Ten years on, Secret Food Tours is a glowing success story and a keen favorite of travelers who are looking for something more than a standard “touristy” city food tour. Oliver Mernick-Levene and his partner Nico Jacquart launched their foodie venture in 2014 and experienced rapid growth in sales of 1220% within their first two years. By 2022, they had achieved revenues of $10 million, with a forecasted growth to $50 million by 2027. Secret Food Tours are in 63 cities worldwide from Amsterdam to Tokyo, with recent launches in Atlanta, Savannah, Brussels and Stockholm. The aim is to be in 100 cities by the end of 2024.
What sets Secret Food Tours apart from their competitors is that they offer unique experiences tailored to each destination, with no two tours identical. Guests learn about each city's history, local food purchasing habits and the influence of food on the area's culture. And key to the experience is the quality of the company’s 250 guides who each have expert local knowledge and often culinary and/or history backgrounds too. Each tour includes a special “Secret Dish” that is only revealed at the end of the tour. Insider knowledge ensures that guests will discover the best secret delicacies beloved by locals and often missed by tourists. The tours are a decent size, with no more than 12 guests, and often less, making for a really special, intimate experience.
While they may not have had food or tourist industry backgrounds and didn’t realise how quickly the company would grow, the two founders obviously knew they had an excellent, scaleable idea. In addition to being French with a natural passion for fine food, Nicolas Jacquart is a tech genius who initially started his career as an online games developer. British entrepreneur Oliver Mernick-Levene’s background is in marketing a wide variety of brands in technology and finance, ranging from blue-chip multinationals like Microsoft and Sony, to SMEs and startups.
The London Bridge Food Tour is a great example of why Secret Food Tours is a market leader. English food doesn’t have the best reputation but this tour offers ample evidence to the contrary. Often led by the excellent Tom Blyth, an actor, film maker and former chef, the tour covers the fascinating history of the bridge area and the food of Borough Market. Tom also covers more contemporary history and points out where Bridget Jones’ apartment was (handy knowledge with a new Bridget Jones movie out soon). Borough Market has had a food market on the same site since the 12th century but it began with a bridge. For centuries, London existed as a compact walled city along the northern bank of the Thames River. Across the river lay its distinct counterpart, Southwark, characterized by a
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A majority of American adults (82%) plan to take at least one vacation this summer, according to The Vacationer’s recent travel survey. With that in mind, here’s a sampling of unique and unexpected summer escapes at you can find at centers and lodgings from the Pacific to Provence: creative and luxurious experiences to help you beat the heat and lean into the season. These may inspire you to find others to suit your summer interests—and go.
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You won’t see a Boeing 747 carrying the Space Shuttle flying over the Proud Bird restaurant in Los Angeles again. That was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. But a short journey from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to the restaurant will prove a bonanza to hungry plan-spotters, whether they’re interested in the airliners flying overhand or the forever-parked fighter planes at the Proud Bird.
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Rife with pristine beaches and sprawling sand dunes, Nantucket has served as one of the Bay State’s foremost tourist destinations for well over a century—and to sweeten the deal, this scenic island also comes complete with a thriving food scene for visitors to enjoy. Seafood reigns supreme around the island, with no shortage of classic Massachusetts dishes up for grabs spanning from lobster rolls to New England clam chowder, while high-end wines can be encountered all throughout the island’s many restaurants. Yet for those who want to experience the region’s prowess at both drinking and dining in one fell swoop, there’s no better event than the annual Nantucket Wine & Food Festival.