Visit "Little Italy" and Experience
the Markets of Boston's North End

The secret of Italian cuisine is the high quality of ingredients, a sense of regional tradition, and that very Italian love of life. Sources for ingredients abound in the narrow streets of the North End. But for the outsider, finding the finest is not always easy. Join us on Michele Topor's original award-winning North End Market Tour and let us unlock for you the secrets of the cuisine and of America's oldest Italian neighborhood.

• Discover the pasticcerias that offer the best biscotti, amaretti, sfogliatelle, cassata, taralli, cannoli and other confections.
  
  
• Visit an authentic salumeria in search of the best olive oil, balsamic vinegar, olives, salami, cheese, prosciutto and pasta.
  
  
• Savor the scents of a 70-year-old coffee and spice shop and an Old World candy store.
  
  
• Learn and be inspired by how the Mediterranean diet has influenced peoples' health since antiquity.
  
  
• Tour an enoteca to learn how to select aperitivi to begin, wine to complement, and digestivi to conclude your meal.
  
  
• Enjoy the colorful sights, the tantalizing aromas and authentic tastes of America's most vibrant Italian neighborhood.
  
  
• Relive memories, perhaps of holidays past, of growing up in an Italian household.
  
  
• Learn and be inspired by how the Mediterranean diet has influenced people's health since antiquity. Understand how the Italians adapted their dishes to their new country and created the familiar Italian-American cuisine.

The North End Market Tour has been designed to reflect Michele Topor's passion for all things Italian. Trained as a professional chef, Michele has taught cooking, catered, and consulted on Italian food since 1979. Michele's cooking classes, market tours and culinary trips to Italy have been featured on television (including TVFood Network, HGTV and CNN), on the radio, and in various national and international publications.

As a 35+ year resident of Boston's North End, Michele initially designed The North End Market Tour to introduce cooking class participants to her neighborhood and sources for authentic Italian ingredients. Since 1994, Michele and her personally trained guides have shared their passion for the food and wine of Italy on this one-of-a-kind, five-senses-alive, walking cooking class.

THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE

Discover one of the most vibrant ethnic neighborhoods in this country. Take a walking tour that is like a cooking class on foot: learn about how Italians eat; glean insider cooking tips; gain resources and knowledge on how to identify and where to buy the very best ingredients. ("Old world" as they are, many of the stores we'll be visiting sell their products online as well.)

FOOD TASTINGS

At nearly every stop, we'll enjoy small tastes of specific Italian food ingredients so you may experience benchmark flavors to incorporate in your own cooking and dining adventures. As you will see, gli ingredienti veraci -- authentic ingredients -- are the key to la bellissima cucina italiana.

TOURS INCLUDE:

• A three-hour walking tour of the North End markets
• Tips on purchasing, cooking, and storing foods
• Tastings of many specific Italian food ingredients
• A handout describing the best stores and favorite restaurants
• Historical insights into the North End community

TIMES + RATES

• $50.00 + 5% tax per person
• Exact meeting location details will be provided immediately upon ticket purchase
• Limited to 13 people per tour

CANCELLATION POLICY

All tickets sold are non-refundable and may not be exchanged or rescheduled. In the rare situation where we cancel a tour that fails to attract minimum enrollment, we will contact you ahead of time to reschedule your tickets or issue a full refund, whichever you prefer. We reserve the right to limit the number of participants and to cancel a tour that fails to attract minimum enrollment. The tour is held rain or shine.