Experience the world on your platter with MasterChef Travel
18th, November 2013

Cox & Kings launches a brand new range of culinary holidays in the company of MasterChef experts & local culinary experts

Mumbai, 18th November 2013: MasterChef Travel operated by Cox & Kings has launched a brand new range of Culinary Holidays focussing on the world's most inspiring cuisines.

The holidays offer the opportunity to discover local cuisine and explore the countries' most interesting sights. In the company of popular MasterChef Contestants and local culinary experts, the tour experiences include a combination of cooking demonstrations, visits to attractions covering food & wine as well as authentic cuisine preparations.

Commenting on the venture, Cox & Kings' Director, Peter Kerkar says, "discovering local food is one of the great joys of travel and if the tour is accompanied by culinary experts it provides the traveller with an insight on local cuisines and its preparation. This partnership makes the most of Cox & Kings' unrivalled expertise in organising special interest expert-led tours worldwide and it is further strengthened with our presence in many of the key MasterChef regions, including UK, USA and Australia.''

"Food and travel have been the perfect pairing for MasterChef, with some of the world's most exciting and exotic destinations featured across our global franchise," said Ben Liebmann, Chief Executive of Shine 360°. "The international provenance of our contestants' recipes and ingredients also make travel a natural extension for the brand. We are thrilled to be working with the Cox & Kings team to bring this vision to life and to the show's millions of fans and food lovers", he added.

The holidays include both multi-centre tours and shorter single-centre trips. While the holidays currently online featuring contestants from the UK, Cox & Kings will soon launch the Indian leg of MasterChef Travel and Indian travellers will be able to travel with the contestants and winners of MasterChef India.

All prices include flights, transfers, excursions, accommodation with breakfast and other meals as specified.

The packages and prices highlighted below feature UK contestants.

Departing on 25 March, 22 & 23 September, the 5-day / 4-night Souks & Spices of Marrakech tour is priced from Rs 2,11,080 per person, including accommodation in a riad, transfers, excursions and flights. Keri will join the tour for a day to take the group to the local markets to source food for a lunchtime cookery lesson. In the evening she will wander with them through the lively Djemaa el Fna and join for a dinner in one of Marrakech's well known restaurants.

Other MasterChef Travel tours joined by MasterChef UK contestants include:

Turkey: Legacy of the Ottomans - 5 days from Rs 1,29,016 per person
Departing 10, 11 & 12 September 2014 with MasterChef: The Professionals 2012 winner Keri Moss
Includes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
Keri will join guests on a walking tour to discover the food and culture of European and Asian Istanbul and give an interactive cookery demonstration followed by dinner.

Italy: Glories of the Amalfi coast - 7 days from Rs 2,35,000 per person
Departing 7, 9 & 11 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2011 finalist Sara Danesin Medio.
Includes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
Sara will join the tour for two days in Amalfi. Highlights of the tour with Sara include visits to buffalo mozzarella and limoncello producers as well as an interactive cookery lesson and dinner in Ravello.

China: An oriental odyssey - 13 days from Rs 2,59,048 per person
Departing 9, 11 & 13 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2013 finalist Larkin CenIncludes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
Meeting the tour in Beijing for two days, Larkin will give a cookery demonstration at the Hutong Cuisine Cookery School and among other visits, he will join guests on a walking tour of a night food market, have a dim sum dinner at the Peninsula Hotel, enjoy a traditional tea with a local family and take a rickshaw tour of the Hutongs.

Spain: Culinary passion of the Basques - 6 days from Rs 2,25,000 per person
Departing 10, 12 & 14 October 2014 with MasterChef: The Professionals 2011 winner Ash Mair
Includes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
Over two days in San Sebastian, Ash will give an introductory talk on the cuisine of the Basque Country, which he is passionate about, and will join guests on a cider tasting and lunch in Astigarraga and a pinxtos (tapas) tasting tour. As well as giving a cooking demonstration, Ash will accompany a walking tour of La Brexta market.

Italy: Flavours from the heartland - 8 days from Rs 2,49,016 per person
Departing 13, 15 & 17 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2011 finalist Sara Danesin Medio
Includes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
Sara will join the tour in Tuscany for two days, which include a cookery lesson and lunch at Villa Casagrande as well as Tuscan olive oil and ham tasting in Montepulciano and wine tasting at Borgo Casabianca in Vallombrone, where Sara will also give a cookery demonstration and join guests for dinner.

India: Splendours of the north - 9 days from Rs 97,812 per person
Departing 16 October 2014 with MasterChef UK 2010 winner Dhruv Baker
Based in Jaipur for two days, Dhruv will join three different northern India tours. He will give cookery demonstrations in a former palace and at the Amber Fort as well as visiting the spice bazaar and local markets. Dhruv will also join a visit to the City Palace in Jaipur for a tour of the private rooms and a Thali dinner.

Vietnam: The lush & fragrant land - 15 days from Rs 2,29,600 per person
Departing 4, 6 & 8 November 2014 with MasterChef UK 2008 winner James Nathan
Includes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
James will accompany the tour for two days in Hanoi and will give an introductory talk on the food of Vietnam as well as join a tour of the local street food market and take the group for dinner at his favourite stall. James will give a cookery class at the Hanoi Cooking Centre and join for dinners and lunches throughout the two days.

Mexico: Flavours of a vibrant land - 12 days from Rs 3,49,024 per person
Departing 10, 12 & 14 November 2014 with MasterChef UK 2010 winner Dhruv Baker
Includes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
Dhruv will meet the tour for two days in Oaxaca, Mexico's food capital. He will accompany a walking tour of the town, which includes a visit to the Abastos food market, give cooking demonstrations and join guests for lunches and dinners.

Thailand: The exotic lemongrass trail - 11 days from Rs 2,15,016 per person
Departing 11, 13 & 15 November 2014 with MasterChef UK 2012 finalist Andrew Kojima
Includes: Airfare, Airport Taxes, Visa Fees, Overseas Insurance
Andrew (or 'Koj', as he is known) will take guest on a tour of Chiang Mai night market and have dinner at one of his favourite stalls as well as join a morning visit to the local food market and give two cookery lessons followed by lunch with the group.

All prices include flights, transfers, excursions, accommodation with breakfast and other meals as specified.

Details of the full range of tours and accompanying chefs can be seen at www.mastercheftravel.com with more tours to be announced in 2014.

THE 2014 MASTERCHEF TRAVEL COLLECTION

China * India * Italy * Mexico * Morocco* Peru * South Africa * Spain * Turkey * Thailand * Vietnam

NOTE TO EDITORS

MasterChef Travel is a range of worldwide culinary holidays, some of which feature a MasterChef contestant. All MasterChef Travel tours are operated by Cox & Kings, the world's longest established travel company. Its history stretches back more than 250 years to 1758 when Richard Cox was appointed regimental agent to the Footguards (later the Grenadier Guards). With operations in London, the US, Japan, Australia & New Zealand and throughout India, Cox & Kings organises escorted small-group tours and private tailor-made travel worldwide.

Based on a format created by Franc Roddam, MasterChef sets out to find amazing amateur chefs whose talent, dedication and passion for food could change their lives forever. The format has enjoyed unprecedented success globally, produced in over 40 countries and broadcast in over 200 territories worldwide and achieving No1 status in many.

In the UK, there have been nine series of the revamped version of MasterChef, eight series of Celebrity MasterChef, five series of MasterChef: The Professionals and two series of Junior MasterChef, which have been produced by Shine TV since 2005.  The most recent amateur series on BBC One peaked at more than 6.7 million viewers for the finale in May 2013. The fifth series of MasterChef: The Professionals returned to BBC2 on 4th November, and the 10th amateur series will premiere on BBC One early next year.

For further details
Thomas C Thottathil,
AVP - Corporate Communications;
Cox & Kings Ltd
thomasct@coxandkings.com
Tel: +919820191042
distributed by