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About Ithaca is Foodies

Since grade school we've both had a love for food. Sarah found numerous ways to eat for class credit - including a statistics project on the freshness of french fries when ordered at different times throughout the day. Seth fell in love with making homemade pasta - which fed aspirations to open a build-your-own pasta bar.

As adults we also fell in love with Ithaca: the gorges, the community... and the food! We embraced our hometown by spending many nights reveling in the variety of restaurants located all over the city, bringing old friends and new residents along so they could enjoy the abundance of locally-sourced ingredients and diverse cuisine just outside our door.

Today we curate and lead tours as Ithaca is Foodies. We draw on a combined 28 years of public speaking training, close relationships with our partner establishments, and our undying enthusiasm to bring you a culinary adventure accessible to locals and visitors alike. We cannot wait to bring you out with us!

Sarah and Seth, Co-Owners

Meet Our Team

Sarah Headshot

Sarah Barden

Owner & Guide

1. What tours do I lead? The Downtown Ithaca Food Tour, The Science of Taste Food Tour, and the Downtown Ithaca Craft Beverage Tour. Plus, I lead most private group tours.
2. Why do I love leading tours? I love introducing people to new foods they never would have tried and are surprised they enjoy!
3. Favorite local food experience? Why am I making myself choose?! It’s a three-way tie between biking the Cayuga Waterfront Trail to the Ithaca Farmers Market for breakfast; the secret chef’s choice option at Gola Osteria; or cheese boards and cider flights at the Finger Lakes Cider House.

sarah@ithacaisfoodies.com

Seth in Acadia National Park

Seth Wraight

Owner & Guide

1. What tours do I lead? The Downtown Ithaca Food Tour and private group tours.
2. Why do I love leading tours?
I love helping people find parts of Ithaca they might never have otherwise explored.
3. Favorite local food experience?
We have so many incredible farms and producers in this area doing astounding work, so I’m always finding and learning new things. It’s a toss-up between learning about and experimenting with new vegetables from the Farmer’s Market (my new favorite green is senposai – I’d never even heard of it before last year!), or taking a one-day baking class with Wide Awake Bakery (an unforgettable experience that gave me a new appreciation for what goes into a perfect loaf).

seth@ithacaisfoodies.com

Cathy Shipos

Tour Guide

1. What tours do I lead? The Downtown Ithaca Food Tour.
2. Why do I love leading tours? I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. Helping someone discover a new favorite spot or activity in Ithaca is the best!
3. Favorite local food experience?
Wegmans! Not just a grocery store, it’s a coffee shop, a bakery, a deli and a sushi place all in one. I love poring over my collection of Menu magazines for a new recipe, shopping for fresh ingredients and creating the perfect meal at home. Add flowers, music, wine and friends and the meal becomes an experience!