A culinary immersion in Tunisia

Sawa Taste of Tunisia offers culinary tours lasting several days, including traditional cooking courses and workshops, tastings of typical products (harissa, wines, olive oil), guided tours of markets, and activities such as olive picking and floral water distillation (in season). In the company of Lamia, your host, you’ll discover unusual places off the beaten track, carefully chosen after years of criss-crossing the country in search of new flavors.

Period: all year long

Durée : 1 à 8 jours / 7 nuits ou plus

Participants: 2 to 8 people maximum

Accessibility : Accessible to all. No particular physical aptitude is required. Adjustments can be made for all types of dietary requirements (gluten-free, vegetarian, etc.) and physical handicaps.

Languages : French, Arabic, English and Italian.

Transport: All transfers to and from the airport are included.

Type of venue/accommodation: Guest houses/bBs and very small hotels with a strong historical feel.

Localisation : Tunis et alentours, Cap Bon.

Your hosts : Lamia Jamie

Lamia and Jamie met in Kobet Lagha, in the Nabeul region. Brought together by their shared passion for local flavors and sharing cultures, they created Sawa Taste of Tunisia.

Lamia Temimi

Born in Tunisia to an Algerian father and Sicilian mother, Lamia is at the crossroads of Mediterranean cultures. After twenty years spent traveling the world working in the high-end hotel industry, she now runs a bed and breakfast on a farm in the heart of the Nabeul countryside, a quarter of an hour from the beaches of Cap Bon, and encourages continuity as a consultant in sustainable tourism. She is fluent in Arabic, French, English and Italian.

Jamie Furniss

The son of a cook and a bush pilot in Canada’s far north, Jamie developed an early passion for North African culture and the Arabic language. He holds a PhD in International Development from Oxford University, and is a university lecturer in social anthropology. Having lived for many years in Egypt and Tunisia, he now shares his passion for the culinary arts and gastronomy of the southern shores of the western Mediterranean.

Highlights of the experience

• A journey to discover the people, flavors, skills and places of contemporary Tunisian cuisine.
• Discover the country’s history and culture through its culinary arts.
• Moments of sharing and intercultural encounters.
• Anthropological aesthetics and ethics.

Ideal if you’re looking for activities to …

This trip will appeal to foodies and travelers of all ages looking to discover Tunisia in a different way. Children aged 8 and up can enjoy the experience enormously – please don’t hesitate to discuss this with us.

The spirit

Gathering around a meal, tasting new flavors, delighting your taste buds, learning new skills and gestures: the experience we offer is above all sensitive and sensory. It is based on an aesthetic and ethical approach that is as close to human as possible – one could say “anthropological”. It’s all about meeting the artisans, growers and producers, exploring the terroirs and production sites, and soaking up the country’s unique culinary history and culture.

With the conviction that food, from its preparation to its sharing, is part of a precious and unique ritual that unites human beings everywhere and since time immemorial, we want to defend a culinary art rooted in an ethic of respect, whether in the relationship to food, to the land or to each other.

In Tunisia, tradition says that when a guest is at home at mealtime, it’s appropriate to invite him or her to share the meal with a ritual invocation. So, Aya bismillah!

We’ve got you covered…

We’ve carefully created several itineraries of varying lengths, based on different themes. You can choose from the following suggestions, or build your own “A la carte” itinerary. See www.sawataste.com for full details:

Gourmet stroll – 8 days/7 nights

Our emblematic tour of Tunis, its coastal towns in the northern suburbs and the magnificent Cap Bon region. On the menu: typical dishes, unforgettable flavors and iconic places!

Cape Bon Epicurean Tour – 4 days/3 nights

A stay with a bucolic flavour, with an introduction to local know-how, preparation of tabouna and dishes, and a visit to vineyards.

Fondouk and souks of Tunis – 4 days/3 nights

A gourmet stroll through the Medina and Tunis’ central market, built in 1891, followed by a treasure hunt in the aromatic souk and a cooking workshop.

Parfums de printemps – 4 days/3 nights

Bitter orange blossom, rose or geranium… scents that are part of Tunisia’s olfactory identity. Discover ancestral flower distillation techniques.

Spicy getaway – 4 days/3 nights

Find out all there is to know about harissa, a typically Tunisian condiment based on red peppers, and listed as a World Heritage Site.

1-day tours

• “Street food Tour of Tunis
• Visit to the central market and cooking class in the Tunis medina
• Travel to the heart of Cap Bon to discover Harissa, floral water distillation and pottery, or take a cooking class at Lamia’s rural home.
• Day trip to visit an olive oil mill, taste the oil and, depending on the season, pick olives or tend the olive trees.

A la carte

Sawa Taste of Tunisia lets you create your own culinary journey à la carte.