Food Tours

New England Seafood Industry Overview and Tasting

New England has some of the most coveted fishing waters in the world—and a generations-old seafood industry. This tour will offer guests the chance to explore the New England seafood industry, including species unique to the regions, fishing traditions, aquaculture innovations, and how the industry contributes to the local food system and economy. This event will begin with an educational presentation on this topic and end with a cooking demonstration and tasting featuring local seafood items. This event takes place at Wulf’s Fish, which is located on the historic Boston Fish Pier on the harbor.

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 12–3 pm approximately
Place: Wulf’s Fish, 2 Boston Fish Pier
Cost: $40
Capacity: 20

Food Collections at the Boston Public Library

Visit the Boston Public Library (BPL) for a presentation with their Special Collections and Research Services librarians. This tour will highlight the BPL’s food-related collections and describe how they support scholars in culinary research. A tour of the BPL Digitization Lab, where items and collections are digitized daily to make them accessible for all, will follow. At 4 pm, guests are welcome to take part in a self-guided tour through the historic McKim building.

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 3–4 pm
Place: KBLIC Exchange on the Lower Level of the Central Library at Copley Square (700 Boylston Street)
Cost: Free
Capacity: 50

Boston’s Brewing History

Enjoy a short, late-spring walking tour exploring the history of beer both in Boston and beyond, with a few stops at local taprooms to taste some of the local flavors. Your guide will be food and world historian Dr. Malcolm F. Purinton, an assistant teaching professor at Northeastern University. Dr. Purinton’s work focuses primarily on the sociocultural relationships of empire, trade, and technology in the history of beer and brewing.

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 2–4 pm
Place: Meet at Democracy Brewing, 35 Temple Place, Boston
Cost: $90 (includes samples)

Mei-Mei Dumplings Tour and Dumpling-Making Class

Tour the farm-focused, woman-owned Mei Mei Dumpling production center in South Boston and learn to make dumplings and sauces. Chef Irene Li—cofounder, owner, and recipient of a 2022 James Beard Leadership Award—works with local farmers to make Mei Mei Dumplings a Boston specialty. After a tour of the facility, you will learn filling, folding, pan searing, and sauce-making—before you eat your lessons.

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 2–4 pm
Place: 58 Old Colony Ave, South Boston
Cost: $98

Boston University Medical Center Farm, Preventive Food Pantry, and Demonstration Kitchen

The Boston University Medical Center maintains a roof-top farm and a preventive food pantry as part of its treatment programs. Three stories above the Medical Center’s power plant thrives a 2,658 square-foot farm with more than 25 crops. The farm provides fresh, local produce to hospitalized patients, cafeterias, the Demonstration Kitchen, and the Preventive Food Pantry. The food pantry fills dietary prescriptions and the demonstration kitchen hosts cooking classes for BUMC patients. Tour the farm and food pantry and take a cooking class in the demonstration kitchen.

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 10 am–12 pm
Place: 750 Albany Street (in the parking lot)
Cost: Free

Bites of Boston Food Tours

Classic Boston Food Tour

Lobster, chowder, baked beans, and Boston cream pie! Have you heard about these culinary classics? Curious about where to eat them? Wondering why these foods became so popular in Boston in the first place? Join us on our Classic Bites of Boston Tour and you’ll learn about all of the above—and taste these iconic dishes for yourself, too!

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 11 am
Place: Tour meets near the Boston Common. Exact location provided with confirmation of ticket purchase.
Cost: $92–$120 (see options in sign-up link)

Sweet & Savory South End Tour

Join us for the Sweet & Savory South End Tour, a food tasting and cultural walking tour in one of Boston’s iconic historic neighborhoods. The rich history and renowned food scene found in the South End provide the perfect ingredients for a fun and memorable experience in one of the city’s most vibrant and tasty destinations!

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 1:30 PM
Place: Tour meets in Boston’s South End neighborhood. Exact location provided at time of ticket purchase.
Cost: $82–$92 (see options in sign-up link)

Tasting Our Way Through Farmer-Led Craft Chocolate & Specialty Coffee Systems in Peru

Presented by Amanda Jo Wildey (El Cacaotal) and Felipe Aliaga (Ciclos Café)

Peruvian specialty coffee and craft chocolate have each garnered a glowing reputation for themselves. But what role do they take on at their origin? Introducing a treasure trove of stories about how each of these food systems are organized, anthropologist Amanda Jo Wildey—cacao specialist/chocolate taster for El Cacaotal, a Peruvian craft chocolate library in Lima, Peru—will break down the advantages of the tree-to-bar food system. Participants will appreciate the breadth of its impact by considering both tangible, economic gains as well the social and symbolic benefits.

Agronomer and Q-coffee grader Felipe Aliaga has been working as an advisor to small-scale specialty coffee producers in Peru for eight years. Now, as a coffee roaster and founder of Ciclos Café, a specialty coffee shop in Lima, Peru, he purchases coffee directly from farmers. Amidst a growing global increase in the median age of coffee farmers and steady urban migration, industry professionals are vocalizing a justified concern over the future of coffee. What does it take for specialty coffee farming to grab the interest of young adults? As a prelude to the coffee tasting portion of our activity, Felipe will share two case studies of farms whose futures are being cemented thanks to the interest and participation of the next generation.

Time: Wednesday, May 31, 2–4:30 pm
Place: 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 124
Cost: $35