Take your kids around the world via cuisine on our NYC family-friendly food tour. School groups are welcome.
**Covid-19 update: In-person food tours are back! Your guide is fully vaccinated and boosted, and busy leading food tours for small groups in Jackson Heights. The family food tour is harder to keep outdoors-only, as outdoor seating is limited in this area, but if you aren’t comfortable with indoor dining, we will figure it out. New for 2022, I have a two-family minimum (or a 6-person minimum, if you have a large family!) to run these tours. Email [email protected] to request a date!
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I love showing people around our incredibly multicultural NYC neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, where I’ve lived for more than a decade, have led food tours for 10 years—and have been raising my two young kids for the past eight. Growing up here, my little boys have developed adventurous palates and a curiosity about the world. With this new tour, I am sharing that with other families wishing to expose their children to new cultures and foods from around the world, in a fascinating off-the-beaten-path NYC neighborhood.
While our regular food tour is kid-friendly, this one is designed to really engage, educate, and encourage children to enjoy new foods from various cultures.
What: In this two-hour-long tour, we will travel through 5 countries via food: Nepal, Tibet, Colombia, Mexico, and India. Tastings from each place will be enough for both parents and children to have lunch. There is some walking in between stops, but it’s pretty minimal, and we’ll be able to sit down (and use a bathroom) at two or three of the stops. Aside from the tastings, the kids receive an activity packet with information: I’ll share a little bit about each country, we’ll consult a map and learn some words in the native language, and we’ll play a game (with a prize!) along the way.
Here’s a sneak peek:
Who’s it for: Kids and their parents! Or students and their teachers! All ages are welcome, but this tour will be best appreciated by children age 5-11. Younger kids won’t get as much out of it, but they can certainly still participate (kids under 2 are free). Strollers are recommended for little ones; the streets we walk get a bit crowded.
Picky eater? Don’t worry about it. Unless requested otherwise (we can accommodate more adventurous eaters), the foods on this tour are like new spins on familiar foods for many children; nothing too out there or spicy. Plus kids are given an incentive to at least TRY everything once.
**Please be very clear about any dietary restrictions or food allergies your child may have.
Email [email protected] to book!
Where: Jackson Heights is easy to reach from midtown Manhattan via the E, F, 7, R, or M train (stop is 74th St./Roosevelt Ave.). It’s about a 15-minute ride from midtown. Detailed directions will be provided.
Cost: $50 per adult; $40 per child (over age 2), which includes all food. Everyone eats! For larger school groups, please contact [email protected] to discuss rates.
For more family-friendly food resources for your next trip to NYC, also see our one-day Kid-Friendly NYC Food Itinerary (for Manhattan).
A glimpse of Nepali momo-making
When: Weekday and select weekend tours are available by request. (Weekends have a higher minimum guest requirement of 8 people.) Get in touch to talk dates!
Email [email protected] to book!
Good to know: Just like with our other Queens food tours, as part of our Feed Your World initiative, a portion of all profits is donated to a local food pantry or Make the Road New York, a nonprofit org with local offices that we’ve marched alongside with in area protests. Make the Road works to protect the rights of immigrants and working-class families here and across NYC, including in the areas of: workplace justice, tenants’ rights, immigrant civil rights, language access, LGBTQ justice, public education, health care access, and immigration reform.
Stuff we have to say: By purchasing a food tour with Eat Your World (EYW), you (i) understand and agree that EYW is not responsible for anything consumed (e.g., food or beverages) on your tour, or any accidents, injuries or other loss that may occur during your tour; (ii) waive any and all claims of liability against EYW and its owner-operators, for any reason; participation in an EYW tour is at your own risk; and (iii) grant EYW a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free fully paid license to use any photographs or other likeness of you taken while you participate in a EYW tour.
What People Are Saying
“We had a blast on the Jackson Heights Family Tour with Laura! We were able to taste foods from Colombia, Mexico, Tibet, Nepal, and India. It was an amazing variety of colors, flavors, textures, and spices. Yum! Laura took us to restaurants that we never would have found on our own, and knew exactly what to order. All of the restaurant owners and staff knew her and were extremely friendly and welcoming to our group. It was such a special experience to chat with them and hear about the food traditions from their countries. My favorite part was later that day, hearing my kids excitedly recap the experience to their dad. They remembered so many details about each of the countries and foods. The tour is a NYC gem and I’d highly recommend it!” —Margaret (and her 6- and 9-year olds)
“Thank you again for a wonderful tour! Kids can’t stop talking about it.” —Margie DQ, DQ Family Travel (and her 9- and 11-year-olds)
It was so much fun and delicious! I highly recommend!” —Sarit (and her 5-year-old)
“An amazing family food tour and engaging food adventure!” —Susan K. (and her 3- and 6-year-old)
“Such a fun afternoon celebrating the world treats in Jackson Heights” —Susan G. (and her 6-year-old)
See our press in NYMetroParents and DQ Family Travel.
