Celebrities cook up delicious vacations : Tour companies invite star chefs to create rare travel experiences
Chef Choi Hyun-suk talks to travelers on a packaged trip by Hana Tour. He is scheduled to take another trip with the company next month to Hokkaido, Japan. [HANA TOUR]
Dreams don’t often come true, but the fantasy of having a private chef is now a possibility for those ready to take a trip overseas.
With many chefs having appeared on popular TV shows and becoming celebrities in their own right, local travel agencies are introducing packaged tours featuring big name chefs who come along for the tour. On these trips, the chefs meet the tourists in exotic places overseas, cook for them and make some time to chat.
What’s hot right now is a trip to Hokkaido with chef Choi Hyun-suk, a star from the hit JTBC show “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator” and currently the executive chef at the restaurant CHOI. in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. Hana Tour put together this package after previous trips with the same chef drew a huge response. The 300-person tour will have groups leaving every day from Aug. 23 to 27.
“We think the package will be sold out by next week, only about a month after the tour was released,” said an official with the public relations team at Hana Tour.
“Not only being able to taste the chef’s food, but also the idea of meeting them in person and feeling their charm created a satisfying experience for those who come on these tours.”
On the trip, guests will be served pasta with salmon, steak seared with Japanese soybean paste and much more, and Choi will explain the details of his dishes on the spot. The tour to Hokkaido with chef Choi Hyun-suk starts at 1.2 million won ($1,070).
Hana Tour started offering packaged trips with chefs in March, with chef Oh Se-deuk accompanying a group going to Da Nhang, Vietnam. Since then Choi and Oh have taken turns joining travelers on trips to Thailand, Guam and Saipan.
Food prepared by chef Oh Se-deuk is ready to be served in Guam. [HANA TOUR]
These packages are particularly popular among families who are looking to make their memorable for their younger children - many of which are fans of celebrity chefs - as well as groups of friends trip looking to find ways to enjoy food and make memories in new ways.
The company has also gone further by mixing sports and food to appeal to a wider range of travelers. It is inviting Chef Oh to its golf tour in China this September, and whoever joins will not only get a chance to eat some of Oh’s dishes.
Mode Tour, another tour agency, did a trip in May which brought people to restaurants that have received accolades from the Michelin Guide, one of the world’s most notable culinary guides.
It invited chef and writer Park Joon-woo, who also became popular after being featured on “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator,” to join the tour and give the tour group culinary insights about some of the top restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau.
BY LEE SUN-MIN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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