JAPAN WITH TIM ANDERSON, ITALY, PORTUGAL AND SELF-DRIVE IN CRETE

MasterChef Travel has announced new escorted group tours in 2016 to Portugal, Tuscany, the Veneto region of Italy with Sara Danesin Medio, and Japan with Tim Anderson, winner of MasterChef UK 2011. Alongside these new group tours, they have launched a range of private tours to destinations including a food-focused self-drive tour of Crete.

New group tours from MasterChef Travel for 2016:

Treasures of Japan with MasterChef Tim Anderson – 11 days from £3,945 per person

Departing 9 October 2016

This new tour is fully escorted by a local guide and Tim Anderson, winner of the MasterChef UK series in 2011. Beginning in Tokyo, the tour travels from the bustling streets and fish markets of the capital to the green tea plantations of Kyoto and Mount Fuji, from historical Nara to the foodie paradise of Osaka. Highlights include a visit to Tsukiji fish market, the largest of its kind in the world, a hands-on sushi lesson, a green tea ceremony, a visit to a sake brewery, street food tours, a traditional Kaiseki dinner and more.

Italy: Splendours of the Veneto with Sara Danesin Medio – 7 days from £1,495 per person

Departing 5 September 2016

This tour explores the lesser-visited region of Veneto, taking in Padua, Vicenza and Castelfranco.  MasterChef UK 2011 finalist Sara Danesin Medio who was born in this region accompanies the tour, which includes visits to the oldest producer of Prosciutto di Montagnana, Bassano del Grappa and a grappa distillery, and Valdobbiadene, the home of prosecco. To top it all off Sara and a local chef provide a cookery demonstration showcasing the dishes of the region.

Portugal: Treasures of Lisbon – 5 days from £1,395 per person

Departing 25 April 2016

This tour brings Portuguese food to the forefront, a cuisine often overlooked but now gaining increasing popularity in the UK. Travelling from Lisbon to Sintra and Alentejo, the tour pairs its culinary focus with must-see sites. Culinary highlights include a range of tastings, from petiscos (similar to tapas), to red wine and Moscat, from Azeitão cheese to the famous pasteis de Belém (Portuguese custard tarts). Travellers also join chef and MasterChef Portugal judge Justa Nobre to prepare traditional dishes in her restaurant kitchen.

Italy: Tuscan Farmhouse Escape– 6 days from £1,175 per person

Departing 17 April and 9 October 2016

Based in an agriturismo in the Tuscan countryside, this short break is packed full of authentic food experiences. The tour includes two hands-on cooking classes where the menu could include seasonal pasta or bistecca alla fiorentina, wine cellar and olive mill visits with tastings, and local market visits, as well as stops in nearby San Gimignano, Siena and Volterra.

Greece: Traditional tastes of Crete self-drive (private travel) – 8 days from £865 per person

With distinct culinary traditions, Cretan cuisine focuses on using fresh, flavoursome and local ingredients. Among the foodie highlights on this flexible, private itinerary are visits to an olive oil grove including tastings, a hands-on cooking workshop in a local village and visits to dairy and wine estates.

Other tours offered by MasterChef Travel for 2016 include:

Peru: An Andean culinary adventure – 10 days from £2,695 per person
Departing 15 September 2016, and also available as a private tour

Italy: Ultimate Emilia Romagna – 7 days from £1,895 per person
Departing 15 May and 4 September 2016

MasterChef Travel is also able to arrange tailor-made tours with a food focus to a range of destinations.

All prices include flights (international tours only), transfers, excursions, accommodation with breakfast and other meals as specified.

All group tours feature local culinary experts and offer the opportunity to discover local cuisine as well as exploring the countries' most interesting sights.

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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 eleven series of the revamped version of MasterChef, ten series of Celebrity MasterChef, eight series of MasterChef: The Professionals and three series of Junior MasterChef, which have been produced by Shine TV since 2005.  Series 11, the most recent amateur series on BBC One, peaked at more than 6.6 million viewers for the finale in April 2015.