Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Make Time for Life with Loved Ones On Intimate Food Tours Over the Holiday Season


"Time is free, but it's priceless. 
You can't own it, but you can use it. 
You can't keep it, but you can spend it. 
Once you've lost it you can never get it back." ~ Harvey Mackay
 author of best-selling book, Swim With the Sharks

"They say time is money but that's not true. 
Time is life." ~Ann Voskamp 
author of best-selling book, One Thousand Gifts


Are you also finding that once Toronto's Santa Claus parade arrives in town, it's a cue for the city to flip on the "Holiday" switch?  It's time to enjoy (or dread) the onslaught of holiday parties,  time to play festive music in all the shopping malls, and time to savour the early sunsets giving way to twinkling cavalcades of lights on buildings and trees. December may have 31 days, yet it always seems to be shorter  as it ends up jam packed with early deadlines, staff parties, and shopping for the perfect gifts for loved ones.

2013 marks 20 years of designing and conducting intimate Food Tours, LitWalks and GhostWalks for A Taste of the World in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Over the years, I have felt honoured to be leading a food tour whenever a loyal patron/guest returns, and book themselves and a loved one to join one of our popular holiday food tours (i.e. Kensington Festive Food Roots or Chinese Lunar New Year tour/banquets). The gift of your precious time to others is a gift to yourself. Time well spent together on a food tour is one of the most rewarding and cherished in life. From time to time, over the 20 years,  I get patrons dropping a line  or two via a hand written 'Thank You' note, an email,  a Facebook update or even a Twitter 'shout out' - and often it's about their cherished memories of the fantastic foodie moments shared with their loved ones and yours truly.

In the month of December, I look forward to celebrating  all the Festivals of Lights along the Kensington Festive Food Roots tours (Sunday December 8th, 15th @ 10am-1:30pm; Saturday December 21st 9:30am-1:00pm). Toronto, lives up to its namesake, The Meeting Place, as we celebrate the festivities and foods behind Diwali, Chanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas and Kwanzaa.  Each tour will be kept to an intimate size comprising of 11 lucky guests, so book your spots now to avoid being disappointed! You can still book by phone at (416) 923-6813 or via email info@TorontoWalksBikes.com .  These food tours will be extra special as the lucky foodies will be treated to artisan chocolates, personally made by my alter ego @SChocolateMagic, as I complete the Chocolate Confections course while working my way through George Brown College's Professional Chocolatier Certificate programme. I hope you will be able to set aside some time to join me in lighting up and celebrating life as 2013 wraps up.

Happy Holidays!

Shirley Lum, Founder, Culinary Historian & Food Tour Guide
A Taste of the World 
Est. 1993



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