for your favourite small group. Whether you are celebrating with a small group of friends, family or your work team, these ideas are a sure way to factor in some festive fun and keep your bank account jolly at the same time. The list is mostly nice, not too naughty, definitely novel and filled with affordable party ideas.   1. Beer and Bowling Breweries like National on 10th in Calgary have a bowling alley and, they take bookings in advance.  High Rollers in Banff features both beer and pizza – yum. And in Edmonton, try third generation owned Plaza Bowling for their Pints and Pins lanes. Go all out and have team bowling shirts made. Who knows, this could be your new brainstorming centre. 2. Nosh a Neighbourhood  Our Craving Kensington or Savour 17 SW…