The Ultimate Foodie Bucket List for 2024

Last Updated on February 20, 2024 | 0 Comments
foodie bucket list
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Everyone has a bucket list of things to do before they die, so if you live for food, it only makes sense that you’d have a foodie bucket list too. When it comes to the joy of food, the world is truly your oyster. Virginia Woolfe is famous for saying, “One cannot think well, love well or sleep well if one has not dined well,” and it is quite possible no truer words were ever spoken. 

What are your foodie bucket list dreams? Maybe you have visions of slurping ramen from a street vendor in Tokyo, or aspirations of afternoon tea at the Savoy in London. Maybe you fantasize about having a chance to compete in Hell’s Kitchen until Gordon Ramsay screams at you for screwing up the risotto. Maybe you’re just still wishing Anthony Bourdain wasn’t gone. 

If you’ve never really thought about your food bucket list ideas, be like Hansel and Gretel and follow our trail of breadcrumbs to get started. While you can’t dine with Anthony Bourdain, you can still eat in Anthony Bourdain's top NYC restaurants. Warning: Reading through this ultimate food bucket list is likely to make your stomach rumble and increase your lust to wander. Let’s just say if your life goals read like a menu, get ready to turn the page.

 

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Foodie Bucket List Experiences

1. Participate in Cooking Classes

Some foodies might hesitate at the idea of putting cooking classes on a foodie bucket list. After all, most foodies have above-average cooking skills already. Why would you want to spend an afternoon with people who don’t know how to debone a chicken or who have never heard of sous vide?

You might be surprised to find out that cooking classes near you offer more adventurous instruction than you thought. Cooking classes are also worthwhile food bucket ideas for when you travel. Envision a weekend getaway to New England with cooking classes in Boston to get a feel for the flavors of the best Boston foods, or explore new food combinations with cooking classes in Toronto. If there is a specific dish or cuisine on your foodie bucket list, you could also check out online cooking classes for professional instructors who teach live classes from around the world.

add cooking classes to your foodie bucket list
via Cozymeal

2. Take a Food Tour

For a lot of us, our foodie bucket list actually guides our choices for travel destinations. When you are planning to hit a city with an overwhelming amount of foodie bucket list restaurants, food tours actually make a lot of sense. 

Take NOLA, for example. With hundreds of New Orleans French Quarter restaurants to choose from, food tours in New Orleans can give you a head start in discovering the best New Orleans foods and various cuisines. Same with the city by the Bay. Food tours in San Francisco allow you to get the lay of the land in terms of San Francisco foods and the ultimate food bucket list neighborhoods. If you are tired of the same old, same old in your own hometown, it might be time to consider food tours near you to get some fresh inspiration.

3. Hire a Private Chef

Intrigued by cooking classes, but don’t want to share? We understand. That’s why you should add private chef experiences to your foodie bucket list. There are two ways to set the table on this one — first, you could use it like a cooking class where you get one-on-one instruction from a professional. Or, you could throw a killer dinner party for your foodie friends and have private chefs near you do all the work. 

There are private chefs in Houston that may specialize in local fare, while private chefs in San Diego may have more globally-inspired food training. Whichever one you choose, having a restaurant-quality meal prepared in your own home without having to do the cleanup should be on any foodie's bucket list.

private chef holding a pan with steak
via Cozymeal

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4. Enjoy an Online Beverage Tasting

One cannot eat delicious food without having the right beverage to wash it down. If you are ordering the same cabernet sauvignon with every steak or the same pomegranate martini with every salad, then let’s put some new sips on your foodie bucket list. 

Virtual wine tastings are ideal for foodies. Every restaurant offers a wine list, and learning how to better navigate it will only enhance your meals. Are you actually a little sick of wine but haven’t ever found the cocktail that speaks to you? Time to put online mixology classes on your foodie bucket list. Learning to become your own bartender or how to prepare classic New Orleans drinks is one foodie bucket list idea that will stir up your next party.

5. Learn to Roll Sushi

We are all experts at consuming sushi, but few of us have ever learned to make our own. It isn’t nearly as hard as it seems, and once you get the hang of it, it’s actually pretty fun — so put this on your foodie bucket list. You could take a class (such as sushi making classes in Seattle or sushi making classes in Washington D.C.) or check out YouTube videos to get started. Classes make the process approachable and also show you some great recipes that don’t require purchasing expensive sushi-grade fish.

add sushi making classes to your foodie bucket list
via Cozymeal

6. Peel Your Heart Out at a Crawfish Boil

The ideal way to cross this one off your foodie bucket list is to get invited to a boil with a local. It’s a totally different experience to sit around and socialize while anticipating the big dump vs. eating crawfish out in a restaurant. Locals also have secret recipes and signature add-ins which make every boil unique (from Brussels sprouts to pineapple to artichokes to hot dogs).

Just watching the boil process is a foodie bucket list-worthy experience in and of itself. If you don’t know a local, your best bet is to search for crawfish festivals, and during crawfish season, those are not hard to find. The format is usually a cook-off, which means for one fee you get to try several different versions of the Cajun delicacy. Whatever you choose, make sure your foodie bucket list includes plenty of cold Abita beer to wash them down. 

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7. Fly First Class for the Food

Since you’ve been checking items off your foodie bucket list, you’ve probably racked up enough credit card points to get a first-class ticket. For domestic flights, the experience really isn’t worth the points. But for certain international carriers, it’s a game changer. Look for lay-flat seats so that after your three-course napkin-worthy meal, you can settle in for a good nap and wake up when the wheels touch down.

add flying first class to your foodie bucket list
via Canva

8. Make Père Roux’s Cake

This foodie bucket list confection is not your mother’s rum cake (except that it uses shortening). And making this decadent dessert is not for the baking faint of heart. But if you have the patience and the equipment, the rewards of Père Roux’s cake will be worth the effort.

Why is baking this cake a food bucket list idea? Answer: Four fluffy cake layers flavored with both real vanilla beans and almond extract. A filling made from butter, brown sugar, overripe bananas and dark rum. But the icing on the cake is literally the icing on the cake: an ultra-rich butter and cream cheese frosting seals the deal. This is an absolute foodie bucket list show-stopper for Christmas dinner. The cake is huge, but you’ll slice it small so there will be plenty of leftovers for breakfast. Yes, you will eat it for breakfast. It’s almost better with morning coffee than as an after-dinner dessert. 

9. Make Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon

Adventurous cooks could choose to do a Julie & Julia and put “cook all the recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking” on their foodie bucket list. The rest of us can be satisfied if we make just one of her iconic dishes. Boeuf bourguignon is the most famous, but deboning a duck for pate de canard en croûte is a more ambitious and foodie bucket list-worthy choice.

boeuf bourguignon
via Canva

10. Try a Sensory Dining Experience

We’re betting that very few of you have tried this, so let’s add it to the foodie bucket list of to-dos. Sensory dining involves eating while blindfolded or possibly fully immersed in darkness. The idea is that all five of your senses — sound, sight, taste, touch and smell — will be utilized together to create a unique dining and eating experience. 

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11. Order Fancy Room Service at the Ritz Carlton

There’s room service, and then there is foodie bucket list-style room service at the Ritz Carlton. Known for going above and beyond in every way, Ritz Carlton is one property where the expense of having a full meal brought to your room is worth the splurge. 

eat at the ritz carlton for your foodie bucket list
via Canva

U.S. Foodie Bucket List Destinations

12. Eat Your Way Around the World at EPCOT

A lot of foodie bucket lists will include dinner at Cinderella’s castle in the Magic Kingdom, and that is probably a good choice, too. But for those who crave something a little more sophisticated, EPCOT’s world showcase is a good alternative. Eleven countries are represented, so if your foodie bucket list skips the United States (just so you can save room), that gives you 10 opportunities to sample foods you won’t find on your average dinner menu. And because each country is decked out in its traditional style, you will feel like you’ve taken a vacation without getting on a plane.

Warning: EPCOT is still a theme park, so not all of the food on offer is foodie bucket list worthy. Do some research and choose carefully. Target foods should include the School Bread at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Norway, the Biergarten buffet in Germany, galettes and crêpes at La Crêperie in France, the omakase menu at Takumi-Tei in Japan and, mainly for romantic ambiance, the San Angel Restaurante inside of Mexico.

13. Pick Apples in New England

The quintessential New England foodie bucket list experience should include a trip during foliage season, which also happens to be peak apple-picking season. Follow the Revolutionary War battlefields from Boston out Route 2 into Concord and Lexington, and then take a short detour to the tiny town of Stow, Massachusetts.

Honey Pot Hill Orchards has been in business since 1926 when it was a 70-acre family farm. Its current 186 acres include pick-your-own apple orchards, an authentic hedge maze, a petting zoo and a farm store where you can buy your apples if you don’t want to pick them. Don’t forget to get some fresh-pressed apple cider and their irresistible cider donuts while you check this one off your foodie bucket list.

man putting fresh picked apples in a basket
via Canva

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14. Pig Out at the Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas

In the city of ultimate excess, there are several ways to have over-the-top foodie bucket list experiences. One is to pig out at the Wynn Las Vegas buffet. In true Wynn style, the dining space is colorful and inspiring, but so is the buffet. With more than 90 different items to choose from including a wide variety of international dishes, sushi, carving stations and an entire confectionery section, it’s a true foodie bucket list jackpot.

15. Indulge on Italian Cookies at Mike’s Pastry

No trip to Boston would be complete without foodie bucket list staples like a hearty pasta meal in the North End and a trip to Mike’s Pastry for dessert. Boston is one of the best foodie cities and this Italian neighborhood is teeming with family restaurants and cafes that specialize in gelato and espresso. But the most coveted bite is a fresh cannoli from Mike’s. As with any neighborhood gem/institution, be prepared to stand in line to earn your foodie bucket list prize. 

add a visit to mike's pastry to your foodie bucket list
via Mike's Pastry

16. Watch Live Music and Sip Beer in Luckenbach, Texas

Skip the best BBQ in Austin. Let’s go to Luckenbach,Texas with Waylon, Willie and the boys. This iconic outdoor country music venue is located in the rolling hill country of Texas. Get your dustiest cowboy boots on and get ready to kick up your heels at one of the many live concerts that they host throughout the year. Keep yourself refreshed with cold local beer. This foodie bucket list experience wouldn’t be complete without a little retail therapy in the general store for souvenirs to prove you were there.

17. Eat at Hell’s Kitchen

You can’t say you’ve checked everything off your foodie bucket list until you’ve experienced Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. There are several locations across the country now, but the OG is in Las Vegas and the star chef himself occasionally makes an appearance.

salmon plated at gordon ramsay's hell's kitchen
via Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen

18. Take a Dinner Cruise of the Riverwalk

The San Antonio Riverwalk is overflowing with restaurants to fill any foodie bucket list. The best way to experience both the flavors of the area and the romance of the river is to book a dinner cruise. Check out Go Rio Cruises to learn about the rotation of restaurants that offer group dinner cruises.

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19. Eat Twice a Night in Washington, D.C.

Our nation’s capital has an incredible number of amazing restaurants and opportunities to sample foods you won’t find elsewhere (unless you go to another country). One dinner per night isn’t enough! A good foodie bucket list plan is to schedule two dinners per night when you are in town, one early reservation and one late. Top targets should be RasikaOld Ebbitt GrillZaytinya by Jose Andres and Marcel’s. There is plenty of walking to do between meals to work off the calories. 

eat at zaytinya for a foodie bucket list experience
via Zaytinya

20. Catch, Kill and Cook Your Own Wild Game

This might include deer, wild boar or even game fish. But you haven’t lived your foodie bucket list until you’ve participated in a squirrel cookoff. Louisiana is not only a sportsman’s paradise, it’s also a place where there is a festival for everything. At the annual Sportsman’s Heritage Festival in St. Landry Parish, foodies can sample and vote for the best wild game in the Fur, Feathers, or Fins cook-off.

21. Finish a Kimball Special

If you’re exploring New England in the summer months, there will be plenty of opportunities to get real dairy-made ice cream. One place to put on your foodie bucket list is Kimball Farm. You can get a scoop or three, but we recommend that you go big or go home with the 5-scoop Kimball Special.

the kimball special ice cream from kimball farm
via Kimball Farm

22. Experience St. Anthony’s Feast in Boston’s North End

Known as the “feast of all feasts,” this Boston festival is essentially an Italian food lover's ultimate food bucket list dream come true. It’s like your nonna and all her besties decided to spend about a week in the kitchen and then it overflowed into the streets. There are parades, live musicians and merchandise galore to browse while you stuff yourself on Boston’s best of the best Italian food and drink.

23. Take a Lobster Cruise in Maine

One of the best ways to experience what New England has to offer is to put Maine on your foodie bucket list. Start with a lobster cruise on one of the Finestkind boats that leave from quaint Perkins Cove in Ogunquit and see what it’s like to pull a live lobster from a trap. Afterward, grab a table at the legendary Barnacle Billy’s (located next to the docks) and experience the joy of a perfectly prepared cold lobster roll on a buttery split top bun. 

enjoy a maine lobster roll for your foodie bucket list
via Canva

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24. Catch a Flying Fish at Pike Place Fish Market

Made famous by the FISH Philosophy corporate training program, there is no question that trying to catch a flying fish at Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market should be on any foodie's bucket list. Pike Place Fish Company is just one of the dozens of places you’ll want to check out at the Seattle Public Market, and eating as much food as you can here should also be on your foodie bucket list.

25. Eat Pralines in New Orleans

In New Orleans, you’ll find lots of shops selling sugary pralines and eating a dozen or so of these should be on your foodie bucket list. A stroll down Decatur will lead you toward the French Market and you’ll smell them before you see them. Look for spots where they’re actually making them fresh to go and in a variety of fun flavors like coconut, peanut butter or rum.

pralines
via Canva

26. Eat a Fenway Frank

If you’re catching a Red Sox game in Boston, then you’re on deck to eat a Fenway Frank. It only counts if you order it from one of the vendors making their way through the stands. Be sure to have your cold Samuel Adams ready. Alternatively, you could achieve this foodie bucket list goal at Wrigley and have hot dogs in Chicago instead.

27. Taste Real Olive Oil in Napa

There is a fabulous book about the olive oil industry by Tom Mueller that everyone should read before they buy their next bottle of Bertoli from the grocery store. Knowledge is power, and once you learn that what you’re buying is likely not even made from olives, your life will change forever. When you want to know what you’ve been missing, put a visit to Round Pond winery on your foodie bucket list. They offer olive oil and food tasting where you’ll learn what real and good look like.

olive oil poured into glass bowl
via Canva

28. Take a Sleigh Ride to Dinner on a Mountain Top

After a long day of skiing in Park City Utah, you’ll have worked up an appetite. One of your foodie bucket list choices is to refuel at Flanagan’s on Main, an Irish pub serving life-changing corned beef sliders. Follow that with two fingers' worth of High West Whiskey, distilled right there in the heart of Mormon country. 

For a true Salt Lake City foodie bucket list experience, get dinner reservations at the Norwegian Viking Yurt. This hut is located at an elevation of 8,700 feet and you’ll take a 23-minute sleigh ride to get there. Settle in for a four-hour, six-course winter warmer complete with pewter dinnerware and live music played on a baby grand piano. If you can’t make it for dinner, make an entry on your foodie bucket list to ski in for lunch and scarf down a hot bowl of chili and a cold Guinness on draft.

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International Foodie Bucket List Destinations

29. Dine Cliffside on the Sea of Cortez

The dining experience at El Farallon in Cabo San Lucas is a one-of-a-kind must-add to any foodie bucket list. Located at the Waldorf Astoria in the Pedregal, just arriving is special. You’ll wind your way on foot through a desert scape of carefully placed cacti, lanterns, candlelit walkways and desert rock to arrive first at the Champagne Terrace, and then into a dining space on a cliff situated just above the crashing waves of the Sea of Cortez. 

The kitchen is open-air and the daily catch is prominently displayed beneath apropo chalkboards bearing quotes from Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. The key to this foodie bucket list experience is to time your reservation so that you can enjoy a pre-dinner Champagne flight and then be seated just as the sun begins to set. 

If a culinary-inspired marriage proposal is on your foodie bucket list, this is undoubtedly one of the most romantic and spectacular settings in the world where you’ll be inspired to pop the question.

el farallon in cabo san lucas
via El Farallon

30. Nibble Jambon et Fromage in Les Saintes

Is there any better foodie bucket list experience than eating a jambon et fromage on a fresh French baguette slathered in butter? Yes! It’s tasting that simple joy on a tiny French-speaking island in the Caribbean that no one else has ever heard of. 

Arrive at charming Terre-de-Haut by ferry from the main island of Guadeloupe, or if you’re lucky, by private charter. Work up an appetite by hiking up to Fort Napoléon. Then grab le sandwich and a cold bottle of rosé and head to magical Plage de Pompierre for a picnic. Take a refreshing plunge after lunch but before you cross this one off your foodie bucket list, be sure to bring your goggles so you can see those adorable sea turtles swimming with you.

31. Embrace Octopus in Mykonos

Even for a foodie, octopus can be confounding. Your first experience was probably the cold, rubbery chunks served in sushi restaurants. Or a terrible marinated salad bar version. Or greasy battered and fried calamari (which is actually squid). Properly prepared octopus is a labor of love. It is boiled, tenderized, marinated and then grilled. Prepare to have your life changed when you put Mykonos, Greece on your foodie bucket list.

When it comes to foodie bucket list dinners in Mykonos Town, you will want to put Maereio on your list for sure (Rick Steves said so). But what about lunch? 

Check into the Myconian Ambassador at Platis Gialos. Wake up to the most foodie bucket list-worthy breakfast buffet you’ve ever seen. Nap it off on the beach. When you’re ready for a late lunch, slip on your sandals and grab a seat at Yialo-Yialo. Order the grilled octopus and a glass of rosé. One bite is all it takes. We promise.

grilled octopus is a must for your foodie bucket list
via Canva

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32. Stay at a Tuscan Olive Oil Plantation

There are a thousand foodie bucket list experiences in Italy. Do them all, but make sure that Villa Campestri is on your list. This Renaissance estate is a first-of-its-kind resort built around centuries-old olive groves. Every room is decorated in a refined yet old-world style, and every one has a view of the rolling hills outside. 

You’ll walk the vineyards, explore the gardens, shop at local markets, participate in the food preparation and — most importantly — you’ll taste everything, including some of the best and freshest olive oil in the world. If you are not already an olive oil snob, you’re about to become one. Learning about how to identify and use real olive oil should be on any foodie bucket list.

33. Yell Prost and Chug Beer at Oktoberfest in Munich

You’ve been to lots of festivals before, but you’ve never experienced anything like this. Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany actually takes place in September and lasts for 18 days. It is colorful, boisterous and rowdy fun, yet somehow remains orderly and organized in true German form. This is hands-down a must-do for any foodie bucket list.

You’ll have to purchase tickets in advance if you want to get into a “tent." You’ll want to invest in some lederhosen or you’ll look like a tourist. It’s everything your foodie bucket list imagination dreamed it would be and way more. 

Well-endowed women in dirndls hoisting beer steins overhead and girls in pigtails selling Bavarian pretzels. Oom-pah-pah bands in every direction. Table dancing, chicken dancing. Even if you can’t get a tent pass, anyone can pay the entrance fee and wander the grounds in order to cross this off your foodie bucket list. There are even family-friendly rides and attractions if you absolutely must bring the kids.

Oh, and you’ll want to stay at the Platzl Hotel in Old Munich. The rooms are basic but you won’t remember them so just go for another foodie bucket list as-good-as-Greece-if-not-better breakfast buffet.  

go to oktoberfest for a fun foodie bucket list activity
via Canva

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34. Tableside Catch of the Day in Marigot

Any trip to the Caribbean offers foodie bucket list seafood eating opportunities, but a lot of those include frying the catch of the day instead of treating it with the respect it deserves. That’s why your foodie bucket list should include dinner in Marigot on Saint Martin. 

Many people visit Saint Martin as a cruise port of call. Boats dock in Philipsburg which is on the Dutch side and which is a bit overrun with tourist trap souvenir shops. You can take a cab to Marigot on the French side where you’ll find a charming and walkable town center with many foodie bucket list-worthy restaurants and craft shops to browse. 

Almost every restaurant will have a chalkboard out front listing the catch of the day with choices like parrot fish, trunk fish or trigger tail. Look for a fine-dining establishment that offers the entire fish deboned tableside. Remember, in order to be foodie bucket list worthy, fish should swim three times: first in water, then in wine and lastly in butter.

35. Sip Scotch in Scotland, Try Haggis

Scotland may not be a country you’d think of for a foodie bucket list, but what they lack in terms of food they make up for in beverages. It’s called whiskey when it’s made anywhere else but in Scotland, it’s scotch. To sample the best, visit Oban Distillery. Oban is a very small batch producer and the tour is short and sweet, but you get a sample at the end served in a really nice keepsake glass. 

Another way to cross scotch tasting off your foodie bucket list is to sip it after a hearty Scottish meal. Three Chimneys restaurant on the Isle of Skye will require you to use an actual map vs. GPS due to its remote location. You’ll also need to be good at dodging the sheep and cattle that will be wandering the roads along your way. But their chef's table experience is one-of-a-kind and worth the adventure for sure. 

And don’t forget to put “try haggis” on your foodie bucket list if you’re into adventurous eating. The best way to compare it would be to boudin in New Orleans, but if you don’t know what that is either, just trust us and don’t ask. 

haggis with mashed potatoes
via Canva

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36. Pursue Joie de Vivre in Paris

Every foodie should have a foodie bucket list just for Paris. The city of love holds the promise of secret rendezvous and stolen kisses between lovers late at night, the glitter of the Eiffel Tower and the romance of the Seine. And the true joy of life which is a perfect croissant.

Channel your inner Julia Child and prepare to make major strides on your foodie bucket list here. Wander the food markets. People watch in streetside bistros while sipping cafe au lait and nibbling on madeleines. Eat sublimely perfect escargot at the unassuming Polidor in the 6th arrondissement. Finish with duck confit (and two bottles of bordeaux) at Le Caveau de L’isle in the neighborhood of Isle St. Louis, just a few steps from Notre Dame. 

37. Eat a Sugar Shack Feast in Quebec

When in Canada, one of the best things to put on your foodie bucket list is to visit a sugar shack. This is the affectionate name given to maple syrup plantations that have successfully turned the art of producing sugar into a commercialized foodie bucket list experience. Think log cabin hidden deep in the forest and indoor dining spaces warmed by a fireplace with communal picnic tables and all-you-can-eat buffets. 

The sugar shack feast celebrates the coming of spring, but also all the ways that the components between tree sap and the final product of maple syrup and sugar can be used culinarily. A typical sugar shack meal includes soup, baked beans, spiced pork, ham sausages soaked in maple syrup, omelets, crêpes and endless sweet-tooth temptations. The maple syrup isn’t the only on tap — so is live foot-stomping, two-stepping entertainment and most likely local draft beer.  

maple syrup snow candy made at a sugar shack
via Canva

38. Eat Termites in Costa Rica

We’ve got your attention now! Costa Rica isn’t a top destination for foodie bucket list experiences, but it is top on many lists because of the opportunity to explore real rainforest. Many tours in Costa Rica will involve a jungle trek where you’ll see adorable capuchin monkeys, sloths and innumerable tropical birds. But you’ll also find giant termite nests built into trees on these hikes. Did you know that termites taste like popcorn? It’s a handy tip in case you lose your way and get hungry.

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39. Wine and Cheese Picnic in the Alsace

The Alsace region on the border between France and Germany is a foodie bucket list must. Combine old-world charm, French and German-influenced menus, and a French wine region famous for its production of Riesling wine and you’ve got all the components of a foodie bucket list paradise. Bike paths that wind and weave through local vineyards lead to open fields that make the perfect romantic backdrop for a picnic, so grab some camembert and paté on the way. If you prefer to drive, follow the Alsace wine route.

visit the alsace wine region for a foodie bucket list idea
via Canva

40. Eat With Silverware on the Beach in St. Kitts

When your cruise ship makes a stop in Basseterre, St. Kitts, skip the souvenir shops and head straight to Banana Bay beach to fulfill this foodie bucket list experience. This picturesque beach faces sister island Nevis and has a full-service restaurant that also provides beach service. The daily special varies, but you can be sure it will be a fresh grilled fish served with a coconut-raisin slaw, local pumpkin and traditional rice and peas. Lunch is served on real china with cloth napkins and real silverware.

41. Dive for Conch on Middle Caicos

You can take a vacation on the main island in Turks and Caicos, but the real foodie bucket list adventure is on tiny Middle Caicos. This is one of the few places in the world where it is legal to dive for conch. Take a ferry and arrange for a local to take you out for some snorkeling and see if you have what it takes to make the plunge. You can fry up your catch for dinner, but conch makes an awesome ceviche.

fried conch fritters
via Canva

42. Dine on a Boat in the Abacos

A splurge-worthy foodie bucket list vacation idea (or the perfect honeymoon idea) is to hire a captain and do a private boat charter. Cruise Abaco services the Abaco islands of the Bahamas and they will set you up with everything you need, including a captain. They’ll also stock your kitchen with everything you need to have a foodie bucket list feast without leaving your boat.

43. Learn to Pour a Proper Pint in Dublin

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland is like an amusement park for beer enthusiasts, or at least it is for Guinness fans. If you love the black stuff, a visit should be on your foodie bucket list. Part of the experience is an activity where you learn to pull a proper pint of Guinness from a draft. You’ll get a completion certificate and yes, you’ll get to drink it when you’re done.

bartender pouring a pint of beer
via Canva

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44. Sip Rum and Yacht Shop in St. Barths

St. Barths is one of the most exclusive ports in the Caribbean, and they host an annual bucket regatta where you can watch expert yachtsmen park J-boats as easily as if they were backing a compact car into a parking spot at Walmart. Have a foodie bucket list-worthy dinner at Bagatelle (we recommend the lobster pasta if available). It’s pretty common in St. Barth’s for a restaurant to give you a free shot of local rum after dinner, so when the sun goes down, find a good spot with a view of the glittering people coming and going for the boat after-parties and sip as if you were one of them.

45. Have a Ryokan Dinner in Japan

Staying at a Japanese ryokan is a unique idea for a foodie bucket list. A ryokan is the Japanese version of a hot spring resort with traditional Japanese accommodations. Part of the experience is to wear your yukata to dinner where you will sit on the floor and enjoy a multi-course, artfully prepared meal that features local food and signature dishes of the ryokan itself.

ryokan dinner in japan
via Canva

46. Make Homemade Tortillas in Oaxaca

Known for being the epicenter of the famous Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead Festival, Oaxaca, Mexico is also a place to try your hand at tortilla making. A great addition to your foodie bucket list is to sign up for a tour with G Adventures and you’ll get to experience the best of both the festival and the food.

47. Breakfast By the Caldera in Santorini

This experience is for both your foodie bucket list and your amazing places to stay bucket list. Santorini, Greece is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and romantic places in the world. Splurge for a suite at Oia Castle Art Maison and enjoy breakfast delivered to your private patio overlooking the caldera (the bay created by a volcanic crater that formed Santorini). The indoor cave pool in your room is pretty spectacular, as is the view of the sunset, but the homemade Greek yogurt with candied raisins and pastry selection is the best part of all.

view of the water from santorini, greece
via Canva

48. Have a Mallorca for Breakfast in San Juan

Exploring the charming streets of Old San Juan is a foodie bucket list-worthy trip. There are fresh ceviches, heaping paellas and colorful mofongos on every corner. But the best-kept secret is the mallorca, a Puerto Rican sweet bun dusted in powdered sugar. It’s usually served for breakfast and the best one can be found at Cafeteria Mallorca. Try the original first, and then the ham and cheese.

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49. Dine in Style on a Luxury Train

The top foodie bucket list choice for this experience is to explore options from Belmond. The luxury hotel brand also boasts a selection of luxury train itineraries that travel to some of the most interesting places in the world. There are two options serving destinations in the Peruvian Andes as well as their original Venice-Simplon Orient Express in Europe.  

dining on a luxury train
via Belmond

50. Eat at Ultraviolet in Shanghai

We have saved the best and most exclusive foodie bucket list experience for last. Chef Paul Pairet has created a truly unique multi-sensory food experience available to only 10 guests per night in Shanghai, China. 

This totally unconventional meal takes place in a secret location that diners are led to from a meeting point. The 20+ course menu involves not just food, but lights, sound and smells coming from all directions. Recently added to the list of top restaurants in the world, getting a reservation at Ultraviolet and being able to afford it are the two biggest obstacles to achieving this foodie bucket list goal.

This ultimate foodie bucket list is more appetizer or amuse-bouche than icing on the cake. Work through it bite by bite, and course by course, and create flavor memories that you’ll savor forever. Digest what is here but always stay hungry for more. And always remember that the best way to live your foodie bucket list is with someone who loves food as much as you do.

For even more fun ways to explore your favorite foods, check out other experiences happening on Cozymeal.