NEWS FEED
If you enjoy dining out and exploring new places to eat – here’s some new food for thought. Sole Food Safari offers tasty tours of the local culinary scene to discover new places to eat that will tantalise your taste buds.
Accompanied by your host, adventurers will enjoy a delicious three-course set menu with wine, with each course in a different restaurant. The safaris are on foot, allowing diners to explore hidden culinary gems.
Each Sole Food Safari also includes a Masterclass, where the head chef at each restaurant will demonstrate how your dish was prepared so you will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about local foodie secrets.
Sole Food Safari was launched last month by Lauren Casoria-Lambert, a secondary school teacher who lives in the south west with her husband and two young children.
She explains: “Sole Food Safari has evolved out of years of eating out and hosting dinner parties for friends. I have always been a foodie and I wanted to turn my passion for good food and dining into a wider shared experience.”
Although safari suppers, or progressive dinners as they are known in America, were popular in the 70s, it wasn’t until Lauren went on a foodie break that she had, what she describes as, her “light bulb moment”.
“Due to my Italian heritage, most of our holidays revolve around food and on this trip we went on a tour of some restaurants in Cambridge and that’s when I came up with the idea of Sole Food Safari.”
Lauren will only include a restaurant or café on her foodie tour if it meets her own particular standards.
“I have eaten everywhere from cafes and small bijou eateries and at Michelin-starred restaurants so I know when service is really good and I can recognise quality produce. A good food hygiene rating is obviously very important too.”
Lauren adds: “We are so fortunate that Dorset, the New Forest, Hampshire and Wiltshire have so many amazing restaurants and cafés and Sole Food Safari is all about sharing good food, promoting local produce, as well as excellent service and good value for money.”
The maximum number of culinary tourists on any food safari is 25 because Lauren says she wants to keep the experience personal with an emphasis on good service.
“It is very social as it is an opportunity to meet other foodies. Most restaurants are really keen on the idea as they realise that everyone is benefitting.
“On our Wimborne safari, we have also included wine pairings by professional sommeliers to talk about certain vintages.”
Looking ahead, Lauren says she also hopes to support local food banks as a way of giving back to the local community.
She sums up: “Sole Food Safari is a way of bringing people together. It’s also about promoting quality local produce and local businesses, and putting Dorset and the New Forest on the culinary map.”
Prices range from £40-£60 a head.
