Our Guides

Since Michele is not available to conduct most of the tours, she has selected a team of guides for their enthusiasm, personality, cooking background and professional experience. Our guides are all personally trained by Michele to convey not only the secrets of the cuisine in the high quality of ingredients but also the sense of regional tradition, the healthfulness of the Italian diet, and that very Italian love of life.

Click a guide's name to learn more:

Jim Becker • Dick Mieli • Beth Applebaum
Raymond Gillespie • Kalif Melanson • Michele Topor

JIM BECKER

It often surprises people to learn that Jim Becker, who began cooking in restaurants at the age of 16, speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. But then, Jim is full of surprises. After earning a degree in Asian studies at the university of Vermont, and years of intensive language training in Taiwan, Jim decided to indulge his life-long passion, and enrolled in the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, from which he graduated with high honors.

Jim went to work for Lydia Shire when she opened her landmark restaurant BIBA in 1990, and, after three years returned to the Cambridge School, this time as an instructor in the Professional Chef Degree Program, where he developed the Asian component for the program.

In 1998, after a stint as Executive Chef at Rustica, a pan-Mediterranean restaurant in Belmont, Jim tapped into his many years summering in Spain when he opened his first solo venture, Rauxa Restaurant and Cava Bar in Somerville. His menu of evocative dishes inspired by the rustic tradition of Catalan cooking found in Mediterranean Spain and Southern France drew raves from Boston diners and the food community alike, along with two Best of Boston awards, two Wine Spectator awards, and an invitation to cook at the James Beard House n New York.

After a year as Executive Chef at Taranta Cucina Meridionale in the North End, Jim began freelancing, a journey which eventually landed him on the doorstep of Michele Topor, where he began working as a Tour Guide for the North End Market Tours.

Although Jim has a great knowledge of Mediterranean food it was easy to recognize that his knowledge and passion for Asian cuisine surpassed that, hence -- a new tour was developed. Today, Jim enjoys nothing better than weaving his way through the narrow streets of Boston’s “Little Italy” or “Chinatown”, leading visitors in walking cooking classes, where he is able to combine his love of food with his passion for teaching.

DICK MIELI

There is an air of mystery surrounding Dick Mieli, which is not in the least surprising. His favorite past time when he is not leading groups on Market Tours in the North End, is reading mystery novels. Being an admirer of all things Italian, he feels a particular connection to those that are set in Venice or Sicily. It is the Val D’Aosta, however, that he reserves his fondest feelings for. Perhaps it has to do with the towering peaks that separate Italy from France, or the lush Alpine valleys and crystal clear rivers, but, more likely it is the pheasant pate and chamois stew served over polenta, still ingrained in his memory, that cause his emotions to run so deep.

Dick began his culinary career here in Cambridge, at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts where he completed the Professional Chefs’ Training Program in 1984. He continued his culinary education in New Orleans, but returned to Boston in 1987 where he taught cooking classes for the Cambridge Center for Adult Education until 1994.

In the early 90’s, Dick co-founded the Boston Athenaeum Culinary Discussion Group, which continues to meet every year from October to May.

The truth is, that it is hard to keep Dick Mieli in one place. Overcome by wanderlust, Dick has become a frequent traveler to far-away places, the more exotic, the better. Some highlights of his frequent travels include a safari in Zimbabwe, an excursion to Cambodia to see the Angkor Wat, and a visit to Machu Picchu in Peru. In fact, Dick has been known to take off on a moment’s notice. But as soon as the snows of winter have passed, and the forsythia begins to bloom, just like clockwork, you’ll find Dick back in the North End, passionately introducing people to his favorite local haunts.

BETH APPLEBAUM

Beth Applebaum loves to teach-anyone, anywhere, anytime. For the past twenty five years, she has taught Special Education and has been an outspoken advocate for children with special needs. A private tutor for the past seven years, Beth is currently teaching dyslexic children to read.

One can trace her love of teaching back to a year spent in Torino, Italy in the mid-70’s. During that time she worked at a private school teaching Conversational English to Italians, and learning the Italian language from her students in return. Her love of teaching, combined with a passion for cooking make Beth a perfect guide for our North End Market Tours.

Beth’s cooking skills are put to good use each year during the numerous events at which she volunteers. She runs Artist Hospitality at the Boston Folk Festival, making all of the pastries for the artists and program donors, and keeping them happy with Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Basil Panini. She also caters for friends, school events and numerous charities, and does volunteer work at WUMB, the folk music station at UMASS Boston.

When she’s not teaching, volunteering or guiding tours, Beth is happiest fixing a plate of her homemade Butternut Squash Tortellini with Butter and Sage, and enjoying the tranquility of her garden in Cambridge, a garden full of flowers and flowering fruit trees that reminds her of Italy.

RAYMOND GILLESPIE

Raymond’s passage to the North End has been a long and particularly winding journey. Originally from Ireland, Raymond’s formative years as a teenager were spent growing up in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. It was this exposure to another culture and people that planted the seeds of his chosen career as a chef. He says “I learned a lot. But the most important lesson I learned, unbeknownst to me at the time, and one I appreciated later when I became a chef was simply this…that you had to be close to the source of your ingredients.”

Upon his return to Ireland, Raymond pursued a degree in Hotel Management in his hometown of Athlone, on the banks of the river Shannon. Following externships in London and Amsterdam, he arrived in Boston in 1985 and decided to cook for a living. Stints at local area hotel kitchens preceded a five-year sojourn at Mama Maria on North Square in the North End. During this period, Raymond became more and more knowledgeable about regional Italian cuisine and traditional Italian ingredients and cooking techniques. At the same time, he forged a friendship and working relationship with the neighborhood shopkeepers and purveyors.

Today, Raymond pursues his twin passions of history and geography, and in his spare time indulges in his organic heirloom seed garden. And his familiarity with the neighborhood combined with his love of cooking make him an ideal guide for the North End Market Tour.

KALIF MELANSON

Kalif Melanson hasn’t quite decided exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Following a degree in economics, she went to work as an economist for the government. She left that position to become a Sales manager for Sears, followed by stints working as a Commodities Assistant, and a Hardware/Software Analyst for various companies. But it wasn’t until she began taking groups of people to see the beautiful buildings and historical sights of the city, that Kalif finally found her niche.

Currently working as a local tour guide and concierge, Kalif has a particular interest in the history, architecture and culinary scene of Boston. She loves to dine out, and passionately believes that there is no such thing as too much garlic. Though she enjoys cooking from time to time, she would much rather leave that particular job to her husband, and will gratefully trade cleanup duties for his cooking any day.

Kalif has a restless soul. She has wandered the world, from the jungles of Belize, to the deserts of Jordan; from the hills of Turkey, to the bustling and colorful produce markets of Vietnam. When not abroad, the nomad in her keeps her walking the streets of Boston; giving directions, offering advice, or just plain people watching. What she loves best about guiding the North End Market Tours is the chance it provides her to combine her love of walking and talking, with her favorite part of the city: Boston’s “Little Italy”.

MICHELE TOPOR

From a very early age Michele could be found either tending to the garden with her mother or helping her father in their little family grocery store in central Massachusetts. She took great pride and enjoyed their Polish heritage and was eager to learn the family customs.

Despite the comfort of family and her hometown, the big city was calling and she left for Boston to train as a registered nurse. Although a nursing career was rewarding, food and cooking remained a magnet and a great way to be creative and entertain her friends.

Hoping to replicate her small town atmosphere, Michele discovered and moved into Boston’s North End. This tiny, warm and somewhat foreign community felt like the village of her youth. She felt at home as she wandered and shopped the little markets and began a quest to learn a new culture and cuisine.

Her spare time now turned into endless jaunts to study, and learn the Italian culture and cuisine, and her passion took her to Italy, where she studied with such luminaries as Marcella Hazan, Giuliano Bugialli, and, back in the States, Madeleine Kamman.

 As a 37- year resident of Boston’s North End, Michele designed The North End Market Tour to introduce her cooking class participants to her neighborhood and sources for authentic Italian ingredients. Since 1994, Michele and her personally trained guides have shared their passion for the food and wine of Italy on this one-of-a-kind, five-senses-alive, walking cooking class. Their goal is to convey not only the secrets of the cuisine in the high quality of ingredients but also the sense of regional tradition, the healthfulness of the Italian diet, and that very Italian love of life.

Michele’s cooking classes, market tours and culinary trip’s to Italy have been featured on television -- including Travel Channel, TVFood Network, HGTV and CNN, on the radio, and in various national and international publications. As one of Boston's leading authorities on Italian food, wine and culture, Michele’s infectious enthusiasm, broad knowledge of Italian cuisine, and her extensive travels throughout Italy make Michele an ideal cooking colleague, tour guide and travel companion on your quest for discovery of La Bella Vita.

In her free time, Michele enjoys traveling, tending to her award winning roof-top garden and entertaining friends. If you can’t find her, she’s likely to be wandering for hours at any farmer’s market, fish pier or ethnic grocery store.