Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010

Food tours spotlight local flavors

Joe Philipose and Lesley Stracks-Mullem, co-founders of Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours, have a mutual love of food that has served as more than just common ground - it was the means to start a business.

Taste Carolina specializes in helping community members discover and experience the new restaurants and "tastes" of North Carolina through organized food tours in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Numerous Raleigh tours were launched in May 2009 and have been gaining popularity ever since.

With tours such as a Glenwood to Capital Walking Tour, Raleigh Chocolate Tour, North Carolina Brew & Cue and the new North Hills Lunch Tour, Taste Carolina has something for every type of food junkie.

These business partners discovered their zeal for the culinary world at an early age.

"My love of food came from my mother," said Philipose, who is of Indian descent. "In her culture, hospitality is an art form and cooking and eating is a key part of the culture."

Stracks-Mullem's simple response, "My family loves food", encompasses her culinary beginnings.

After numerous moves, continued education, and fruitful early careers, the two future business partners found themselves in North Carolina.

Philipose's search for the "best quality of life" led him to the South, while Stracks-Mullem and her husband "fell in love with the area and decided to stay."

Philipose came to North Carolina with ideas for restaurants and for a potential food tour company.

Stracks-Mullem came with a lifelong desire to own a business and fell right into the rest.

After planning an appetizer and wine tour of Durham, along with an elaborate barbecue tour, for some visiting food-loving relatives, she knew there had to be a market for her planning talents outside the realm of pleasing friends and family.

After fortuitously meeting the same restaurant owner, the future co-founders were introduced - and they were in business five months later.

Focusing their tours on independent, locally owned businesses that source their food locally, Philipose and Stracks-Mullem have created a niche that continues to grow.

"We have some really loyal customers who love our concept and end up going on multiple tours," Philipose said. "Some have been on nearly every tour."

Food tours work to promote new local businesses, help community members discover old area favorites and, most importantly, "as a way to preserve the culture and food traditions of North Carolina," Stracks-Mullem said.

"We love being part of the tour," said Angela Salamanca, owner of downtown restaurant Dos Taquitos Centro. "We have regulars that have become so after attending a tour and finding our business. It is a great way to expose what we do."

The business partners plan to continue to add tours in the Triangle, and possibly run the more popular tours more than once a day.

"We love the restaurants and shops we have on our tours and are so glad to showcase them," Philipose said.

"It's great when our customers end up supporting these places as passionately as we do."