EATING

50%

DRINKING

25%

SIGHTSEEING

10%

FREE TIME

15%

Chef Erik Anderson

Rascal + Thorn is proud to announce our first Chef-hosted Tour as we will be heading to the beautiful and delicious Basque Country of Spain with Chef Erik Anderson of Healdsburg, California. Chef Anderson is an alumnus of a number of the world’s most legendary restaurants including The French Laundry and Noma, Chef Anderson was the opening Co-Chef at Nashville’s The Catbird Seat and has earned multiple Michelin stars in his own right, including at Coi in San Francisco and most recently at BarnDiva in Healdsburg. The tour will be lead by Dr. John Sconzo.

Top Dining

The Basque Country of Spain is one of the world’s great gastronomic regions with San Sebastian holding more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else in the world. Boasting incredible seafood, meats, vegetables, cheeses, the region is as beautiful as it is delicious. We will be starting our tour in the vibrant city of Bilbao, home to The Guggenheim Museum and host to the 2018 The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. From there, we will travel by private van to the spectacular seaside city of San Sebastian (Donostia) for four nights of incredible dining, drinking and touring. It will be here that we will visit the gorgeous La Bretxa Market to purchase product for a dinner that Chef Anderson will create for our group at one of San Sebastian’s famous gastronomic societies.

The Finale!

Our tour will include visits to a Txacoli winery, a Gin-Tonic workshop, mouth-watering pintxos and some of the world’s most famous and iconic restaurants BEFORE we move on to beautiful mountain town of Axpe, home of perennial W50B Top 10 Restaurant, Etxebarri, for the final weekend of our tour before heading back to Bilbao for its conclusion. This tour will be limited to 12 participants.

As most of our guests will likely be transiting to and from Madrid, we also have an optional 3 night post-tour extension that will include the finest food, drink and Spanish culture that this fabulous city has to offer in the way that only R+T provides.

Highlights

Restaurants

  • Etxebarri
  • Etxebarri Sunday Pintxos
  • Mina
  • Elkano or Kaia Kaipe
  • Casa Julian
  • Martin Berasetagui
  • Pintxos
  • Rekondo
  • Casa Camara
  • and many more

Excursions

  • Guided San Sebastian La Bretxa Market Crawl to select ingredients for a meal cooked by Chef Anderson at a San Sebastian Private Dining Society
  • Gin-Tonic Workshop
  • Mountain Walks & Foraging
  • Txacoli Vineyard Visit
  • Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
  • Many other treats
Itinerary

Sunday, September 17th – Arrive in Bilbao for a 1-night stay. Dinner at Mina.

Monday, September 18th – Bus to Donostia-San Sebastian for a 4-night stay. Afternoon Gintonic Workshop. Dinner at Rekondo.

Tuesday, September 19th – La Bretxa Market Tour, Lunch at Casa Camara, Afternoon Cooking with Chef Anderson and Dinner by Chef Anderson in the evening.

Wednesday, September 20th – Txocoli Winery Visit, Lunch at Elkano, Afternoon Free, Dinner at Casa Julian/Tolosa

Thursday, September 21st – Pintxos Crawl Lunch. Dinner at Martin Berasetagui.

Friday, September 22nd – Bus to Axpe for a 2-night stay. Dinner at Mendi Goikoa Bekoa.

Saturday, September 23rd – Morning free, Lunch at Asador Etxebarri.

Sunday, September 24th – Back to Bilbao for our last night. Lunch at Etxebarri Tapas, Afternoon Guggenheim Visit, Dinner at Etxanobe.

Monday, September 25th – Depart or continue with Madrid extension.

Itinerary is subject to adjustments.

Included
  • 8 nights in Basque Country
  • All listed restaurant meals including tasting menus
  • Meals will include paired beverages
  • All excursion costs and entrance fees
  • Transportation within Spain and area
  • Guides
Not Included
  • Transportation to or from Spain before or after the tour
  • Drinks and meals not listed on the itinerary
  • Tips to hired guides
  • Travel insurance
Accommodations
Top flight hotels in Bilbao, San Sebastian, Axpe and Madrid (optional post-tour)

$8995.00 per person (double occupancy)

The $8995 price per person is based on double occupancy.  A deposit of $2995 is due to secure a place on the trip. Reservations are taken on a first-come / first-serve basis.

If you are a single and wish to share a room we will make every effort to make this happen, but it is not guaranteed.  The single supplement cost for this trip is $2000 if you have your own room.

The 3-night Madrid extension is $3300. If interested, please inquire and we will send you the working itinerary.

Final payment is due 60 days prior to the start of the tour.

Please contact us for a Reservation Form or if you have any questions.

Have a question?

    Part 6 and the last of our recently concluded private tour of Barcelona and Madrid with our second day in marvelous Madrid that included starting with a superb pour-over Natural #geshacoffee from @geishacoffeemadrid (using a Bulgarian roaster), a stroll through the famous #elrastrodemadrid , a day trip to the home of the world’s most astounding #lechazoasado - @restaurante_mannix - and an eye-opening and delicious seminar on #spanishconservas by one of the world’s experts - @rogenriquez - before concluding for the evening with very full stomachs. I took it easy on the last day (I had more to come), but our group had a fabulous lunch at one of my favorites- Sachs! Finally, that evening we decamped to @salmonguru for a farewell cocktail!

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    Part 5 (Madrid Day 2) of our recently concluded private tour of Barcelona and Madrid with our second day in marvelous Madrid that included starting with a sensational #pistachiolatte @najispecialtycoffee a private tour of the @museothyssen lunch at the extraordinary @desde_1911 light tapas @bar_casatoni and a nightcap at Isa in the Four Seasons.

#madrid #privatetour #gastronomictour #spain @theworlds50best @thebestchefawards @michelinguide #randtbcnmad2023
    Part 4 of our recently concluded private tour of Barcelona and Madrid with our first day in marvelous Madrid that included a spectacular lunch at the always sensational @diverxo by the incredible @dabizdiverxo followed by a spectacular evening of #flamenco #vinosdejerez and a perfect amount of superb food at the Michelin starred @corralmoreria 

#madrid #privatetour #gastronomictour #spain @theworlds50best @thebestchefawards @michelinguide #randtbcnmad2023
    Part 3 of our recently concluded private tour of Barcelona and Madrid with our last day in beautiful Barcelona that included a day trip to gorgeous #girona for a spectacular lunch at the always sensational @cellercanroca followed by a return to BCN and some delicious, light nibbles from @oliverchef @teatrokitchenbar . Next -  off to Madrid!

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