Please note:  Epicopia Culinary Journeys is actively seeking qualified Experience Directors. We are specially interested if you have expertise with Latin America countries. Must know and understand the food and wine cultures of any one or more of these countries; Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico.  Also seeking experienced person with Asia and Southeast Asia countries to work with our Explore Culinary Asia programs.  If you are interested in joining our team of Experience Directors contact our CEO - Chief Experience Officer, Harold D. Partain today by email or phone 972.771.3510 or 877.661.3844 within the USA. Send resume or contact directly This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

About Us:

With 40 years at the forefront of the travel industry -- and combined experience of over 75 years -- we are a team of enthusiastic, experienced and knowledgeable travel artisans dedicated to your travel enjoyment. At Epicopia Culinary Journeys - specialists in food & wine travel experiences we heartily agree with the principles of Slow Food. Our philosophy is, “Drink local, eat local, with the locals!” We love food and wine. We know you do, too.

Our office is headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Epicopia Culinary Journeys - specialists in food & wine travel experiences is affiliated with McCabe Travel Group, a full service travel agency.

Join us soon on your next culinary travel experience. In addition to our small group experiences offered here, we also are ready to help you design your individual, family or group of friends culinary travel experience. Ciao!

Our Team of Culinary Travel Artisans

Harold D. Partain, CTC, CCTP

Founder and Executive Director
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Being equally at home in Italy and Texas, Harold has dedicated over 35 years to the travel industry. His ownership, management and training skills have lead several companies to success and recognition. Harold, a senior partner with McCabe Travel Group, lectures on travel styles and trends, destinations, and the history of food – the past six years at Brookhaven College in Dallas, and for various travel organizations and conferences. Often the theme of his lectures, as well as professional specialization, is the Mediterranean region.

Focused on culinary and wine tourism Harold has marketed creatively designed travel experiences such as; Pilgrimage for the Perfect Pinot Noir, The Architecture of Wine Making: Spain’s Commitment to the Future, Arts and Opera – A Taste of the Veneto, Down on the Farm – Italian Style, and Assaggio Toscana! Among many others.

In a remote region of eastern Tuscany where he spends time each year Harold advises and consults with several local enterprises; Priello – a restored 50 acre 17th century hillside organic farm, Valle di Mezzo one of the largest goat farms in Italy and the only ‘fabbricazione di formaggio di artiginale’ in the region, and Farm In Tuscany – a management/reservation service for agriturismi, country houses and village apartments.

Harold has served on the Board of Directors of the International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) since 2004. In October 2006 his professional colleagues honored him when he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors. He continues to serve as Vice-Chairman of ICTA today. Harold also serves as Chair of the Education & Certification Committee and is on the Membership Committee of ICTA and several Advisory Boards related to culinary tourism.

Harold is one of the first to earn the CCTP designation confired by ICTI - International Culinary Tourism Institute. CCTP - Certified Culinary Travel Professional is the only industry certification program available for those seeking a higher level of knowledge and verification of their professional dedication to the high standards of culinary tourism.

Harold has a passion for travel that is simply contagious. The wonders of the Ancient World always beckoned him. Harold's collection of international postage stamps was a farm child's link to the mysterious and unusual. He spent hours watching planes high above winging their way to unexplored worlds.

Although Harold has traveled extensively, when asked what his favorite country is, he no longer hesitates. He quickly says Italy.

Harold's career led to Dallas in 1972 where he has been associated with several leading travel companies. His knowledge, management and training skills helped to bring these companies to national recognition. In 1991, Harold founded Exclusive Travel Designs International with business partner, Ann Olene Sale.

A passion for books and seeing a change ahead in the travel industry led Harold in 1997 to accept the challenge as Director of Travel Operations for Voyagers The Travel Store in Dallas. His association helped to forge the team that quickly grew the company to four retail locations and a substantial Internet Store offering complete travel services along with travel books, luggage, accessories and a wide range of travel related gifts.

In 1999/2000, Harold celebrated 30 years of professional travel career. He rewarded himself by taking a three months sabbatical and traveled throughout France and Italy. This life changing experience inspired him to speak out and declare the virtues of a life filled with worldly pleasures! He continues to share his burning desire to travel.

Nancy Harkrider

Explore Culinary Asia
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Sustainable, interesting, creative food has been core to Nancy’s life since her birth into an East Texas farm family.

She was shocked the first time she tasted “store bought” ice cream since her version of ice cream was and still means warm milk straight from the cow, fresh picked peaches from her Grandfather’s orchard and eggs plucked from the nest.

As an adult, Nancy blazed her way through Joy of Cooking and would have blogged her experiences had this medium been available. Nancy’s son and daughter now refer to her as ‘the sneaky organic cook.’ Her goal, as close as possible, was to assure they received the same healthy food she had as a child growing up on a farm.

An accomplished cook, her dinner parties get rave reviews, not just for the food but for their ambiance. Friends in Oregon still tease Nancy about the evening her baked Alaska ignited the dried flower arrangement, requiring an all hands effort, with assist from a bottle of wine, to extinguish.

Nancy thought her culinary abilities had peaked. In the early 90s she and her husband ran away from home in response to the siren call to Asia. Here she discovered another world of exciting produce and sensual flavors offered by the hospitable and warm people she met.

When she wasn’t leading management training, teaching at an Asian university or working on her PhD, Nancy was taking cooking classes, asking total strangers what they were eating and trying to charm Singaporean “hawkers” into giving her their family recipes.

She sampled foods she would never have imagined digestible before her Asian immersion. Over her decade as a resident of Singapore, Nancy explored extensively throughout Southeast Asia seeking culinary experiences to enhance her growing passion.

She knows Southeast Asia like the back of her hand and continues exciting dalliances with South and North Asia as well.

Nancy brings her professional background as an inspiring trainer, management coach and media producer to the most passionate phase of her career. Now she designs, organizes and introduces others to unique and memorable culinary cultural adventures in the part of the world she loves and honors as her second home.

We invite you to Explore Culinary Asia with Nancy on one of our specially designed culinary travel experiences.

Aliza Green, CCP

Author, Traveler and Expert on Culinary Ingredients
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Aliza has been traveling and loving it from a very early age living abroad as a young girl in Holland, Israel and Mexico. In her youth she spent five years working just long enough to earn money for another long trip--backpacking her way across Canada, the British Isles, Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Scandinavia, Greece, Israel, and Turkey. Aliza’s love of food and travel led to a culinary career in her home city of Philadelphia.

At the age of 27 Aliza earned a four-star chef rating and was acclaimed “a pioneer woman chef who has influenced and trained many others.” The Philadelphia Inquirer named her as one of the city's ten most influential people on food, because of her work with local farmers and her near-fanatic commitment to authentic, made-from-scratch food such as black squid-ink pasta (for which she extracted the ink sacs herself), fragile stuffed zucchini blossoms, and fresh pomegranate sorbetto (one seed at a time).

After her children were born and needing more flexibility in her work, Aliza expanded her horizons to television and print food styling, food and menu consulting, and as a food and travel writer. Since 1997, Aliza has authored or co-written ten cookbooks including a James Beard Award winner. She writes regularly for Cooking Light, the Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as Nuvo and Clean Eating Magazines Canada. Aliza is well known for specializing in uncommon ingredients: their culture, history and uses.

In pursuit of recipes and the stories behind them for her books and articles, Aliza traveled to Brazil, Venezuela, Aruba and other Caribbean Islands, Mexico, France, India, Turkey, Greece and Italy. “Italy is my first love for food and art. I studied Italian privately for five years while working as chef of a wonderful Northern Italian restaurant.” Aliza enjoys talking to people from all walks of life and making connections with everyone from museum guards and taxi drivers to cooks and market vendors, often through sharing stories about food.

Aliza’s experience in launching and organizing events and culinary organizations helps her to excel as Epicopia Experience Director. She is the founding chair of the American Institute of Wine & Food’s Delaware Valley Chapter and served on the AIWF national board for three years. She was a delegate to Slow Food’s Terra Madre Torino, Italy in 2006. As Vice-President (and 25-year charter member) of Les Dames d'Escoffier International Philadelphia Chapter, she helped organize its national conference in 2009 and now serves as Director-at-Large on its National Board.

A frequent speaker at conferences and symposiums, her subjects range from Cooking with Unusual Herbs and Spices, to Meat Trends for the Professional, and Citrons: A Rare and Revered Fruit. Maintaining her own website and Blog helps Aliza continue to make international culinary and travel connections and new friends world-wide. Her most recent travel experience was as guest chef on a Holland-America Caribbean cruise where she prepared local recipes in the Culinary Arts Center on board ship.

With Epicopia: A Collection of Food & Wine Travel Experiences I am able to bring together my love of travel and food as your Experience Director for unique and memorable culinary journeys focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean and Italy."

Aliza’s many years of chef work and later as food stylist for QVC television, broadcasting live 24/7, taught her to think on her feet, to be resourceful, and to be able to adapt when things don't go as planned--qualities that transfer well to the travel industry where the unexpected is bound to happen… and is often the highlight of the journey!

I’m a people-person with a lively personality and lots of colorful stories to share. I look forward with eagerness to sharing my enthusiasm, curiosity, and knowledge about Turkey and other destinations."

Additional biographical information for other travel artisans will be available soon. In the meantime, each can be reached by email or by phone.

Claudia M. McCabe

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Karen Whiteside

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Gordon Q. Hall

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General Contact Email
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