Frequently asked questions
The questions families ask first about private kosher travel with Kosher Culinary Travel: what we do, where we work, how kashrut is handled and how to begin.
FAQ
About Kosher Culinary Travel
What does Kosher Culinary Travel actually do?
We design and produce fully private kosher destination experiences. That means sourcing the property or yacht, assembling the culinary team, preparing and kashering the kitchen, planning provisioning, arranging staff, transport, guides, Shabbat and Yom Tov, and managing the program on location. One team is accountable for all of it.
Is this a tour company, a caterer or a chef agency?
None of them. We are not selling a fixed itinerary, catering an event or placing a chef for the week. We are engaged to produce a complete private experience, and the culinary operation sits inside it.
Who is behind the company?
Kosher Culinary Travel was founded in 2010 and is led by Avicam Gitlin, a chef and kashrut supervisor, who is personally involved in every KCT experience. Read more on our About page.
What is the difference between KCT Editions and KCT Private Journeys?
KCT Editions are hosted journeys that Avicam designs and hosts personally, such as the Das Balance Edition in Austria in July 2027. KCT Private Journeys are produced privately around your own family or group. See KCT Editions and KCT Private Journeys.
FAQ
Where and when
Where do you operate?
The Mediterranean above all: Italy, Greece, Croatia and the French and Spanish coasts. Also the Alps, Jewish Europe, Morocco, the Caribbean and selected destinations across the United States. Where we do not have the properties, the suppliers or a genuine reason to be, we say so. See all twelve destinations.
What kinds of property do you work with?
Villas and estates, alpine chalets, ranches and remote properties, private motor yachts, private sailing yachts, and villa and yacht combinations. See private villas and yachts.
What occasions do you produce?
Private Sukkot, Shabbat journeys, Bar and Bat Mitzvah travel, private Pesach, anniversaries and significant birthdays, family heritage journeys, destination weddings and family celebrations. See holidays and milestone journeys and destination events and celebrations.
Do you run a Pesach program in a hotel?
No. We produce private Pesach for families who want their own house, their own kitchen and their own sedarim. See private Pesach.
FAQ
Kashrut
How is kashrut handled?
We work closely with the local rabbinic authorities so that every food product we supply conforms to the standards upheld by the local Beit Din, and our staff check every aspect of kashrut at every stage. Read the full kashrut page and our standards in detail.
Is the meat glatt, and is the dairy chalav Yisrael?
The standard is Glatt Mehadrin, Pat Yisrael and Chalav Yisrael: meat is Glatt Mehadrin, exclusively, with nothing else brought into the kitchen, bread is Pat Yisrael, and all cheese and dairy products are certified Chalav Yisrael. Every wine served is certified kosher, and most are not mevushal. Our service staff are shomrei Shabbat. Unfamiliar terms are explained in the glossary.
Can the kitchen follow our family's own practice?
Yes. Observance is not a specification we receive and implement, it is a conversation. We ask those questions early, write the answers down and build the operation around them.
FAQ
How an engagement works
How should a family start a conversation?
Tell us the destination you have in mind, roughly when, who is traveling, how you keep things and what you would like the days to feel like. We discuss honestly whether we are the right team and how an engagement would be structured. Begin a conversation.
How long until we hear back?
We read every inquiry ourselves and reply as soon as we can.
Do you publish prices for private journeys?
No, because no two programs are comparable, but we are clear about how an engagement is structured. See engagement and fees.
Will someone from KCT be with us on location?
Yes. A KCT producer is on the ground, running the program so that you are not. See what happens on location.
How do I reach Avicam directly?
By email at avicam@kosherculinarytravel.com or on WhatsApp at +1 347 994 9284. WhatsApp only, no calls.
Begin a conversation
Tell Avicam where you would like to go and who is traveling. We discuss honestly whether KCT is the right team, and how an engagement would be structured. We reply as soon as we can.