British food does not have the best reputation. Somewhat ignorantly, people around the world still only think of soggy fish and chips, swilled down by a pint of warm beer. Despite, or even in spite of, international opinion of blandness, over the past few decades, the UK has transformed into a land of foodie innovation with world cuisine represented everywhere across the country.
To showcase this transformation, award winning chef Dev Biswal has curated a culinary tour of East Kent. The 9-day gala experience is primarily aimed at bringing overseas visitors to sample the best food and drink produce that East Kent has to offer, but domestic visitors from other parts of the UK are more than welcome as well.
Biswal, a former Asian Chef of the Year, is renowned for his modern fine dining venue, “The Cook’s Tale”, located in Canterbury, Kent. It serves unique dishes that fuse traditional Indian cooking with deft touches of international cuisine, designed to showcase seasonal ingredients sourced within 30 minutes of the venue.
He decided to launch the Kent tour as a natural progression of the popular culinary holidays organised in recent years by The Cook’s Tale to Croatia, Morocco and India, plus his local cookery school and food-based “Kent Experiences” catering for visitors to the area.
We’re blessed with some of the finest food and drink produce to be found anywhere in the country.
Chef Dev Biswal, owner of The Cook’s Tale
For his newly launched tour, which will take place from 6 to 14 June 2025, overseas guests will be collected at Gatwick or Heathrow airports, just outside London, and transported to the high-end Abode Hotel in the centre of Canterbury.
The trip encompasses a seafood picnic in Whitstable; punting along the River Stour; numerous restaurant meals; vineyard and micro-brewery tastings; a tour of the historic Deal, in Dover; Walmer and Dover castles tours, with an optional balloon ride; a visit to the Canterbury Cathedral; a medieval feast; and an artisanal farm shopping trip for gifts and ingredients for a hands-on cookery class.
The itinerary also includes an overnight trip to London with a guided tour, a pre-theatre dinner and a West End show. On the last night, the trip concludes with Biswal presenting a spectacular farewell tasting menu in his award-winning restaurant.
The inclusive price for the 9-day tour is £2,460 (€2,905) per person when sharing. £2,975 (€3,513,) for solo travellers. The Cook’s Tour Culinary Holidays are ATOL protected. ATOL provides financial security when you book a package holiday with a UK travel company.
It’s time non-Brits discovered just how good (and healthy) the cuisine in Britain is these days, Biswal argues, specifically his bit of it. His dishes showcase much of the locality’s finest, sustainable local produce, created using ingredients sourced from within 30 minutes of the kitchen. Even the restaurant’s name, “The Cook’s Tale”, pays homage to the character of apprentice Perkyn Revelour, from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, who is “rather fond of wine, women and song”.
“We’re blessed with some of the finest food and drink produce to be found anywhere in the country,” Biswal says. “The range of top-quality meats, seafood, fruits and veg, beers, ciders and wines are sublime – and all found in an area outstanding natural beauty and rich history – it’s a chef’s delight.”
Biswal grew up in Orissa, was educated in Calcutta and trained at the Dubai Sheraton, before moving to London for spells at Mangoes and Eriki, in 2003, at the age of 26. He became a partner in The Indian Princess in Margate in December 2006, becoming patron in 2010. His restaurant is recommended by all the country’s top restaurant guides, including Michelin, AA, Good Food and Harden’s. He was also the resident chef on Channel 4 TV’s ‘Superscrimpers’, showing how to prepare gourmet meals on a budget.
Other awards under his belt include included. ‘Best Restaurant’ at the coveted Taste of Kent Awards; ‘Best Indian Restaurant’ by Morrisons magazine; ‘Best Restaurant in the South East’ by the Cobra Good Curry Guide. He was named Asian Chef of the Year at the Asian Restaurant Awards.
