by Helen Wolt
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Café Bleu in Downtown Delray Beach is located in the historic 1924 Masonic Lodge Building. Taste History features, on a rotation, Café Bleu.
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Through stops at eateries, local businesses and cultural districts, Durante connects the past with the present. Chefs serve samples of the dishes that illustrate the evolving foodscape. Artists and gallery owners address changes in the arts scene.
Each tour is unique, and the stops rotate like museum exhibits. Durante draws on years of experience as the founder of the nonprofit Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History, which puts on the tours (it currently operates without a gallery).
"Some places may reoccur… and new are introduced," Durante said. "As a cultural organization you can't stay the same or the programs can become stagnant."
Restaurants cover the themes of Floribbean, New Cuisine and Bakery Trail in each trip.
Recent stops in Delray included the Bamboo Fire Grill, Dee Dee's Conch & Rib Shack and Marianne Gourmet Shop. Galleries visited were the William DeBilzan and Artists Guild Gallery.
The stop at Café Bleu at 44 E. Atlantic Ave. in Delray is typical.
"It's in the historic Masonic Lodge building that was built in 1924," Durante said. "It's a wonderful combination of being surrounded by the history while you're having a tasting."
Christian Backenstrass, co-owner of Loic Autret French Bakery, enjoys meeting the groups and the atmosphere they bring into his shop, he said in an email.
"We push for the talent of local artisans and family-owned eateries," Durante said. She looks for hidden gems and those off the beaten path to showcase.
Durante started the Taste History Culinary Tours in 2011. The idea sparked as she watched Anthony Bourdain on television exploring countries through food, art and culture. She had been running a historical bus tour since 2004 and decided to start a food-centric excursion.
Her hunch about the rising popularity of food was spot on. The culinary tours have expanded to nearly every Saturday. As new cities are added, they've sold out for months in advance.
In 2014, a Huffington Post reviewer said the "tasty tour" was "chock full of Florida History." This fall, USA Today listed it as a"10 Best" attraction in West Palm Beach. Viva Florida, the state's heritage campaign, enlisted Taste History as a partner.
"You taste food, you taste art, you taste history," Durante said.
Tickets for the next Delray tour on Nov. 28 are $45. Visit TasteHistoryCulinaryTours.org or call 561-243-2662.
Copyright © 2015, Sun Sentinel
Click here to view news story at sun-sentinel.com
The non-profit Taste History Culinary Tours of Historic Palm Beach County, Florida has been designated one of the official community event partners for the State of Florida’s Viva Florida initiative.
The tour program includes bus riding and 4 to 6 blocks of walking. The mission of the tour includes incorporating education about food culture and food history with the food tastings thus dietary restrictions cannot be accommodated.
Taste History is sponsored, in part, by Macy’s. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Additional support for Taste History has been received from Kingston Fresh, Carl and Iris Apfel; and bequests from the late Patricia Ann Ravo and the late Boris & Edith Rueger.
For more information, call 561-243-2662 or 561-638-8277. Email tour@tastehistoryculinarytours.org
- Offered year-round
- Held on the first, second, third and fourth Saturdays at 11am
- At least 3 to 4 locally owned and family owned bakeries and eateries are visited for food tasting. Some cuisines may be culturally-specific. Most food portions are hearty.
- Cultural centers or emerging art and craft shops are visited
- Tour travels through historic neighborhoods, downtowns, main streets and off the beaten path.
- Bus riding and 4 to 6 blocks of walking
- Some eating experiences are standing-only.
- Tour is at least 3 to 4 hours
- Food and Florida history are narrated by a guide
- To maintain an element of surprise, each tour is different and never an exact duplication of any previous tour hosted.
- Private group tours are also available during the weekday
- Pre-payment is required. Fees are inclusive
- Tour takes place Rain or Shine.
- Dietary Restrictions Cannot be Accommodated. Click here to read about types of foods served on the tour.
- Taste History is a food tasting tour, with art and history combined, and although there is some sitting it's not a sit-down luncheon but many of the food portions are hearty and most people are full by the end of the tour.
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2016 Taste History
Dates:
Saturday, January 9,
2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, January 16,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, February 6,
2016 - West Palm Beach/Lake Worth
Saturday, February 13,
2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, February 20,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, February 27,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, March 12, 2016
- Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, March 19, 2016
- Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, April 9, 2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, April 16, 2016
- Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, April 23, 2016
- Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, May 7, 2016 -
West Palm Beach/Lake Worth
Saturday, May 14, 2016 -
Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, May 21, 2016 -
Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, May 28, 2016 -
Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, June 4, 2016 -
West Palm Beach/Lake Worth
Saturday, June 11, 2016
- Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, June 18, 2016
- Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, June 25, 2016
- Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, July 9, 2016 -
Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, July 16, 2016
- Delray Beach/Boynton
Saturday, July 23, 2016
- Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, August 6, 2015
- West Palm Beach/Lake Worth
Saturday, August 13,
2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, August 20,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, August 27,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, September 10,
2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, September 17,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, September 24,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, October 1,
2016 - West Palm Beach/Lake Worth
Saturday, October 8,
2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, October 15,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, October 22,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, November 5,
2016 - West Palm Beach/Lake Worth
Saturday, November 12,
2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, November 19,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, November 26,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Saturday, December 3,
2016 - West Palm Beach/Lake Worth
Saturday, December 10,
2016 - Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, December 17,
2016 - Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Taste History is an official Community Event Partner for the State of Florida's Viva Florida initiative to celebrate its history and culture:
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