Plenty of resorts across the country have excellent restaurants, but travelers seeking more should explore the hands-on side of culinary resort experiences. From New York’s Hudson Valley to the South Texas Coast, adventurous food lovers can partake in workshops and experiences that get them out of the dining room and into the kitchen, garden, farm, or ocean. Whether you’re looking to forage or fish, these excursions will introduce you to local people, ingredients, and techniques, and ultimately offer a true taste of the destination.

At these properties, it’s less about what’s on your plate and more about how it got there. Big Sur is the perfect place to forage for edible botanicals and aromatics, and on Chesapeake Bay, harvesting and shucking oysters is woven into the community’s cultural fabric.…