MyWestworld

Swallow Tail Tours: B.C. Foodie Treks with a Twist

Posted on 19. Feb, 2010 by Rhonda May in Living

FOOD & WINE

Some people will go to any lengths to find a great meal, even if they have to walk, bike or snowshoe their way to it

by Rhonda May

– and for those people there is Swallow Tail Tours, a Vancouver-based tour company that specializes in regional gastronomic adventure.

Company owner, Robin Kort, an enthusiastic cook, certified oenophile and lover of the great outdoors, knows where the highest quality edibles are to be found throughout the province, and being athletically inclined, she leads many of the tours herself – whether these be pedal-pumping tours of the Okanagan Wine Valley, hikes to secret swimming holes on the Gulf Islands or treks across frozen Coastal Range lakes.

The getting there may require a certain amount of huff and puff (tours can be up to five days long), but at some point during each day comes the goal, and the reward – an amazing multi-course meal made from fresh, regional B.C. ingredients matched to the best B.C. wines. Like the participants on her tours, Kort cares that the food she eats is nourishing for the body and sustainable for the planet. Hence, all meat, dairy and eggs served on the tours are sourced from B.C. organic producers raising free-range, hormone-free animals fed on a natural diet. The bread is likely to have been made from flour ground at a local mill with heritage flour, the cheese lovingly crafted by artisan cheese makers, the produce grown by local organic farms, the wine bottled by eco-conscious British Columbia vineyards.

Whatever food you discover, you’ll want second helpings, and you’ll feel okay about that because – hey, you just burned off all those calories.

The tours are not, however, only for Olympians in training. The focus is more about getting food lovers closer to the source of their diet in a healthy, active way. 

The tours are not, however, only for Olympians in training. The focus is more about getting food lovers closer to the source of their diet in a healthy, active way. Kort keeps her tours small and intimate (seven to 10 people max) and they can be tailored to the fitness level of the group. Cyclists on the tours, for example, are trailed by vans, giving participants the option to cycle or ride along as much as they choose. Then of course, at the end of the day, there are those other fresh-air attractions, such as hot-tub soaking, fireside lounging under the stars and repose in a quaint farmhouse, unique B & B or rustic mountain cabin.

If time is limited, Swallowtail Tours also offers popular one-day excursions from Vancouver, such as its crabbing trip – an outing at sea on a fish boat to set crab pots, followed by a Dungeness crab fest in Kort’s own kitchen featuring the day’s catch.

As Robin Kort explains, “My tours are the perfect break for the couple where one partner wants to engage in some sort of activity and the other cares more about great dining. This way they can vacation together and have both.”

You can follow Robin on Twitter
Facebook
or via her own cooking blog

Tags: Guided B.C. Culinary Treks, Swallowtail Tours