“Top Chef ” walking tour

Inspired by the Bravo show “Top Chef.” a three-hour walking tour cooking tips and all in downtown Manhattan,Tours are offered at 11 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $45. More information is at cityfoodtours.com you’ll visit these sites:

French Culinary Institute: 462 Broadway at Grand Street; 212-219-3300; frenchculinary.com.
Di Palo’s Fine Foods: 200 Grand St., Manhattan; 877-253-1779; dipaloselects.com.
24 Prince: 24 Prince St., Manhattan; 212-226-8624; 24prince.com.
Broadway Panhandler: 65 E. Eighth St., Manhattan; 866-266-5927; broadwaypanhandler.com.
‘wichcraft: 12 locations in Manhattan; wichcraftnyc.com
Sometimes the tour itinerary varies, some other stops may include a Chinese bakery, a grand Beaux Arts building called Capitale where the show’s semifinal competitions were held, and a store in Little Italy called Di Palo’s Fine Foods, where contestants shopped. Participants sampled three cheeses at Di Palo’s and especially liked cacio di bosco, a Tuscan pecorino with black truffles.

The tour starts at the French Culinary Institute, where an event from the show was filmed and where Pepin is the dean. By the way the school restaurant, L’Ecole, offers elaborate meals at a discount, prepared by students and instructors.

There’s also the much anticipated visit to Broadway Panhandler, a cooking supply store, for a workshop on knives where you learn the difference between honing steels, which are used to realign knives, and diamond steels, which are used to sharpen them.

Last stop of the tour is ‘wichcraft, a restaurant owned by Tom Colicchio, the head judge of “Top Chef.” Sandwich samples are offered with a tasting quiz to identify a powdery red spice, various seeds and dried beans. The top scorer wins a carrot peeler, and everyone goes home with a list of tips , along with a packet of fancy gray Celtic sea salt.

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