Transylvanian Culinary Tour
21-26th September 2024
Discover Transylvania through its most exciting dishes and explore the rich culture and traditions of the Saxon villages.
Our Proposal
There is no better way to learn about a culture than through eating local food and meeting local people. This is exactly what you will do: meet producers, stay at local guesthouses, eat traditional food and enjoy cookery demos and hands-on cookery classes.
The tour is focused on food and culinary traditions, but you won’t miss the local landmarks everyone needs to see.
Tour Highlights
- A journey from the city to the countryside following the Saxon story.
- We will meet in one of the most beautiful Saxon city, Sibiu.
- Visit a UNESCO Saxon town, Sighișoara.
- Stay in a Saxon house in the charming village of Richiș.
- Eat in family-run restaurants and local kitchens, which are kitchens in people’s homes authorized to cook for tourists.
- Enjoy hands-on cookery courses and demos.
- Visit local farms, producers and artisans.
- Tasting events: local drinks, charcuterie and cheese.
- Enjoy curated menus to make the culinary journey memorable.
- Private and comfortable transport with an experienced driver.
- Culinary guide: food writer and cookbook author Irina Georgescu.
- All meals and the drinks paired with these meals are included. Water and soft drinks during transfers.
Your Culinary Guide
The culinary part of the tour is curated by Irina Georgescu. Irina is a food writer and award-winning cookbook author from Romania living in the UK. Her books are a love letter to Romania, and especially her ancestral home, Transylvania. Irina will curate every menu or tasting event, run the cookery demos and classes and give you the historical or traditional background of the dishes.
The Organizer
The tour is run by Szabolcs Tyukodi, a Romanian-Hungarian guide through his travel company in Romania. The payment will be made directly to this company and details will be sent out when the bookings open next year.
The Tour
Day 1 Arrival in Sibiu
- There is an international airport in Sibiu*
- You will be met at the airport
- Accommodation in a local guesthouse in the city’s Old Town.
- Welcome dinner and the first tasting of Transylvanian flavours.
Day 2 Transfer to the Saxon guesthouse in the countryside, Richiș village
- On the way, visit a local vegetable grower for a cookery demo and a light lunch
- Visit a beautiful old Saxon town, Copșa Mare
- Check-in at the Saxon guesthouse
- Saxon Feast – welcome dinner
Day 3 Explore Saxon villages
- Visit the beautiful fortified church in Viscri and find out about King Charles III involvement in restoring these sites
- Have lunch in a local kitchen in Meșendorf, including a hands-on cookery course
- Visit a dairy farm
- Dinner in a former Parish House in the impressive village of Biertan
- Return to Richiș
Day 4 Relax in Richiș
- Take in the beauty of the Transylvanian landscape
- Lunch and hands-on cookery course (optional) or cookery demo
- Go for a walk
- Farewell dinner
Day 5 Return to Sibiu via Sighișoara
- Visit the UNESCO Saxon town of Sighișoara
- A little free time for shopping there
- Picnic in the nearby oak forest or, if it rains, in a local kitchen
- Visit a local Gypsy coffee pot maker and have traditional coffee
- Check-in in Sibiu
- Farewell dinner
Day 6 Departure
Private transfer to the airport.
*Sibiu airport: https://www.sibiuairport.ro/en/. Airlines operating here are Wizzair, Lufthansa and Austrian coming from London, Munich, Nuremberg, Dortmund, Wien, Baden-Baden, Memmingen. There are flights from Bucharest to Sibiu if you prefer to land in the capital. There are trains from Bucharest to Sibiu.
Group Size
Minimum 8 and maximum 12.
Pricing
2100 EUR per person, which includes:
- Transport from the moment you land in Sibiu
- Accommodation in guesthouses with rooms with your own private bathroom
- All meals and the drinks paired with these meals are included
- All culinary experiences, cookery courses and demos, and tasting events
- Two guides, one of them is the cookery book author Irina Georgescu. Transport from and to the airport in Sibiu.
The price doesn’t include:
- The flights or any transport to Sibiu, and the flights back to your home and any transport after you reach the airport for your departure.
- Travel insurance, which is compulsory.
The Food
The menu will be balanced and not focused on meat. The meat will be mainly pork, then beef and occasionally mutton. There will be a lot of dairy, such as creme fraiche, cheese, and yogurt. There will also be walnuts and hazelnuts, and jams. Unfortunately, dietary requirements can’t be accommodated.
Deposit
There will be a 600 EUR deposit at the time of your booking. It will be fully refunded if the trip is canceled because the minimum group size of 8 people is not met. It will also be refunded if you cancel, and the organizer finds a replacement, but non-refundable if he doesn’t. You can also send someone else in your place if your plans change.