Boston Chocolate Tour of Back Bay

Our exclusive 2 ½-hour walking tour highlights The Back Bay – affluent Boston at its best, boasting landmarks like Copley Square, the Prudential Center, and the Public Library. This historic area is rich in culture, architecture – and of course, fine chocolate. Learn the history and life of chocolate, how luxury chocolates are created, and much more. We can think of no more fun way to spend a Saturday morning among friends than to peruse boutiques on Newbury Street, stroll down Boylston Street learning about and enjoying chocolate.

Here are some of our destinations where you can experience the best chocolate in Boston:

• Feature Stop: Hotel Chocolat – A trendy European cocoa grower who manages production from bean to bar in their private tasting room.
• Wondering where to get Boston’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie – get it here!
• Tour the chocolate world in a cozy boutique with Boston’s largest selection of imported bars (95% of tour-goers have not ever been here)
• A Swiss chocolatier famous for creating the Dom Perignon Champagne Truffle
• A famous New England Ice Cream maker who has taken the chocolate plunge and has made their chocolates available to our tour
• A break for the taste buds at a hip cosmetics company that uses chocolate in many of its skincare products
• Sometimes you get the best chocolate in unexpected places, find that local Back Bay market that has some of the best chocolate at the lowest prices
• Everyone seems to be talking about Cupcakes, this tour samples Boston’s Best.
• and more!!!

You’ll pick up plenty of samples as you go, plus tips on tasting, buying and storing fine chocolate. Also special tours will learn how to pair chocolate with wines!

Each participant also receives our VIP Card, good for discounts and VIP treatment at local gourmet businesses.

The Boston Chocolate Tour of Back Bay meets on Saturday morning at 10:00AM and meets at Nespresso Boutique , 7 Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay. The walk itself is less than a mile and it ends nearby.

Advance tickets required – tour size limited to 14.

Price: $48

More information

Boston Chinatown Market Tour

Are you wild about Asian food, but easily confused by the huge variety of unfamiliar ingredients in the markets? If so, the Chinatown Market Tour is your key to unlock the mysteries that lie beyond the Chinatown Gate. Follow, as your guide leads you through this vibrant, energetic “village.” Learn the differences between the many regional cuisines of China. Find out where to buy and how to select the finest authentic ingredients.

• Discover a bakery offering the best Chinese sweets, and learn the origin of Chinese Moon Cakes.
• Visit a Barbecue Shop and savor the tastes and smells of traditional Cantonese roasted meats.
• Slip into an authentic Chinese Herbal Pharmacy, and explore the concept of Yin and Yang.
• Experience the phenomenon known as “Bubble Tea.”
• Tour a market with exotic produce, fabulous seafood, and an endless array of spices.
• Complete your stroll with a delicious Dim Sum Luncheon, hosted by your guide. Learn the ins and outs of ordering from the roaming carts and stationary stalls, and the unique rules of Dim Sum etiquette.

Jim Becker is trained as a professional chef, speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese, developed the Asian component for a local professional Chef Degree Program and worked in many well known Boston restaurants as well as his own venture, Rauxa Restaurant and Cava Bar. Jim enjoys nothing better than weaving his way through the narrow streets of Boston’s Chinatown, leading visitors in “walking cooking classes”, where he is able to combine his love of food with his passion for teaching.

The Overall Experience

Step through the Chinatown Gate and join us as you enjoy the fantastic sights, and experience the culinary and cultural traditions in this little sliver of Hong Kong right here in Boston. Take a walking tour that is like a cooking class on foot: to learn the regional differences of the many regional cuisines of China; glean insider cooking tips; gain resources and knowledge on how to identify and where to buy the very best and authentic ingredients. The tour concludes with a dim sum lunch while your guide explains the unique rules of dim sum etiquette as you sip tea and feast on an assortment of traditional delicacies.

Food Tastings

As you visit various markets, you will enjoy small tastes of sweets, Chinese barbecue and bubble tea. The tour concludes with a Dim Sum Lunch hosted by your guide.

Tours Include:

• A two and a half hour tour of the Chinatown markets
• Dimsum lunch following the tour
• Tips on purchasing, cooking, and storing foods
• Tastings of several Chinese delicacies on tour
• A handout describing the best stores and favorite restaurants
• Historical insights into the Chinatown community

Times

Thursday and Saturday
9:30am to 1:00pm

Please click here to view our latest schedule. Or please contact us via e-mail at info@micheletopor.com, or call us at 617-523-6032 to let us know what date you are interested in.

• $65 + 5% tax per person – dimsum included.
• Advance tickets required: purchase online at Zerve
• Exact meeting location details will be provided immediately upon ticket purchase
• Limited to 13 people on Thursday and 10 on Saturday

Check available dates and buy tickets online

Boston North End Market Tour

Visit “Little Italy” and Experience the Markets of Boston’s North End

The secret of Italian cuisine is the high quality of ingredients, a sense of regional tradition, and that very Italian love of life. Sources for ingredients abound in the narrow streets of the North End. But for the outsider, finding the finest is not always easy. Join us on Michele Topor’s original award-winning North End Market Tour and let us unlock for you the secrets of the cuisine and of America’s oldest Italian neighborhood.

• Discover the pasticcerias that offer the best biscotti, amaretti, sfogliatelle, cassata, taralli, cannoli and other confections.
• Visit an authentic salumeria in search of the best olive oil, balsamic vinegar, olives, salami, cheese, prosciutto and pasta.
• Savor the scents of an Old World 70-year-old coffee, spice and candy store.
• Learn and be inspired by how the Mediterranean diet has influenced peoples’ health since antiquity.
• Tour an enoteca to learn how to select aperitivi to begin, wine to complement, and digestivi to conclude your meal.
• Enjoy the colorful sights, the tantalizing aromas and authentic tastes of America’s most vibrant Italian neighborhood.
• Relive memories, perhaps of holidays past, of growing up in an Italian household.
• Understand how the Italians adapted their dishes to their new country and created the familiar Italian-American cuisine.

The North End Market Tour has been designed to reflect Michele Topor’s passion for all things Italian. Trained as a professional chef, Michele has taught cooking, catered, and consulted on Italian food since 1979. Michele’s cooking classes, market tours and culinary trips to Italy have been featured on television (including TVFood Network, HGTV and CNN), on the radio, and in various national and international publications.

As a 35+ year resident of Boston’s North End, Michele initially designed The North End Market Tour to introduce cooking class participants to her neighborhood and sources for authentic Italian ingredients. Since 1994, Michele and her personally trained guides have shared their passion for the food and wine of Italy on this one-of-a-kind, five-senses-alive, walking cooking class.

The Overall Experience

Discover one of the most vibrant ethnic neighborhoods in this country. Take a walking tour that is like a cooking class on foot: learn about how Italians eat; glean insider cooking tips; gain resources and knowledge on how to identify and where to buy the very best ingredients. (“Old world” as they are, many of the stores we’ll be visiting sell their products online as well.)

Food Tastings

At nearly every stop, we’ll enjoy small tastes of specific Italian food ingredients so you may experience benchmark flavors to incorporate in your own cooking and dining adventures. As you will see, gli ingredienti veraci — authentic ingredients — are the key to la bellissima cucina italiana.

Tours Include:

• A three-hour walking tour of the North End markets
• Tips on purchasing, cooking, and storing foods
• Tastings of many specific Italian food ingredients
• A handout describing the best stores and favorite restaurants
• Historical insights into the North End community

Standard Weekly Schedule

Wednesday & Saturday
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
2:00 – 5:00 pm

Friday
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
3:00 – 6:00 pm

We often add additional tours when the regularly scheduled tours are sold out. Please click here to view our latest schedule. Or please contact us via email at info@micheletopor.com, or call us at 617-523-6032 to let us know what date you are interested in.

• $50.00 + 5% tax per person
• Advance tickets required: purchase online at Zerve
• Exact meeting location details will be provided immediately upon ticket purchase
• Limited to 13 people per tour

Ahla – “From Russia with Love!” Walking Tour

Where can you find the best Russian borsch, pirozhki, and caviar? What is the Russian way to drink tea and vodka?

Discover the answers at our 3-hour culinary adventure while tasting delicious authentic Russian specialties: light fluffy blintzes, delicate Siberian dumplings, imported caviar, mouth-watering desserts, and half-dozen more.

Take a shopping tour at Whole Foods Market; learn how to make traditional Russian dishes and find out the unique Russian ingredients that can spark up your every-day meals.

Visit treasured Russian food stores and restaurants: Russian Village, Babushka Deli, and Vernissage; discover “hidden” Russian food in The Fireplace and Athan’s; and enjoy interesting personal stories about their owners.

Find the best spots in Washington Square for entertainment, live music, and amazing food.

Have fun stepping into the culture of Russia!

Saturdays afternoon tours 2 pm – 5 pm. $44 per person.  Price includes all food (enough samples served to make up for a meal)

To purchase tickets please go to the Registration page and choose Russian Cuisine tours.

Ahla – Walking Tour of Boston’s Jewish Cuisine

So you think you know Jewish food?

Join us for an eye-opening 3-hour walking tour of historical Brookline and experience what the Jewish Advocate and TV Diner raved about: “A new tour in Brookline is whetting the appetites of Jewish and non-Jewish diners alike…”, “…fabulous Boston neighborhood tour!”

You’ll taste authentic Jewish food – matzo ball soup, latkes, falafel, kosher wines, noodle kugel ice cream and dozen more. Hear unique anecdotes about the welcoming Brookline purveyors and savor the rich history of Jewish Brookline.

Visit many of the town’s treasured Jewish food stores and restaurants – including Zaftig’s, Rubin’s, Kupel’s Bagels, Rami’s, and the Butcherie.  Enjoy tastings of Gefilte Fish, Matzo Ball Soup, Latkes, Falafel, Kosher wine, and much more from the best of Brookline’s purveyors.

Discover traditions and stories that lie behind the food.  Learn about kosher rules, holidays, and the influence of different cultures on Jewish cuisine.  Hear in­te­res­ting anecdotes about the owners of the various establishments that you won’t find anywhere else. Feel the rich history of Jewish Brookline and its famous residents, past and present.

Finally, get discount coupons to the places we visit, to use when you return later.

We offer our tour in 3 languages: English, Russian, Hebrew

Join us on Sundays:
Morning tours: 10 am – 1 pm

$44 per person.
Price includes all the food tastings (enough for lunch).

To purchase tickets please go to the Registration page.