Food Tour Find: Hobart’s Hidden Pantries
November 9th, 2011 | 
Author: We’ve been on a Hobart food tour! And not an ordinary food tour, where you just sample the goods. We’ve been empowered to lift our culinary skills from the ordinary to the exemplary! Sally Legosz from Herbaceous Tours took us to visit some of Hobart’s hidden pantries. At each stop, she gave us a recipe from a famous chef and introduced us to experts in international cuisine.
One of Hobart's Hidden Pantries revealed on Sally's food tour
A Food Tour with Added Flavour
Herbaceous Tours have been operating in Hobart for almost two years now. Sally Legosz left Melbourne (and a corporate career managing a software development company) on a quest to live her dream life. Her passion for Tasmanian food had her networking with producers and suppliers before she left the mainland, all the while honing her vision for a food tour company.
Swapping high heels, a sports car and a metropolitan city for life in Tasmania with a mini-van, it’s clear Sally loves her new routine. Not only has she conquered driving and parking a bus, the food-tourism industry seems a natural fit. An excellent cook in her own right, Sally is the sort of person you quickly feel comfortable with; as if you’ve known her for ages.
The food tour mini bus, ready to explore Hobart's Hidden Pantries
Hobart’s Hidden Pantries Tour
Having several regional food tours in place, the Hobart Hidden Pantries tour has just been launched with the help of tourism minister Scott Bacon. While the longer drives appeal to tourists looking to experience the regional surrounds of Hobart on a trail of discovery, the inner-city version has been a hit with locals.
Stocking pantries in Hobart, this food tour has something for everyone
And the pantries truly are hidden. One passenger realised his office was practically around the corner from one stop on the food tour, yet he’d never been there. He promptly declared he was never packing his lunch ever again! Another couple were planning on driving themselves back to the outlet as soon as the tour was done.
Herbaceous Tours: Value for Money
Customers meet the Herbaceous Tours mini-bus (or a 4WD for smaller groups) in Elizabeth Street next to the Hobart Travel Centre at 9:00am, and return by 1:00pm. You can then incorporate other holiday or food attractions in your day, or even get back to work for the afternoon! The four-hour food tour costs $55-00 per person and includes ice-cream, coffee and donuts; the delivery to Hobart’s hidden pantries and bonus recipes. Talk about great value!
What would a food tour be without a little indulgence... or two!!
The ingredients available at each outlet match the recipes and are sometimes difficult to find at a regular supermarket. The stockists also boast better quality products and/or better value. As wholesale suppliers they sell larger quantities, which is perfect for anyone planning Christmas catering.
Food Tour: Shopping on a Grand Scale
Sometimes the outlets change due to circumstances beyond Sally’s control. Our Hobart food tour incorporated Indian, Chinese and Italian specialty stores as well as a couple of wholesalers (bargain prices!). More than one place looked like a big shed; not somewhere individuals would be welcome to do a spot of grocery shopping. Another was a baker’s dream, with shelves lined with olives, spices, nuts and the biggest blocks of Belgian chocolate I have ever seen!
An emporium of Chinese delicacies exposed by Herbaceous Tours
Without Sally’s tour, we certainly would never have found these places. And even if we did stumble across them, without a recipe and her expert guidance, we would’ve been overwhelmed. Row upon row of interesting foods… but with no clue where to even start. As it was, we filled the eski in the back of Sally’s mini van, and have already cooked an authentic Indian lamb dinner and made Baklava for the very first time.
Sharing Food Secrets with Sally
If you are a genuine foodie, whether a local or a tourist to Tasmania, joining Sally for Hobart’s Hidden Pantries food tour would be a good thing for you to do. Our group were all great fun and very excited by the prospect of making a new culinary discovery. The well-organised brigade brought their own shopping bags, and had them filled to overflowing by the finish. Sally certainly has a wealth of information about food and she’s happy to share it with her customers.
Another one of Hobart's Hidden Pantries, well-known by Sally Legosz
The writer and her foodie friend were guests of Herbaceous Tours.
For more information see the website or phone 0416 970 699
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Map: Hobart Food Tour Starts From…
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Posted in Hobart, Tasmanian Food and Drink, Tasmanian Markets and Shopping, Tasmanian People, Tasmanian Things to Do | 
Tags: Employment, Maps, Produce, Tourism
5 Responses to “Food Tour Find: Hobart’s Hidden Pantries”
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I love my food and this tour sounds fantastic.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention – I will have to organise the trip,
Dale.
No worries, Dale – you’ll have a great time. Sally will look after you really well.
Food looks delicious.
We have been looking for pheasant for some time…. did you find any on this tour?
Hi Kate. We bought quail, but I don’t recall any pheasant. Sally is a wealth of information though, so if you contact her she’s bound to be able to help. I’ll also mention your quest on Facebook and see what turns up. Good luck!