HONOLULU --
Matthew Gray, former professional chef and restaurant reviewer for
the Honolulu Advertiser, launched a new culinary tour company
called Hawaii Food Tours, which will offer guided restaurant tours
of Hawaii, with transportation provided.
Gray is a native
of Los Angeles, where he worked as a private chef for such celebs
as Heather Locklear, Tommy Lee, Dan Akroyd and Don Simpson,
producer of the films Flashdance and Top Gun.
The company is
opening with three itineraries -- one daytime tour called the
Hole-in-the-Wall tour ($59) and two evening tours, the Hawaii Feast
in Paradise ($99) and the Gourmet Trilogy for Food & Wine
Lovers ($149).
Under an umbrella
company called Gourmet Adventures, Gray plans to expand to other
cities, including his old stomping grounds Los Angeles and San
Francisco.
Gray considers
his product one of a kind.
There have been
walking tours of various cities, such as San Franciscos Chinatown
or Greenwich Village, he said, but this is a
transportation-provided, guided restaurant tour. And being a
restaurant reviewer and former chef gives it added punch. If youre
like me, when you look at a one-week vacation you are talking about
21 meals. With this you know you are going to have at least one day
or night of great eating.
Gray intends to
market his tours through travel agents with a minimum 10%
commission on all bookings. To find more out about the product, log
onto the Web site at www.hawaiifoodtours.com or call (800) 715 2468.
The local phone number is (808) 926 FOOD (3663).
To contact
reporter David Cogswell, send e-mail to [email protected].