Why Chef-Led Trips Are the Next Big Travel Trend 

Antico Nuovo chef Chad Colby has built a reputation for bringing regional Italian cooking to Los Angeles, drawing on decades of experience and his tenure at famed LA restaurant Chi Spacca. For the past few years, Colby has led small, personalized trips to Sicily and Liguria, offering travelers cultural immersion through food, wine, and hospitality. He planned each trip a couple of years in advance with the hope of providing a travel experience that is “organic” as well as educational. “I’ve been taking an academic approach to the cuisine,” says Colby. 

There’s something particularly alluring about traveling Italy through the eyes of a chef. What does a week or two spent doing activities, eating food, and staying in places curated by a chef look like, and what is the appeal? Take a look at Colby’s planning process and where he finds value in the trips he creates.

Courtesy of Chad Colby

Rather than simply booking reservations at popular restaurants, Colby builds each itinerary around local experts and experiences that most travelers would never find on their own. His groups are intentionally small—often made up of couples or people with whom he has some prior connection—and he works with locals to create a detailed and thoughtful culinary itinerary for each destination. Colby also prioritizes experiences that require a group, allowing travelers to lean into opportunities that would be difficult to arrange independently.

One such experience took place in Sicily, where Colby organized a cooking class centered around timballo, a huge layered pasta dish that is traditionally served at weddings and other large celebrations. It’s nearly impossible to find in a restaurant because it requires such a large party to finish, according to Colby. Over the course of an entire afternoon, two local women taught Colby’s group how to prepare an eggplant timballo from scratch.

Courtesy of Chad Colby

“There’s been a learning curve on [the trip]… we tried to have some experiences that people couldn’t really do on their own,” says Colby. 

That philosophy extends beyond cooking classes. Colby prioritizes building relationships with local artisans, restaurant owners, and producers, creating time for travelers to meet with restaurant owners, learn from them and get to know them, creating a much more specialized and intimate experience. 

“I’ve got a passion for handmade couscous. Trapani is the one part of Italy that does it because it’s closer to Tunisia than it is to Rome,” says Colby. During one visit, the group traveled to a farm where they learned to make handmade couscous before preparing it alongside a traditional fish stew.

On another outing, they visited a local cheese producer and watched him take fresh mozzarella and shape it into burrata, all by hand. “It was almost like little kids watching someone make balloon animals,” Colby says. 

Courtesy of Chad Colby

On one recent trip, Colby brought along a sous chef from Antico Nuovo. “I like it because it keeps a narrative menu to the restaurant… It’s inspired by a real experience,” Colby said. According to Colby, that trip became a creative “canvas” for his sous chef—Antico Nuovo’s campanada was first developed during that trip to Sicily, before making its way onto the restaurant’s menu.

Courtesy of Chad Colby

The greatest takeaways from chef-led travel like Colby’s aren’t the culture or the cuisine, but the companionship. During chef-curated trips, spending more than a week cooking, eating, and traveling together naturally creates friendships among guests who already share a passion for food and travel. Colby said that couples who met on his trips have continued to stay in touch and bond over good food. “People who were on the trip and met on the trip came to the restaurant together. They’ll come in as a four-top to the restaurant, like a little reunion,” said Colby. 

Colby already has future trips in the works, which he plans to announce through his and Antico Nuovo’s Instagram accounts. He’s also open to curating private itineraries, which offer travelers the chance to experience Italy through the eyes of someone who has spent years studying its regional food traditions.