About Us

Culinary Travel with Epicurean Ways

We believe that Spain has some of the best food on the planet. The cooking alone, both traditional and the cocina de vanguardia–the new cuisine born out of an impulse to modernize in the kitchen–makes Spain a gastronome’s ideal territory to explore. This is due in part to the diversity of the regional cuisines, in part to Spain’s outstanding artisanal foods, and in part to a certain resistance to abandoning the old ways. Traditional Spanish cooking, with techniques and recipes going back to Roman, Moorish and medieval Spain, survives amidst a modernizing frenzy. This collective preservation of a culinary heritage, and the simultaneous establishment of an ultra-modern culinary movement, make Spanish food not only some of the best food on the planet, but also some of the most exciting.

Our commitment at Epicurean Ways is to connect you with authentic traditional Spanish food and wine and to arrange memorable gastronomic experiences. We are long-time students of Spain and everything culinary and vine-related. We derive great pleasure from sharing that knowledge with you and, more importantly, in arranging culinary and wine-focused trips that show you the highlights and some of the off-the-beaten-track places that make up culinary Spain. Our personal connections with Spanish chefs and winemakers, ham producers and cheese makers are second to none.

We share with you the pleasures of the Spanish table by exploring kitchens, markets, olive oil mills, vineyards, and restaurants. We take you off the beaten track to places where innovative winemaking methods pose a counterpoint to traditional regional cuisines, where avant-garde cuisines are created in 15th-century stone houses. Whether it’s a behind-the-kitchen-door cooking class with a renowned chef, a bodega tour with the vintner, a visit to an olive oil mill or a private tapas tour, you will find authentic traditional Spanish cuisine.

Our trips have a cultural focus as well. We visit towns and sites of historical and artistic significance. Our favorite places include Barcelona and the surrounding wine regions and medieval villages of Catalunya; the Rioja wine region; San Sebastián and the Basque country; Madrid and the historic surrounding towns of Toledo, Chinchón, Segovia, Pedraza and Avila; Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba, Cádiz and the white hill towns of Andalucía; and the many villages and wine regions across the Peninsula where the ingredients are astonishingly fresh, local and cooked with care.

Sustainable Travel

We support sustainable travel by working with local providers of food, wine, cooking classes and producers of artisanal foods. In doing so, we may help to preserve the unique food and wine cultures of the regions we explore. We belong to Sustainable Travel International.

Who We Are

Jane Gregg

Founder Jane Gregg has traveled and lived in Spain for the better part of two decades. After studying Spanish literature in Spain and the U.S., she worked as a Spanish professor and translator. Her interest in Spanish cuisines led her to adopt a regional approach to culinary travel in Spain. She has lived in Cádiz, Pontevedra, Madrid, Barcelona, and the Costa Brava, and now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the heart of Virginia’s wine country. She shares the guiding of the food and wine tours with American gastronomy specialist Gerry Dawes and local culinary experts in Spain.

Gerry Dawes

Gerry Dawes is a leading writer on Spanish food and wine and recipient of Spain’s Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award). His articles on Spanish gastronomy can be found in Decanter, Wine News, Foods From Spain and on the Culinary Institute of America’s website Worlds of Flavor Spain. Gerry has spent many years traveling throughout Spain researching Spanish food and wine and leading culinary tours. When not in Spain, he can be found in New York.

George Semler

George has written guidebooks on Barcelona, Madrid and Andalucía, and writes on Spain for Saveur, Food and Wine and Spain Gourmetour. George’s first book was BarcelonaWalks, and it is appropriate that he leads our walking tours of Barcelona. Having lived in Barcelona for 30 years, George shares his expert knowledge of the city and its history, from the iconic Ramblas to the backalleys of the Ciutat Viella.

Rachel Ritchie

Rachel came to Catalunya years ago to study the history and the languages of the region. Now firmly ensconced in the Priorat and Montsant wine regions, she expertly introduces us to the best wines, olive oils, botigas de carnissers, restaurants and chefs. Rachel seems to know everyone in the region, allowing her to tailor your visit to your desires.

Gonçal Portabella

Gonçal is our Catalunya walking and biking expert. Hailing from the volcanic lands of the Garrotxa, he designs and leads walking and biking tours in the Priorat, Montsant and Empordà regions of Catalunya.

Jordi Sabater

Jordi guides us through the Baix Empordà region north of Barcelona. An expert in art–especially in the work of Salvador Dalí–and in the medieval architecture of northern Catalunya, food and wine trips with Jordi and always accompanied by the historical background of the area. Jordi also knows Barcelona extremely well, and leads tours in Catalunya’s capital city.

Our Chefs

Willy Moya

Willy trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, worked as a chef in both Paris and London before coming to Sevilla to open the highly acclaimed restaurant, Pocio. Willy’s signature cuisine is based on traditional Spanish cooking with a creative flair. Willy teaches our cooking classes in Sevilla.

Vicenç Fajardo

Vicenç grew up in Australia and has lived in the Empordà region of Catalunya since coming to Girona years ago to begin his culinary studies. His restaurant in La Plaça de Madremanya serves inspired traditional Catalan cuisine. Vicenç teaches our cooking classes on the Catalan Cooking in the Empordà program.

Alicia Juanpere

Alicia spent many years as a professional dancer in Barcelona before turning her attention to her other love–cooking. She has been teaching Catalan cooking for many years in Barcelona and Masroig, in the Montsant wine region of Catalonia. Alicia teaches our cooking classes in Barcelona and in the Priorat.

Conxa Guisset

Conxa’s Catalan cooking shows pride and an artist’s touch. Following Conxa’s lead you sail effortlessly through Catalan recipes resulting in a three-course meal you’ve only dreamed of. You will ask yourself how those flavors could emerge from cooking that on the surface was so simple.Conxa teaches our cooking classes on the Costa Brava.