A NEW COLLECTION OF WORLDWIDE CULINARY TOURS IN THE COMPANY OF EXPERTS

MasterChef Travel is a brand new range of culinary holidays, focusing on the world's most inspiring cuisines. This collection of group tours has been created by specialist travel experts Cox & Kings in partnership with MasterChef.

All the tours feature local culinary experts and many also include time with popular contestants who have appeared on MasterChef programmes across the world. The holidays, including both multi-centre tours and shorter single-centre trips, offer the opportunity to discover local cuisine and explore the countries' most interesting sights.

Keri Moss, joint winner of MasterChef: The Professionals 2012, will be accompanying the inaugural tour to Marrakech in March. Keri says, “I am really excited to be part of MasterChef Travel and am looking forward to discovering the sights and smells of Marrakech. I've always enjoyed cooking Moroccan food – I was the tagine queen in a previous job. I love using different spices in my cooking so I'm keen to see the spice markets, and test out my haggling.”

Departing on 25 March, 22 & 23 September, the 5-day / 4-night Souks & Spices of Marrakech tour is priced from £1,395 per person, including accommodation in a riad, transfers, excursions and flights. Keri will join the tour for a day to take the group to the local markets to source food for a lunchtime cookery lesson. In the evening she will wander with them through the lively Djemaa el Fna and join for a dinner in one of Marrakech's well known restaurants.

Other MasterChef Travel tours joined by MasterChef UK contestants include:

Turkey: Legacy of the Ottomans – 5 days from £1,195 per person

Departing 10, 11 & 12 September 2014 with MasterChef: The Professionals 2012 winner Keri Moss

Keri will join guests on a walking tour to discover the food and culture of European and Asian Istanbul and give an interactive cookery demonstration followed by dinner.

Italy: Glories of the Amalfi coast – 7 days from £1,960 per person

Departing 5, 7 & 9 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2011 finalist Sara Danesin Medio.

Sara will join the tour for two days in Amalfi. Highlights of the tour with Sara include visits to buffalo mozzarella and limoncello producers as well as an interactive cookery lesson and dinner in Ravello.

China: An oriental odyssey – 13 days from £3,545 per person

Departing 9, 11 & 13 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2013 finalist Larkin Cen

Meeting the tour in Beijing for two days, Larkin will give a cookery demonstration at the Hutong Cuisine Cookery School and among other visits, he will join guests on a walking tour of a night food market, have a dim sum dinner at the Peninsula Hotel, enjoy a traditional tea with a local family and take a rickshaw tour of the Hutongs.

Spain: Culinary passion of the Basques – 6 days from £1,895 per person

Departing 10, 12 & 14 October 2014 with MasterChef: The Professionals 2011 winner Ash Mair

Over two days in San Sebastian, Ash will give an introductory talk on the cuisine of the Basque Country, which he is passionate about, and will join guests on a cider tasting and lunch in Astigarraga and a pinxtos (tapas) tasting tour. As well as giving a cooking demonstration, Ash will accompany a walking tour of La Brexta market.

Italy: Flavours from the heartland – 8 days from £2,195 per person

Departing 13, 15 & 17 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2011 finalist Sara Danesin Medio

Sara will join the tour in Tuscany for two days, which include a cookery lesson and lunch at Villa Casagrande as well as Tuscan olive oil and ham tasting in Montepulciano and wine tasting at Borgo Casabianca in Vallombrone, where Sara will also give a cookery demonstration and join guests for dinner.

India: Splendours of the north – 9 days from £2,315 per person

Departing 16 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2010 winner Dhruv Baker

Based in Jaipur for two days, Dhruv will join three different northern India tours. He will give cookery demonstrations in a former palace and at the Amber Fort as well as visiting the spice bazaar and local markets.  Dhruv will also join a visit to the City Palace in Jaipur for a tour of the private rooms and a Thali dinner.

Vietnam: The lush & fragrant land – 15 days from £3,325 per person

Departing 4, 6 & 8 November 2014 with MasterChef UK 2008 winner James Nathan

James will accompany the tour for two days in Hanoi and will give an introductory talk on the food of Vietnam as well as join a tour of the local street food market and take the group for dinner at his favourite stall. James will give a cookery class at the Hanoi Cooking Centre and join for dinners and lunches throughout the two days.

Mexico: Flavours of a vibrant land – 12 days from £3,225 per person

Departing 10, 12 & 14 November 2014 with MasterChef UK 2010 winner Dhruv Baker

Dhruv will meet the tour for two days in Oaxaca, Mexico's food capital. He will accompany a walking tour of the town, which includes a visit to the Abastos food market, give cooking demonstrations and join guests for lunches and dinners.

Thailand: The exotic lemongrass trail – 11 days from £3,150 per person

Departing 11, 13 & 15 November 2014 with MasterChef UK 2012 finalist Andrew Kojima

Andrew (or 'Koj', as he is known) will take guest on a tour of Chiang Mai night market and have dinner at one of his favourite stalls as well as join a morning visit to the local food market and give two cookery lessons followed by lunch with the group.

Cox & Kings' CEO Peter Kerkar says, “Discovering local food is one of the great joys of travel and doing so in the company of like-minded enthusiasts, guided by culinary experts, will give the perfect reason to broaden travelling horizons. This new partnership makes the most of Cox & Kings' unrivalled expertise at organising the finest special interest expert-led tours worldwide, combined with our strong presence in many of the key MasterChef territories, including the UK, USA, Australia and India.”

"Food and travel have been the perfect pairing for MasterChef, with some of the world's most exciting and exotic destinations featured across our global franchise,” said Ben Liebmann, Chief Executive of Shine 360°. "The international provenance of our contestants' recipes and ingredients also make travel a natural extension for the brand. We are thrilled to be working with the Cox & Kings team to bring this vision to life and to the show's millions of fans and food lovers."

All prices include flights, transfers, excursions, accommodation with breakfast and other meals as specified.

Details of the full range of tours and accompanying chefs can be seen at www.mastercheftravel.com with more tours to be announced in 2014.

 THE 2014 MASTERCHEF TRAVEL COLLECTION

China * India * Italy * Mexico * Morocco* Peru * South Africa * Spain * Turkey * Thailand * Vietnam

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NOTE TO EDITORS

MasterChef Travel is a range of worldwide culinary holidays, some of which feature a MasterChef contestant. All MasterChef Travel tours are operated by Cox & Kings, the world's longest established travel company. Its history stretches back more than 250 years to 1758 when Richard Cox was appointed regimental agent to the Footguards (later the Grenadier Guards). With operations in London, the US, Japan, Australia & New Zealand and throughout India, Cox & Kings organises escorted small-group tours and private tailor-made travel worldwide.

Based on a format created by Franc Roddam, MasterChef sets out to find amazing amateur chefs whose talent, dedication and passion for food could change their lives forever. The format has enjoyed unprecedented success globally, produced in over 40 countries and broadcast in over 200 territories worldwide and achieving No1 status in many.

In the UK, there have been nine series of the revamped version of MasterChef, eight series of Celebrity MasterChef, five series of MasterChef: The Professionals and two series of Junior MasterChef, which have been produced by Shine TV since 2005.  The most recent amateur series on BBC One peaked at more than 6.7 million viewers for the finale in May 2013.  The fifth series of MasterChef: The Professionals returned to BBC2 on 4th November, and the 10th amateur series will premiere on BBC One early next year.

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For further information please contact:

Katie Parsons

Tel: 0207 808 5694

Email: katie.parsons@coxandkings.co.uk