Photo by Rob Howard
|
Cooking Vacations Abound
By Phyllis Richman, September & October 2005
|
So you've always fantasized about taking cooking lessons from a famous
French chef? Or rooting out truffles in Italy? The following is just a sampling
of the types of gastronomic vacations available to culinary adventurers like
you.
Weeklong Courses
France Spend a week at a chateau in Burgundy or Provence, learning to
cook summer truffles with rocket and purslane in between cheese tastings and
market outings (www.lavarenne.com;
800-537-6486). Or stay at a medieval chateau in Provence, learning the regional
specialties (www.lydiemarshall.com;
011-33475264531).
Italy If only Italy's truffles were as prolific as its cooking
schools. Learn Tuscan cuisine at a Benedictine abbey (www.coltibuono.com; 011-390577744-81). Or delve
into the intricacies of pasta making while staying in a 15th-century Florentine
farmhouse (www.bugialli.com;
011-646-638-1099).
England At the exquisite Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxford,
spend your day learning to make canapés. Your kids can dress in
chef's whites and learn to make chocolate treats (www.manoir.com; 011-01844278881).
Mexico Instead of settling into a chateau or villa, Marilyn Tausend
leads tours of Oaxaca, Yucatán, and other destinations, exploring
markets, street food, and restaurants (www.marilyntausend.com;
011-253-851-7676).
Short Courses
Thailand Cooking need not be the main attraction during your
vacation. The venerable Oriental Bangkok hosts a cooking school with daily or
four-day courses of hands-on cooking classes (www.mandarinoriental.com/;
800-526-6566).
Japan In Tokyo, author Elizabeth Andoh offers tastings-tofu, sea
salt-and lessons in Japanese comfort foods or sushi (www.tasteofculture.com;
011-81-35-7165-751). United States Napa Valley's Greystone, the West Coast
branch of The Culinary Institute of America, has a range of classes from
one-hour walk-ins to weeklong tutorials (www.ciachef.edu/california;
800-888-7850).
Or combine a little cooking with a lot of cycling, golf, hiking, sailing, or
barging with Epiculinary, which offers a range of programs in America and
Europe (www.epiculinary.com;
888-380-9010).
Create Your Own
Of course, these are just the beginning. Several websites help you plan your
own itinerary.
The ShawGuides make it possible to search by date, location, or specialty
cooking classes around the world (cookforfun.shawguides.com).
Gourmet On Tour covers Europe, Asia, Morocco, Australia, Britain, and the
United States. It'll connect you with 80 culinary tours in 11 countries or
custom-plan your own cooking vacation (www.gourmetontour.com; 800-504-9842).
|
