Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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BY ALEXANDRA PECCI Jump on the bandwagon bound for fun with food! Don't get us wrong: Sightseeing and relaxing by the pool are defi- nitely fun ways to spend a vacation. But to get the real flavor of a desti- nation, you need to taste it. Literally. Hotels, resorts, and cooking schools around the country are embracing the foodie revolution by adding unique culinary travel experiences to their menu of guest activities, allowing folks who want a bigger bite out of their travels to do things like take cooking classes, harvest apples for a pie, tap maple trees, or spend a day in the fields with a master gardener. Here are a few picks for some of the country's tastiest culinary travel destinations. BLACKBERRY FARM Located on a bucolic 4,200-acre estate in the foothills of Tennes - see's Great Smoky Mountains, Blackberry Farm is a tucked-away respite from everyday life. It's been a working farm since the 1930s and still is, with 85 percent of the produce that winds up in the resort's kitchen coming from its own gardens. There are also chickens, turkey, and sheep on the property, and Blackberry Farm's chefs are always busy making the most of the bounty. The resort makes its own dried cured meats and its own sheep and cow's milk cheeses, as well as a host of pickled and preserved products Tasty Travels Above, Blackberry Farm's lodgings and barn, on- site gardens, and cooking demonstration; Below, The Culinary Institute of America's Hyde Park campus 132 | JANUARY + FEBRUARY 2015 nshoremag.com in-depth PLACES with Southern roots. There's also homemade beer and on-site honey production. This is all thanks to Blackberry Farm's own artisans, which include a butcher, master gardener, cheese maker, preser - vationist, beekeeper, and brewer. What's not produced on-site is sourced from within a 50- to 100- mile radius of Blackberry Farm, ensuring that guests really do get a taste of the beautiful Smoky Mountains during a stay there. Not only do Blackberry Farm guests get to eat these fantastic food creations, but they can expe - rience the processes behind them, too. Artisan-led cooking demos, which include lunch and a glass of wine, might show guests how to make skillet-fried cornbread, or how to roast veggies outside over an open fire on a "field to fork" ad - venture with the master gardener. Guests can also take culinary tours of the property or tag along with any of the artisans for a "day in the life"-style experience. Other activities, like outdoor yoga, horse- back riding, rock climbing, cycling, hiking, and more, also allow you to take full advantage of the resort's breathtaking surroundings. Blackberry Farm, 1471 West Millers Cove Rd., Walland, TN 800-557-8864, blackberryfarm.com THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is not only a renowned train- ing ground for the world's most esteemed chefs but also a place where foodies can get the inside dish on creating fine cuisine of their own. The CIA's immersive boot camp programs are much more in - volved than a typical cooking class that might last only a few hours. Instead, the boot camps range from Courtesy of Blackberry Farm/Heather Anne Thomas (cooking), Blackberry Farm/Kreis Beall and Heather Anne Thomas (lodging and gardens), and The Culinary Institute of America (aerial)