Gullivers Australia, together with legend chefs and hospitality experts, have unveiled dynamic new culinary group tours led by professional chefs.
This evolution into culinary and cultural experiences extends their audiences’ shared passions and desire for meaningful experiences that are attracting the modern traveller. It sees Gullivers’ experts working with profile chefs like Adam Liaw and Chung Lee to lead curated cultural culinary tours to iconic food destinations like Italy, Korea, and Japan.
With Adam’s 2026 tour to Japan already sold out, Gullivers’ general manager events Mike Jones said through the past five years working with Adam they had established a winning formula with a passionate gastronomy audience and would now expand that category.
New tours, including the Living Italy Tour in September with Luke Wright from Sydney’s famous Italian institution Buon Ricordo and Chung Lee’s South Korea adventure in October, connect culture, cuisine and community for the culinary curious.
The tour leaders are selected for their exceptional storytelling, bringing highly personal, even family cultural experiences and locations, combined with curated activities, handpicked accommodation and itineraries including wellness offerings.
A journey into the soul of Korea
Korean born renowned South Australian maestro chef Chung Jae Lee’s tour – A journey into the soul of Korea – takes travellers to his origin story, experiencing the flavours he grew up with through the markets of his youth and the traditions that shaped his life in food.
“Food is one of the most direct ways to understand Korea because every region tells its own story through flavour,” Chef Lee said. “One of the most memorable discoveries for guests is the depth of flavour found in Korea’s fermented ingredients. In Gwangju, for example, the local chilli paste is extraordinary. It is layered, complex and central to so many regional dishes.
“Understanding how ingredients like this are made and used opens a window into Korea’s seasonal rhythms, its respect for preservation techniques and the way families have cooked for centuries.”
Travelling with someone who knows these neighbourhoods personally means stepping beyond the obvious. Guests find the hidden places, long-standing family kitchens, and the dishes people grew up with. That is where Korea becomes real and the tour delivers a treasure trove of experiences.
“Visiting a traditional spa is not only relaxing but also social. Koreans also love walking and hiking, and meals are typically built around many small vegetable side dishes that support balance and health,” Lee added. “Experiences like tea ceremonies and plantation walks help travellers understand how nourishment in Korea goes beyond the plate.
“When you experience the culture alongside the food, everything makes more sense. The flavours feel connected to the story of the country itself.”
A recent ‘Why Travel? Report’ by Trip.com and Google, scanning global search trends, identified a new version of the travel souvenir, the surging ‘skillvenir’ cohort of travellers seeking curated culture-based culinary and expert-led tours to acquire new knowledge, skills and techniques to take home and share. Trip.com reported in 2025 a 43 per cent YoY increase in food-related bookings and Google’s Trends data showed travellers highly interested in overseas cooking classes.
“Introducing guests to the food I love, the markets I remember and the traditions that influenced my cooking is something I feel very proud to do,” Lee said. “It is a personal experience as much as a culinary on.”
Living Italy Tour
The ‘Living Italy Tour 2026’ in September to Northwest and Central Italy, led by fluent Italian speaking wine and food expert Luke Wright, is equally as immersive and surprising. From foraging in the Langhe hills to soaking in the thermal springs of Saturnia, this tour curates an immersive experience of iconic Italy, lived slowly and richly.
“The idea of slow travel is going to a place and having the ability to feel the energy of what life is like in that particular place and at that particular time,” Wright said. “I think it’s so vital in modern life.”
This tour has curated experiences designed to give people the opportunity to be a part of something that most travellers miss.
“We’ll get hands-on with some local producers, make pasta, go foraging, home visits and even bathe in thermal springs,” Wright added. “Food is what brings us together and is like a glue for creating memories. It literally forces us to slow down just through the act of eating, and in Italy it becomes sacred.
“I hope the travellers will meet people who they can form real connections with that last longer than the tour itself, as well as make memories that don’t need a photo to remind us of something we did.”
The tour is designed around the philosophy of slow travel, with its blend of biodynamic wine, wild landscapes, organic cuisine and centuries-old traditions, it offers a seamless narrative of place.
Guests stay in refined countryside relais and vineyard resorts with spa facilities, dine in historic cellars and family osterias, and enjoy the quiet luxury of time, space and wellbeing woven throughout.
Culinary group tours
Gullivers’ new culinary category offers more of these exceptional, legend-led tours that immerse culture and iconic destinations with whole food and new skill experiences.
The broadening portfolio focuses on small-group, high engagement journeys combining gastronomy, cultural immersion and mindful exploration.
“This evolution strengthens our core capabilities while aligning with where the group travel sector is moving toward experiences that balance expertise, authenticity, and emotional connection,” Jones added.
Each tour is limited to small groups to ensure exclusivity and access to experiences otherwise unavailable to the broader market.
Building on decades of trust among schools, professional teams, and institutions worldwide, Gullivers is well placed to make new offers to its extensive database.
“Our history gives us a level of operational precision and reliability that partners and clients can depend on,” Jones said. “Having added some food and wine experiences in recent years to our sporting tours, we are truly excited to bring this new bespoke and carefully designed category to our range of offers.”
Gullivers Culinary travel is on the refreshed website alongside their highly regarded sports and schools offers. This includes the forthcoming Wallabies Vs Pumas Argentina Tour in August and September, led by former Wallabies captain Tony Shaw, that includes amazing cultural and dining activities bespoke to Argentina, as well as behind the scenes access to the sporting highlights to truly deliver the unique Gullivers promise of the best possible fan experience.
Gullivers Australia has always been about delivering on the passion of fans, be it 40 years of delivering for ardent sports fan clients by adding cultural experiences to iconic locations and event tours, to bespoke offerings of culture and sport and now blending gastronomic adventures with legendary culinary tour leaders and wondrous locations not accessible to the everyday traveller.
