Downtown Peterborough’s tastiest attraction will be starting again this July.
The Farm to Table Peterborough Downtown Culinary Tour will be operating from July until September – and trying to continue a streak of sold out events celebrating the shops and restaurants of the Downtown core.
The weekly tours, which visit six downtown businesses each week, showcase local boutique food stores and downtown restaurants, highlighting small batch, artisan food production and local/seasonal cooking. They run from 1pm to roughly 4pm each Wednesday, leaving from the Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market.
Each venue provides generous samples of their products – including some wine and beer samples.
“Last year was pretty fantastic,” smiles Owner/Tour Operator, Donald Fraser. “With it being the second year, there was definite buzz. By the end of the summer, the vast majority of bookings were a result of word of mouth.”
Reviews have been universally positive.
“Raves,” glows Fraser. “In fact, most people come up and thank me individually after the event. Several people have come back for second tours. The word of mouth – the buzz – has been fantastic.”
The reason for its success?
“Really, it is the business owners and chefs who have made these tours so popular,” he admits. “We have so many incredibly talented business people downtown. And they are all characters – all so good at capturing the attention of patrons and tour participants. These people are artists. They are educators. They are showmen and showwomen. And they have been absolutely wowing their audiences. It’s been a genuine pleasure to watch them do their stuff and sample their incredible foods.”
The tour has been particularly successful in showcasing Downtown Peterborough.
“It’s been some great direct marketing for all of the businesses on board,” explains Fraser. “We’re introducing new customers to restaurants and shops across the core and letting chefs and owners wow them with their talent, personalities, and incredible foods. We know that many of these patrons are going to come back. We also know that they are going to tell friends, families, and colleagues about their experiences. Add this to the media outreach and social media outreach, and you have thousands of people being introduced to these businesses.”
The tour has attracted a wide array of participants.
“What has been incredible is the diversity of people coming out,” says Fraser. “We’ve had cottagers, people from communities outside of Peterborough – Lakefield, Bridgenorth, Young’s Point, Ennismore, Millbrook – groups of people from local workplaces, retirees, students… You name it. So many of these people have spent time in the downtown without ever frequenting these businesses. And so many of them are now vowing to return to these great shops and restaurants.”
The success of the tours has led to valuable partnerships with the GPAEDC, Peterborough Tourism, the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, and the DBIA.
This year Fraser promises to add more tours to the roster – doing some special evening events, some new regional trips, and even some East City tours.
For more information on the tour, including schedules, please visit www.ptbolocalfoods.ca or call Farm to Table Peterborough at 705-977-0604.