This week on Mixtape Travels: I sat down with Kara Ricciardi, chef-turned-tour-operator and the co-founder of Stretchy Pants Food Tours in San Francisco, to talk about the spark behind her company, her wildest food memories (wine tasting followed by great white shark cage-diving… what could go wrong?), and why food + people + place is the combo that makes travel unforgettable.
🎧 Click on the above link to listen to the interview or listen on “Mixtape Travels” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Highlights from our conversation include:
A Lifelong Traveler from Brooklyn
Kara grew up in Brooklyn, detoured to Florida for college, then aimed her compass west after a snowy Halloween homecoming convinced her that California sunshine > slush. Culinary school brought her to San Francisco, and she never looked back.
A lifelong traveler with 80+ countries under her belt, she got hooked early through school trips, volunteer programs, and Semester at Sea. Along the way: visiting a friend’s home in Ghana (where she learned to make fufu), truffle hunting in Italy, and that infamous “wine tour + shark dive” day in South Africa. “Super dangerous, super memorable.” I’m sure it was!
From Chef to Tour Founder
After designing grocery products (think soups, cookies, mayo) and realizing labs and line-cooks weren’t her forever, Kara went to business school. A trip to Istanbul with her now-business partner planted the seed: food tours were the perfect blend of her professional love (food) and her hobby (travel), with low overhead and infinite storytelling potential. She apprenticed with local tour outfits, learned narrative craft, and started building Stretchy Pants stop by stop.
What Makes Stretchy Pants Food Tours Different
Kara trains guides with deep notes, not scripts. The result: tours feel like hanging with a clued-in local friend who’s obsessed with great bites and knows the stories behind them. You’ll hit must-eat stops, hear history tuned to your guide’s passions, and learn what to order next time you come back on your own.
Public Tours that Run Weekly:
Gourmet Ghost Tour (North Beach): Food plus ghost stories? Chef’s kiss. (Age 12+.)
Chinatown Dim Sum & Tea: Still the fan favorite. Come hungry; leave happy. (Kids 6+ welcome.)
Fisherman’s Wharf / Pier 39: Yes, locals roll their eyes. No, they shouldn’t. There’s serious maritime history and legit eats if you know where to look.
I recently had the pleasure of going on the Gourmet Ghost Tour in North Beach and made a Reel about it:
Private & Corporate: Build-Your-Own Adventure
For teams, birthdays, and visiting friends, Stretchy Pants runs small-group, full-meal tours with optional upgrades (fancier dim sum, elevated Mission stops, beverage add-ons, even buses for large groups). They keep groups intimate (roughly 1:12 on public, 1:15 on private), then “round-robin” big events so it still feels personal. Popular one-offs include Pizza & Pub, Chinatown + North Beach combo, Ferry Building (a shorter, two-hour graze), and an Alamo Square → Hayes Valley breakfasty stroll.
Why Food Tours Work
Kara’s philosophy is simple: food + people + place. Restaurants are great, but meeting makers, tasting what they’re proud of, and hearing how a neighborhood evolved turns a quick bite into a memory anchor. Also, sometimes you just want someone else to steer the menu and feed you well. Amen!
What’s Next
Kara is currently toying with the idea of a Downtown Sports + Food tour, tapping San Francisco’s game-day energy and the exploding dining scene around the parks and arenas. Think: where to eat before first pitch or tip-off, with a thread for both the sports-obsessed and the partner who’s mostly there for the snacks.
Quick Hits from Kara
Favorite travel moments: homestays, hands-on cooking, and foraging with friends long before it was trendy.
Parenting note: Public tours welcome most kids (6+ for Chinatown, 12+ for Ghost), and private tours can be tailored to little legs and attention spans. Infants are fine to tag along.
Local’s challenge: Revisit “touristy” pockets like Fisherman’s Wharf with fresh eyes. There’s real flavor hiding in plain sight.
Book a Tour
Craving dim sum, sourdough, seafood, or spooky stories with your sfogliatella? Check out Stretchy Pants Food Tours and book here. Bring your colleagues, your in-laws, or your favorite snack-loving teen. And yes, go hungry and enjoy!
Meet Kara Ricciardi
Kara Ricciardi, founder of Stretchy Pants Food Tours, brings a wealth of culinary experience and a passion for global flavors to her business. Raised in a Brooklyn-based Italian and Spanish family, she began culinary training at age 9, worked in restaurants, and served as a Pastry Prep Chef at the Central Park Boathouse. She further honed her skills at the French Culinary School in San Francisco and taught farm-to-table cooking to children with Americorps.
Kara's innovative approach led her to test kitchens, developing products from vegan cookies to popular spice blends. After earning an MBA in Global Entrepreneurial Management, she launched Stretchy Pants Food Tours, merging her food expertise with her travels to over 80 countries. Alongside her business partner, Ruby, Kara has built an award-winning company, recognized with the 2023 Traveler's Choice Award on Trip Advisor.
Follow Stretchy Pants Food Tours on Instagram.
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