If You’re a Foodie, Don’t Miss These Placencia Food Tours

Belize’s culinary scene is as diverse and interesting as its landscapes, people, and history.  If you’re a food enthusiast visiting Placencia, you can explore the country’s rich cultural tapestry through the cuisine.  Mayan, Mestizo, East Indian, Creole, European, and Garifuna influences combine to create a tantalizing array of dishes to captivate a curious palate.  Begin your gastronomic journey into Belize’s dynamic cuisine with one of Placencia’s unforgettable food tours.  From roadside vendors hawking homemade tamales to succulent seafood straight from the sea, the traditional recipes and local ingredients you’ll sample are sure to delight.  Here are the top Belize food tours to take in Placencia.

Taste Belize Village Food Tour

Get a lay of the land and discover hidden gems like only a local would know on this walking tour around Placencia Village. During, you’ll snack and sip your way through the area.  Taste Belize founder, Dr. Lyra Spang, has a passion not only for Belize and its intriguing history but also for food—especially how cultural cuisine can tell a story about our heritage.  Having grown up off-grid on a remote cacao farm in Southern Belize, Lyra has always fostered a deep connection to the land and the sustenance it provides us.  She pursued a doctorate in the Anthropology of Food. Then, she established Taste Belize Tours to highlight the importance and intrigue of the country’s cuisine. 

Choose between a lunch or dinnertime tour and be prepared to wander off the main street to discover local gems secreted away in backyards and sandy side lanes.  Your guide will educate you on the multicultural heritage that has influenced the dishes we enjoy today.  No two tours are exactly the same.

Samples change based on seasonal availability of fresh ingredients and what happens to be cooking on that particular day.  You may try a Mayan corn food such as Dukunu or the Garifuna version, Darasa, made with green bananas instead.  You might sip on a thick and creamy seaweed shake made with Eucheuma isiforme grown and harvested just offshore. Or, you might try some earthy bittas, an elixir of medicinal herbs and bark from the jungle.  Taste Belize tours are as fun as they are educational. So, come with an open mind and leave with a full belly.

Creole Cooking Class by Dtourz

Doyle Gardner’s Coconut and Cashew Cooking Class is a family affair, hosted around a fire hearth in his backyard. He is often joined by his mother or sister in the open-air kitchen to teach participants how to prepare traditional Creole dishes from start to finish. 

This hands-on culinary experience is a unique way to deeply connect to the cuisine of the region.  You’ll harvest, husk, and grate coconuts to prepare fresh coconut milk for your rice and beans.  You’ll roast cashew nuts in an open flame and get your hands dirty cracking them from the shells.  You’ll blend spices to slowly simmer your stew chicken. And, you’ll do it all with the expert guidance of hands that have repeated the process for generations.  Jokes are made, stories are told, and friendships are forged around the dining table as you enjoy the meal you’ve created together.

Belizean Bartender Cocktail Class

In beautiful Maya beach, mix handcrafted cocktails (or mocktails if you prefer) using local spirits, fresh tropical fruit, and provincial herbs steps from the Caribbean Sea.  Learn how to make the perfect Rum Punch or Panti Rippa while sampling Belizean made spirits.  The preferred base for many favorite cocktails is Copalli Rum. This Belize-made rum is distilled in the rainforest using restorative farming practices and neutral impact processing just 50 miles south of the peninsula in the quiet Toledo District.  A beachside cocktail class is the perfect preamble to sunset. Plus, gourmands can carry their newly acquired crafting skills home. There, they’ll be able to impress friends and family with an exotic beverage that tastes like the tropics.

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If you’re a foodie, you will enjoy discovering and dissecting the complex and complicated cuisine of Belize, interlaced with many cultural influences and shaped by a different colonial history than its neighbors. The regional dishes here are as intriguing as they are delicious.  Don’t miss out on cooking, sampling, and sipping your way through Placencia to get the most out of your visit.

Featured Photo by Megan Rodden