Who We Are
Our company was founded in 2008 by Alana Hoye Barnaba. Originally from upstate New York, Alana moved to New York City and immediately began her love affair with its food, history, and culture. For years before creating her company, Alana tried every type of food the city had to offer and began specializing in the tastes of ethnic neighborhoods. Some of her first experiences with the city’s culinary adventures were fresh dumplings and homemade mozzarella — foods included on the signature tour today. Soon after, Alana started Ahoy New York Tours & Tasting and has been sharing her love for the passion, culture, and history of the city through food tours of New York neighborhoods.
Ahoy New York Tours and Tasting’s goal with each tour is for customers to leave not only with the knowledge of the area and full of delicious food but also an experience to tell friends and family about long after the tour is complete.
Meet The Founder
Alana Hoye Barnaba
Alana created Ahoy New York’s signature tour of Chinatown and Little Italy from years of experience visiting these neighborhoods. She has formed wonderful relationships with the local shops and restaurants and considers this part of NYC her second home. Alana loves to travel, especially to France where she practices speaking her second language.
Meet Our Team & Guides!
Elizabeth Evertsz
Director of Training/Social Media Manager/Lead GuideLiz is a native New Yorker with a passion and enthusiasm for food. Born and raised in Queens, New York’s most diverse borough Liz certainly knows where to find foods from all over the globe.
Maryana Dudkina
Tour GuideRaised in Brooklyn, Maryana lived in Chinatown for three years. The only thing she enjoys more than eating her way around NYC is guiding visitors and locals alike through her stomping ground.
Patrick Toon
Tour GuideAfter moving to New York in 2002, Patrick began exploring the five boroughs while training for the New York City Marathon. He discovered the city mile by mile and is excited to share the history, culture, and food that make New York unique.
Valerie Woo
Tour GuideBorn and raised in Hong Kong, Val has lived in NYC for 6 years. She is especially excited to share her culture through the foods found in Chinatown. A frequent traveler, she loves learning about history and trying new things! Val is currently completing her MA in Cognitive Science at Columbia University.
Hannah Spiegelman
Tour GuideHannah moved to her dream city of New York after graduating with her masters in food studies. Besides being always on the hunt for the best ice cream cone in the city, Hannah loves sharing with people how much fun history can be through the lens of food.
Lily deButts
Tour GuideLily is a native New Yorker who has been coming to Chinatown and Little Italy for as long as she can remember. She loves learning about new foods almost as much as eating them.
Elizabeth Stork
Tour GuideGrew up on Long Island and has lived in Queens for the past 9 years. Working in the food industry and traveling Liz always tries to do a food tour when exploring a new city. She loves learning about food and history and how they are connected.
Carol Wagner
Tour GuideCarol has four true loves in her life: food, theater, rainbows and New York City. A lifelong New Yorker, she spends most of her time eating, thinking about eating, or being full from eating. She lives her life according to two philosophies: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf, and “Om nom nom” – Cookie Monster.
Ray Chin
Expert Ahoy BloggerRay is a writer, foodie and a life-long New Yorker. He loves board games and is on almost every social network out there.