After eating her way across the globe on a worldwide culinary tour, Lisa Rogovin came home to San Francisco hungry to launch a company that would satiate visitors’ appetites for what one of the premiere “food towns” had to serve.

“I traveled around the world looking for food and wine experiences, and then I realized that after all that travel, I found that no matter where I went I couldn’t find a local expert to take me to the center of that culture’s food,” Rogovin says.

Adopting the personal brand “Epicurean Concierge,” Rogovin cooked up the idea for In the Kitchen with Lisa, which would guide visitors on a tour of the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market at one of San Francisco’s most popular new attractions, the spectacularly renovated Ferry Building.

Rogovin’s Shop + Cook + Eat & Drink excursions tour the farmers’ market to shop for ingredients, followed by a walk to a nearby restaurant for a sit-down lunch.
During a recent tour, Rogovin took a group through the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market, strolling by the many stalls accompanied by Staffan Terje, chef and owner of Perbacco restaurant.

Next, it was on to nearby Perbacco, where Chef Terje led a hands-on cooking demonstration followed by a three-course lunch.

The roughly four-hour Shop + Cook + Eat & Drink program is offered two days per week, year-round, on the days when the market operates (Tuesdays and Saturdays).

Rogovin also offers group programs focusing on local specialty chocolate makers (also available as an on-site meeting program), hands-on Wine Country culinary tours, make-your-own-jam tours, and Artisan cheese-maker programs. Her Lisa Light option is an abbreviated offering focusing on shopping at the farmers’ market.

“I’m celebrating the bounty of the Bay Area, whether it’s shopping the market with a chef, experiencing seasonal ingredients that are sourced from the local farming community, or local wines from boutique producers,” Rogovin says.