About Us
Culinary Travel with Epicurean Ways
We believe that Spain has some of the best food and wine on the planet. Spanish cuisine, both traditional and the new cuisine born out of an impulse to modernize in the kitchen, makes Spain a fascinating culinary territory to explore.
Spain’s diversity of regional cuisines, outstanding artisanal foods, amazingly fresh products, and resistance to abandoning culinary traditions are what enrichen the culinary landscape. Traditional Spanish cooking, with techniques and recipes going back to Roman, Moorish and medieval Spain, survives amidst a modernizing frenzy. This collective preservation of the culinary heritage, and the concurrent 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 Travel Style
Travel with Epicurean Ways: Expertly guided trips offering travelers access to the best and the most authentic in Spanish food and wine travel experiences. Private guided visits and journeys with expert guides knowledgeable in the region’s food and wine. Boutique and luxury accommodations. Personalized experiences suited to you and your tastes.
Our travel style allows you to experience and immerse yourself in Spanish food and wine experiences, taking in the culinary traditions, cooking style, local ingredients and regionally produced wines. You will come to know the food and wines of the regions we explore. But what’s more, you will sit with the chef, share a glass of wine with the winemaker, taste local dishes and meet artisan food producers. The Spanish chefs and winemakers, artisanal food producers and food and wine specialists we work with are a vital part of your experience in Spain. You will be in the company of artists of the stove, of the vine and experts who are passionate about Spanish culinary products and traditions.
We derive great pleasure from arranging culinary and wine-focused trips that explore kitchens, markets, olive oil mills, vineyards, and restaurants. You will cook with renowned chefs, taste Spanish wines, visit wineries with the owners and winemakers, and discover the ingredients and flavors of Spanish cuisines. We know all of the guides and chefs we work with and we have visited all of the cooking schools, hotels and inns we use.
Epicurean Ways trips have a cultural as well as a culinary focus. We visit towns and sites of historical and artistic significance. We allow for free time so that you can visit museums, monuments or urban districts that are not included in the trip.
What is a trip with Epicurean Ways like? Most trips are an appealing combination of guided activities such as walking tours, winery visits and tastings, restaurant meals, cooking demonstrations, tapas tours, market visits, or cooking classes and free time for you to explore the places you are visiting. That means that you will have time on your own before or after a day’s activity. Most meals are included.
Who is an Epicurean Ways traveler? Everyone from wine professionals and chefs to travelers curious about Spain. We can guarantee you that the focus of your trip will be a culinary one.
Personalized Travel
We offer private trips tailored to your interests. A group of any size is ideal for custom travel. Contact us with your trip ideas.
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.
Who We Are
Jane Gregg
Epicurean Ways founder Jane Gregg has traveled and lived in Spain for the better part of two decades. After studying Spanish literature at La universidad Complutense in Madrid and the U.S., she worked as a Spanish professor and translator. Her interest in Spanish cuisines led her to move to Spain to research Spanish food and wine. 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. Jane is a Travel Advisory Board Memeber for Bon Appétit magazine.
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) and Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in 2009. His articles on Spanish gastronomy can be found in Decanter, Wine News, Food Arts 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.