How Do I Choose the Stops on my Tour?
- talgoring
- 20 בינו׳
- זמן קריאה 3 דקות
One of the things I’m most meticulous about during the tour is the places I stop at. Truly, I choose carefully because, in both Carmel Market and Levinsky Market, there are countless delicious spots, an endless abundance of food stalls, restaurants, tasty stands, and interesting shops to visit. So how do I choose from all of this?! The task is not easy at all; it involves a lot of research and tasting of delicious food, conversations with the owners, and a lot of thought—basically, all the things I love!
Over time, I’ve developed a few criteria that guide me in selecting stops for the tour:
The first and most important one is The Taste. This is a culinary tour, so the food at the place must, must, must be tasty. If I don’t think it’s delicious, there’s no reason to stop there, even if the story is interesting. I may pass by and share an anecdote, but there won’t be any tasting during the tour.
The second criterion is Hygiene & Cleanliness. On the tour, I am responsible for the wellbeing of my guests, so it’s important to me that they finish the tour without worrying about stomach issues or messes. Most of the places I visit meet my standards, but I have come across places that don’t, so they are not included in the tour.
After these two basic criteria, the next important factor is the Hospitality of the owners and employees. They need to be pleasant, kind, friendly, and welcoming to tour groups. I not only need to like them personally, but they must also be open to hosting tours. Some places struggle to accommodate the complexity of a tour stop, especially during peak hours and busy times, so these must be places that enjoy having the tours and appreciate the experience.
I admit that I’ve come across places I wanted to stop at, but hosting a group there isn’t suitable for them, and I respect that. I’ll just finish by recommending to tour participants to visit these places on their own time.
Once I’ve found a place that meets all three of these components, another important criterion comes into play: the Part of the Story the place fits into. On the tours, I try to tell the story of the area through food. Whether it’s the historical story and anecdotes from the past, what’s happening in the area culturally right now, or what the latest trend is, each stop tells a different part of the story, meaning it’s another piece of the puzzle that makes up the big picture of the place.
So what am I saying? That there can be wonderful, tasty, clean, and welcoming places, but if they don’t fit into a part of the story, I won’t include them in the tour (but I definitely recommend visiting them when passing by).
Recently, I added a new criterion: the stop should have some kind of Social Impact. It’s not a must, but it becomes a golden criterion that gives priority to certain places.
For example, in the Levinsky tour, I added Café Otef - Re'im. It’s a coffee shop that's part of a network called "Café Otef," which employs evacuees from the Gaza area (and from the north) and sells produce from communities in the area. The branch near the country club in Florentin is open every day, and you can also find the famous chocolates from Dvir Karp z"l, a chocolatier from Re'im who was tragically murdered on October 7th. In the establishment of the café, they successfully recreated his amazing recipes, and you can try them from a stunning showcase full of high-quality chocolates with original flavors (of course, alongside a selection of pastries and other products in the shop).
This is definitely a recommendation, so even if you’re not coming for the tour, visit Café Otef. You’ll not only enjoy delicious food but also feel good in your heart 💛💛💛
And now that you’ve had a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how I build a tour, all that’s left for you to do is come, taste, enjoy, listen to the stories, and learn about the place.
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