A Family History Food Tour
Can a food tour help you better understand your family history?
Maybe.
It's something you probably wouldn't think of but food tours introduce you to local restaurants and their specialties. That's most definitely in the present, right? But what if the food tour also introduces you to regional food specialties or food establishments that have been around for generations? Then food tours can provide a taste of the past.
Let me first introduce you to what a food tour is. Typically these are 2 hour+ tours of local restaurants. The tour itself might be a walking tour or there may be group transportation. Each stop is an opportunity to take a taste from that particular establishment. The type of restaurant will determine what you are offered. So for example, a cup of tea and a chocolate from a tea shop or a very mini-sized dinner from a steakhouse. The tour may or may not include alcohol. Keep in mind that you can specify a non-alcoholic option and provide information about any food allergies or preferences.
On a recent trip to Catalina I took part in the Catalina Food Tour. (Catalina is an island off the coast of California. It's accessible by a ferry and is part of Los Angeles County). This food/historical tour spent two hours walking around downtown sampling foods ranging from salad and steak, to tacos and margaritas, to tea, seafood, and candy. Although the bites are small and you walk a lot, the food is more than enough.
After we met at our pre-designated meeting place, we started walking to our first restaurant. Our tour meshed food with the local history. We made a few of our first stops and enjoyed entrees and then then we stopped at Lloyds of Avalon. Lloyds has been making candy in Avalon since 1934.
Now to be honest, I wasn't excited about this stop because frankly if it's not chocolate, I'm not interested. And I knew there was a lot of food on this tour and I didn't want to ruin that with candy. Plus we were having caramel apples which I am not a fan of (Lloyds is fabulous, I'm just not into candied things).
But then it happened. We were offered hot, salt water taffy straight from the taffy pulling machine. Now, another true confession, as you can imagine I don't like taffy. But as I held this hot, sweet treat in my hand I remembered that my maternal grandmother would talk about eating salt water taffy and how she loved it. She would tell me about the process to make it and how they would get it at the beach. I never really understood why she thought this type of candy (afterall, it's not chocolate) was so special.
My maternal grandparents lived in Southern California so they would have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the ocean. Guess where they went multiple times to enjoy a day of relaxation and fun?
Catalina.
And they would have been there in the first two decades of Lloyds of Avalon's existence.
So I tried the hot taffy. Let me tell you something. Taffy is awful (in my opinion) BUT hot taffy straight from the machine is like a whole other world. The heat makes it soft and flavorful. It's like a whole different candy.There's none of the endless chewing of a hard rubbery candy. It is the only way to eat taffy. It's too bad it's not how most people experience taffy.
As I enjoyed that taffy, I thought of my grandmother and her love for the candy and finally truly understood what she was talking about. The food tour allowed me to experience something that I would otherwise not have the chance or, quite frankly, consider.
When I returned home and told my dad about the tour, he immediately remarked, "my mom loved taffy."
Yes, she did.
Food history is family history. A food tour is a nice way of experiencing family history. On your next trip to where your ancestor lived, see if there is a food tour or create your own by researching the food history of the area and try local food establishments that have stood the test of time. Experience your family history in a different way.
Maybe.
It's something you probably wouldn't think of but food tours introduce you to local restaurants and their specialties. That's most definitely in the present, right? But what if the food tour also introduces you to regional food specialties or food establishments that have been around for generations? Then food tours can provide a taste of the past.
Let me first introduce you to what a food tour is. Typically these are 2 hour+ tours of local restaurants. The tour itself might be a walking tour or there may be group transportation. Each stop is an opportunity to take a taste from that particular establishment. The type of restaurant will determine what you are offered. So for example, a cup of tea and a chocolate from a tea shop or a very mini-sized dinner from a steakhouse. The tour may or may not include alcohol. Keep in mind that you can specify a non-alcoholic option and provide information about any food allergies or preferences.
 |
| (c) 2018 Gena Philibert-Ortega |
On a recent trip to Catalina I took part in the Catalina Food Tour. (Catalina is an island off the coast of California. It's accessible by a ferry and is part of Los Angeles County). This food/historical tour spent two hours walking around downtown sampling foods ranging from salad and steak, to tacos and margaritas, to tea, seafood, and candy. Although the bites are small and you walk a lot, the food is more than enough.
After we met at our pre-designated meeting place, we started walking to our first restaurant. Our tour meshed food with the local history. We made a few of our first stops and enjoyed entrees and then then we stopped at Lloyds of Avalon. Lloyds has been making candy in Avalon since 1934.
 |
| Pulling taffy at Lloyds of Avalon. (c) 2018 Gena Philibert-Ortega |
Now to be honest, I wasn't excited about this stop because frankly if it's not chocolate, I'm not interested. And I knew there was a lot of food on this tour and I didn't want to ruin that with candy. Plus we were having caramel apples which I am not a fan of (Lloyds is fabulous, I'm just not into candied things).
But then it happened. We were offered hot, salt water taffy straight from the taffy pulling machine. Now, another true confession, as you can imagine I don't like taffy. But as I held this hot, sweet treat in my hand I remembered that my maternal grandmother would talk about eating salt water taffy and how she loved it. She would tell me about the process to make it and how they would get it at the beach. I never really understood why she thought this type of candy (afterall, it's not chocolate) was so special.
My maternal grandparents lived in Southern California so they would have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the ocean. Guess where they went multiple times to enjoy a day of relaxation and fun?
Catalina.
 |
| A pier at Catalina across from Lloyds. (c) 2018 Gena Philibert-Ortega |
And they would have been there in the first two decades of Lloyds of Avalon's existence.
So I tried the hot taffy. Let me tell you something. Taffy is awful (in my opinion) BUT hot taffy straight from the machine is like a whole other world. The heat makes it soft and flavorful. It's like a whole different candy.There's none of the endless chewing of a hard rubbery candy. It is the only way to eat taffy. It's too bad it's not how most people experience taffy.
As I enjoyed that taffy, I thought of my grandmother and her love for the candy and finally truly understood what she was talking about. The food tour allowed me to experience something that I would otherwise not have the chance or, quite frankly, consider.
When I returned home and told my dad about the tour, he immediately remarked, "my mom loved taffy."
Yes, she did.
Food history is family history. A food tour is a nice way of experiencing family history. On your next trip to where your ancestor lived, see if there is a food tour or create your own by researching the food history of the area and try local food establishments that have stood the test of time. Experience your family history in a different way.
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