Zest Food Tours directors Sue McLeary and Catherine Cordwell toured many of the city's culinary hotspots yesterday on the lookout for tour options to whet the appetite of their customers.
"It is very tough, but someone has to do it," Ms Cordwell said.
The trip also served as an interview opportunity, with 10 prospective food tour guides interviewed in various cafes around the city.
A good food guide loved food, wine and people, she said.
Excited by the Scottish and Chinese heritage of the city, the company was poised to begin its first food tours of Dunedin this year.
"We have been very excited by what the city has shown us and there has been plenty of interest in the tours," Ms Cordwell said.
A key market for the company would be cruise-ship passengers who wanted to be guided to taste local products such as seafood, ice cream, chocolate, beer, wine and whisky, they said.
"We see Dunedin as being complementary to our other tours, and we think it is an appealing destination," Ms McLeary said.
