Eat, Engage and Explore Alberta
Meet Guildstreet’s feature business: Alberta Food Tours
Food is a powerful community-builder. It brings people together, bridges cultural and generational divides and shapes our understanding and appreciation of what’s on our plates. Food has a story to tell and there’s no one more familiar with it’s power than the folks at Alberta Food Tours.
Operating in Calgary, Banff, Canmore and Edmonton, Alberta Food Tours have carved a name for themselves since 2006, offering many flavoursome pilgrimages. Two of their tours rank as a Canadian Signature Experience, bringing unique experiences to international and local foodies alike. If you have never taken a food tour, treat yourself. The experience is amazing!
Soil, food and people - this is the mantra that drives President & CEO, Karen Anderson. She set out to tantalize taste buds and create unforgettable food experiences that showcase Alberta’s signature foods. The business that started as a one woman show in 2006 now boasts 10 tour leaders, partnerships with over 85 local businesses and many regenerative farms throughout Alberta, and growth into 3 new markets. Karen attributes this success to the community that food has allowed her to create.
Successes
Alberta Food Tours provides a variety of experiences – self-guided games on their app, small group guided tours and private tours. Through food these tours weave together art, history, and architecture. The depth of this understanding, Karen believes, is the magic behind the experience, and it all starts with people.
“I believe a large part of our success comes from the network and community we’ve built over the years,” she shares. “And for me personally, my volunteer work with Slow Food International, and a decade as a food journalist in the community has provided me with the opportunity to get to know so many incredible farmers, chefs, restaurateurs. They know the real story of the history and culture of food in our province and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with guests.”
Challenges
“It was hard to find the right balance point in business that yields profitability,” Karen continues. “My vision was to provide a unique, fairly priced experience that brings value for the chefs, restaurants and of course, the guests. I also wanted to provide my team with a job that paid them fairly, and of course, I needed to pay the bills. It was a challenge that took a few years to work out,”
Despite the initial hurdles, Karen is now able to scale up her business and hire others to perform the tasks she doesn’t have the time and resources for. “Hiring Guildstreet gave me a true sense of success and finally, some real financial reporting!”
Chef’s Recommendations
Karen’s words of wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs - in bite sized pieces.
Have the confidence to be patient and persistent - it will pay off.
Start off right with a 5 or 10-year plan.
Know your why and you will maintain strong commitment throughout your journey.
A Changing Menu
Like any well-seasoned entrepreneur, Karen took her “forced sabbatical” during Covid as an opportunity to focus on innovating her business for future success. A new focus for the company is to help corporations rebuild their teams’ morale and culture in an organic way. “There’s nothing like breaking bread together and learning about all the city you live in has to offer. We give teams something to talk about and bond over and some come back year after year to ask us for bespoke tours to fit their needs. We love being the secret ingredient in this formula for success.”
Still Hungry?
Want to learn more about Alberta’s signature ingredients, where to find them and how to prepare them through the seasons? Check out Karen’s new cookbook Eat Alberta First.
Learn more about Karen and Alberta Food Tours on their website.