The Garlic Workshop: Food, Magic and Vampires

Yes, garlic is weareable. Especially 2 nights during the year, when the evil spirits become very powerfull.

The setup. We shall start with a traditional alcoholic beverage: a glass of tuica /palica.

Exemple of meal with lots of garlic: bread with lard and garlic and a bit of parsley.

Garlic soup - only available for groups bigger than 8 persons.

Garlic is a must-have in all Romanian households: used for food, old medicinal cures, household hacks and even small magical practices - like protecting from vampires! Are vampires real? We don't know, but garlic sure is and it plays an important role in Romanian culture. Part storytelling, part food tasting, this workshop will take you in the wonderful yet smelly world of garlic - come!

What you need to know Moments to expect Guide Cancellation & refund policy Location details

What you need to know about this garlic tasting workshop:

The workshop takes 3 hours and will be held in a cosy, family-owned bistro in Bucharest witch serves traditional Romanian food
Included: food tasting and my funny-full-of-details storytelling. No cooking involved, but you can learn tricks from the kitchen
You will eat a two course meal (both with plenty of garlic) and serve a traditional Romanian digestive drink to start things on the right way
You will learn about the use of garlic in our cuisine, its historical significance in Romanian culture and myths as well as modern (and unexpected!) uses in everyday life
BBC published a story "Why Romanians are obsessed with garlic?" - and it's real!

Additional information

Meeting point can be at your hotel or in a central square like Unirii Square or University Square by the metro station.

From there we will walk about 10 - 15 minutes to the restaurant.

Moments to expect in this garlic tasting workshop

Vampires?

Traditionally, Romanians don't believe in vampires. But they do believe that peoples' souls can come back to cause them harm and these evil spirits are called 'strigoi'. There are many stories from our elders of this happening and garlic was used as protection - I will tell you about this. What about Vlad the Impaler? Was he a 'strigoi' too? What is legend and what is turth - we will cover that also!

Garlic everywhere - but tasty!

You will find out how garlic is used in pretty much every dish in Romanian cuisine. Except for desserts. We will talk about all sorts of meals and dishes that contain garlic, why Romanians love to eat it, how we prepare it and learn garlic-smelling stories from the cook. Don't worry - everything is delicious, not too spicy and mint candy is on us!

How to book?

Choose how many people and when
Request a booking and fill in your details
Flexible payment and cancelation
Guide answers in 24h
Children prices

2 x 36 Euro

How to book this tour?

Choose how many people and when
Request a booking and fill in your details
Flexible payment and cancelation
Guide answers in 24h
Children prices

Guide

Ioana

2 REVIEWS

I love to design experiences! I've been organising urban architectural treasure hunts for the past 7 years & in the last 5 I 've been doing trips in lesser known places in Romania where people can see and feel something different. Come join me!

I like: Architecture, history, photography, storytelling & storylistening

I speak: english, italian, romanian

Cancelation & refund policy

Easy

Sends us or the guide an email 24h before the tour informing us you can't make it and you'll get a full refund of your payment, no questions asked.

Location details

Starting point: Bucharest
Nearest airport: Henri Coanda Airport (Otopeni)
Nearest train station: Gara de Nord (North Railway Station Bucharest)
Landscape: Urban

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Reviews from travellers

Shelley U. on 08.04.2019

My daughter and I really enjoyed this tour! Ioana took us to a local restaurant, where we had a three course meal (featuring lots of garlic of course) while she shared interesting stories about Romanian food, culture and history. A true local experience, thank you!