About Stacey
Connection is
the whole point.
Epicurean Escapes is built on a simple idea: the best travel connects us to a place through its food, its people and its everyday culture, not just its landmarks.
The Founder
Curiosity was always part of the plan.
Travel has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My grandmother and aunt were travel agents, and I grew up in a multicultural family with relatives living abroad. As a child, I'd spin a globe, land on a country and start researching. That curiosity about other cultures, traditions, foods and ways of life never really left me.
That curiosity took on a deeper meaning during college, when I lived abroad in Costa Rica. I attended school and lived with a local family, sharing breakfast, lunch and dinner with them each day. Those meals became more than part of the daily routine. Sitting around the table together, day after day, gave me a connection to the family and their culture that I could never have experienced simply passing through as a visitor.
Years later, I started a birthday tradition of visiting a new country each year and inviting family and friends to come along. I loved researching the destination, imagining what the trip could be and watching that vision come to life. After several years, I realized I loved the planning almost as much as the traveling. Eventually, that passion became a business.
Stacey Smith
Founder · Travel Advisor
How I Think About Travel
The experiences that give a place its flavor.
People first
A trip is better when it feels human. I love meeting locals, learning about their lives and finding the moments that turn a destination from somewhere you visited into somewhere you connected with.
Food as a doorway
Everyone has a relationship with food. It's part of our families, traditions, celebrations and everyday lives. Breaking bread gives us common ground and creates space to understand one another.
The iconic and the everyday
I'll visit the Great Wall and still seek out the family-owned restaurant or neighborhood market. The experiences I remember most often come from having room for both.
“At its core, Epicurean Escapes is about connection: to places, to food and culture, to the people who call a destination home, and sometimes, to each other.”
Stacey Smith
What I Do
Thoughtful planning, personal service.
I personally plan customized vacations, destination celebrations and intimate culinary and cultural group journeys, bringing together accommodations, private transfers, customized itineraries, tours, culinary experiences and the details that make the trip feel cohesive.
To me, luxury isn't defined by an expensive hotel or a first-class seat. It's having an experience thoughtfully designed around you, knowing the details have been considered and having someone in your corner from the planning stages through your return home.
I try to keep my clients' best interests at heart, recommending what makes sense for the traveler rather than simply what's popular. The goal is to create a journey that reflects how you want to experience the world.
“I believe the best trips leave you with memories and stories you'll pass on to family, friends and maybe even the next generation. They expand your heart and your mind, and send you home with a little more gratitude for the world and the people in it.”
Stacey Smith
Let's plan something worth traveling for.
You don't need to have every detail figured out. Bring the destination, the occasion or simply an idea of how you want to experience your trip. We'll take it from there.