We are always excited to try new things, so when Winter Garden Food Tours approached us to test out their newest tour, Treats, Sweets and Potions, we happily accepted. Could you think of a better way to celebrate National Dessert Month and Halloween at the same time?

The Details

This tour is only offered in October on Wednesday and Friday nights at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The cost per person is $45 and the entire experience lasts about two hours (longer if you stay and chat). You’ll be on your feet walking less than a quarter of a mile but still plan on wearing some comfortable shoes. The tours are also wheelchair accessible.

Other tours are offered throughout the week with various themes like brunch, brewery, and dessert-specific. If you have any specific dietary needs, let them know ahead of time to provide time to find a possible substitution.

Parking is available at the Downtown Winter Garden parking garage at 160 S Boyd St. or at Plant Street Market.

Before we get into it, let’s give our most important piece of advice right off the bat: It’s a marathon, not a sprint! You’ll get A LOT of food on these tours and everything is amazing. That being said, don’t feel obligated to eat everything in its entirety. There is plenty of food and it’s important to pace yourself.

Our Tour  

We met our group at The Local Butcher in Plant Street Market. With no more than eight people per tour, this is a great chance to get introduced to everyone.

Stop One – Jodo Sushi

The night got off to a festive start at Jodo Sushi with their amazing Harumaki Cheese Sticks. This dessert consists of cream cheese stuffed inside a spring roll-type crust in a Nutella-filled martini glass. Some added Halloween flair was included in the way of a marshmallow pumpkin and some sour green gummy ropes. The cheese was warmed and paired perfectly with the Nutella for an almost chocolate cheesecake-like dessert. Tyler enjoyed dipping the sour gummy ropes in the chocolate for that sweet and sour mix.

We had two of these to share with our group and it was just enough to get us started!

Stop Two – Press’d Juice Bar

We didn’t walk too far to get to the next stop and this treat was all-natural and also was our first (non-alcoholic) drink.

The food was a delicious Chai pudding with cacao – a light but sweet treat. Our pressed drink included beets, carrots and apples – and probably some other items we forgot, but it was really good. This stop was the healthiest of our tour!

Stop Three – The Local Butcher

This was our first stop that included multiple vendors in one. We sampled the dessert version of a charcuterie board complete with delicious toffee and dark chocolate macarons from David Ramirez Chocolate, great cookies, jam and candied pecans from The Local Butcher and finished off with a cute rice Krispy mummy provided by Antiquiteas.

This was Jessica’s favorite because it had so many different flavors going on. The macarons were divine and the strawberry jam from The Local Butcher paired nicely with the cookies. And the fruit? It was amazing. The plate had some of the biggest blueberries we’ve ever seen and the kiwi was super fresh as well.

Stop Four – Paleteria Original

Our last stop in Plant Street Market was at Paleteria Original for some handcrafted popsicles. We had an all-natural chocolate and caramel popsicle. But the best part? The chocolate was seasoned with cinnamon, giving it a sweet and spicy finish.

Stop Five – Rosallie Le French Cafe

We left Plant Street Market and leisurely walked a couple of blocks to our next stop, Rosallie Le French Cafe, for some gelato. The presentation here was beautiful with our pistachio gelato served in little cauldrons sitting atop some dry ice. The gelato was creamy and flavorful and the dry ice made for a spooky feel.

If we had one (small) criticism of the tour it’s that we wish this stop was further toward the end of the tour. The gelato was absolutely delicious, but it was so thick and creamy it filled us up much more than we thought it would. We were still able to eat the rest of the night, but the difficulty level of eating was raised by this stop for sure.

Stop Six – Kaebisch

This stop shows how nimble our guides are. The original place on the itinerary had unexpectedly closed for the night, so our guides hopped over to Winter Garden Pizza Company who helped out in a pinch. Thanks, guys!

We arrived at Kaebisch Chocolate to sample some chocolate-dipped Pringles. This stop was one of the more unique stops because we had a little savory with our sweet. Remember how Winter Garden Pizza Company stepped up to the plate? They did by providing us with some mozzarella bites. The bites were a welcome bit of savory to help break up all of the sweet – plus, who doesn’t like fried cheese? There was a ranch-type dressing on top of them too that was super good.

It was like a little bit of the midwest in Florida.  

Stop Seven – Pilars

Our last location of the night was also a two-for-one stop. We had an amazing chocolate dessert provided by Market to Table and also got to be the first to try a new drink from Pilars based off of The Birds which is playing at the Garden Theatre next door throughout the month of October.

The Verdict?

Come hungry and get ready to meet new people!

Time is running out to experience the Treats, Sweets and Potions tour, but if you can’t get out this month, have no fear! Winter Garden Food Tours is also offering themed tours in November and December as well.

We were very surprised over the amount of food we received, which makes the $45 price tag extremely affordable. Taking a Winter Garden Food Tour also gives you a great opportunity to experience a city that, let’s face it, most people don’t think to go out to.

If you’re looking for something different to do that combines food, conversation and meeting new people, you need to get on a Winter Garden Food Tour.

Disclosure: Winter Garden Food Tours provided us with two tours at no cost, however, our opinions are our own. We like to keep it real.