Crafting a New Food Tour

Last Updated January 19, 2017

Matthew Guidice and Anthony Guzman are the duo behind Craft Food Tours in Del Ray Beach, FL. This January, they’ll be officially launching their tour and beginning their tourism industry careers. EzTix Creative Director, Joseph Martin, had the opportunity to talk with the guys about some of the hurdles they’ve encountered in building their tour from scratch.

JM: So you guys just woke up one morning and decided, “we’re starting a food tour?”

MG: Over the last 4 years, I have been fortunate to travel all over, tasting the best cuisines the world has to offer. In my travels, I began taking food tours because I believed they were a great intro to the culture of a city. Through this, I quickly realized they all had one thing in common.

The People. 

There is a camaraderie among foodies. No matter the age, race, sex, religion — people who participate in food tours all love food and finding new ways to experience it. Food really is a truly universal language. So if I have the opportunity to meet, and surround myself, with great people then starting a food tour seemed like a no brainer.

JM: You mentioned traveling all over, what other food tours have you experienced?

MG: I have taken food tours in Bangkok, Rome, Barcelona, Prague, Mexico City, Amsterdam, Austin, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, West Palm Beach, Pompano Beach and hopefully many more in the future.

JM: So you took a bunch of food tours, made up your mind to do it, and put the pieces in motion. What was the biggest challenge in actually getting started?

MG: You are probably looking for a challenge specific to a food tour but it’s not. In fact, my biggest challenges could probably be applied to just about anything in life. It was about being positive and learning to enjoy the experience in the moment.

So often we get caught up in the negatives. So our mind begins to create these defense mechanisms in order to not damage our ego. It happens to everybody when they start something new or get out of their comfort zone. Continually challenging myself to be positive, no matter what, was going on was so crucial in following through with starting our tour.

Don’t get me wrong, some things didn’t go as planned. But, as a result of staying positive, time slowed down and I really began to just enjoy the process, good and bad.

JM: What was the biggest help in getting started?

MG: There were so many people and experiences that really helped us get started in creating this food tour. Shane Kost’s comprehensive course with Food Tour Pros, and the two local food tours in my area (West Palm Beach and Pompano Beach) have been beyond helpful. It also helps having a partner who is just as excited and motivated as myself.

The thing is, when you start anything it all starts internally. I really wanted to start a food tour and simply took the steps necessary steps to do that. Now, we’re 2 weeks away and it is time to execute!

JM: Some people forget what it’s like to be in your position. What’s the one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to start their own food tour, or even a well established tour?

MG: Reach out. Reach out to other operators. Reach out to restaurants. Reach out to friends and family. Gather all of that information you can and see if it makes sense for your own tour.

JM: What is the goal for your inaugural year?

MG: This is all very new to both Anthony and I. We have no experience in running a business and we do not have financial goals quite yet — I can tell you that.

For now, our main goal is to Create Relationships Around Food Tourism (CRAFT). I mentioned earlier about why I started the food tour and it’s that I really enjoy the people that look to do food tours. These are the kind of people I want to surround myself with. This will be achieved by continuing to remind ourselves why we started Craft Food Tours in the first place.

JM: This has been really insightful. Before we close things out, what’s the one area you feel you still need help with?

MG: We need help is many areas. Finances, script construction, blogging etc… There is not one specific thing that I can honestly tell you that we have 100% down pat and don’t need help with. People, myself included, try to take on everything by themselves not realizing the amount of amazing people in your life that are so willing to help you. Surround yourself with good people and you no longer need to plan to get help because help is a phone call away.

You can drop Matt and Anthony a line by visiting their site at http://www.CraftFoodTours.com. We wish them both the best this year and look forward to working with them on helping their tour reach its fullest potential.