Forget five-star restaurants. Food-loving tourists are getting their kicks in other ways, from cooking up a hotpot with a Mauritian grandmother to market shopping with a Venetian countess.

Gourmet travel as a niche market is huge

Well-heeled travellers in search of gourmet luxury are seeking out experiences, sparking a shift in the tourist industry, according to experts at an upmarket travel fair in Cannes.

“Gourmet travel as a niche market is huge everywhere,” said Jennifer Campbell, a member of the bespoke travel specialist Virtuoso network, at the annual International Luxury Travel Market.“The trend is growing strongly.”

Ms Campbell’s firm will shortly fly a small group of epicureans on a truffle-hunting expedition to Italy.

The movement kicked off three to five years ago, boosted in the US, Britain and elsewhere by rising interest in organic produce and local food, as well as global television hits such as Masterchef.

Frank Farneti, regional head of France’s luxury Relais et Chateaux hotel network said: “One example is Grandma’s Kitchen at the Shanti Maurice Nira beachside resort in Mauritius, run by the real grandmother of one of the staff.

“She rustles up traditional Creole fare at her home while sharing stories with her guests, before sending them off with a selection of handwritten recipes.”