Native American Cooking Schools and Alinea

Looking around I found this link that has a list of culinary schools teaching Native American cooking.Most were for 1 day demo courses, and many of the links didn't work But still, how interesting. Talk about interesting ...

I am addicted to Alinea at Home. She did the Keller French Laundry cookbook at home and wowed me, so I followed her to the Alinea. What chutzpah this woman has. What dedication. What humor! She cooks to an eclectic music selection, also.

Granada, Spain

There is a two week "cooking vacation" in Granada, Spain that is emphasizing Mediterranean cooking.

For a select time each year the Granada Cooking School in this historic centre of Andalusia opens its doors for invigorating cooking classes to a limited number of students eager to share in the food, wine, and gastronomic culture of one of Spain's most diverse and vibrant regions. Participants also have the unique option of taking morning Spanish language classes from neighboring Escuela Carmen de las Cuevas. Guests cook with wild Mediterranean herbs gathered from behind the house, salad greens and vegetables from local markets, olives from the abudant groves, and prepare unique Mediterranean, Spehardic, and Mozarabic dishes. Included is a field trip to Europe's highest viticultural region, the up-and-coming D.O. Vinos de la tierra Norte de Granada. The two-week English language program includes hands-on cooking sessions and seminars in gastronomy led by Vaughn Perret & Charles Leary, PhD, as well as guided visits to markets, vineyards, shops, and local restaurants. All cooking programs take place in the afternoons, allowing for morning Spanish classes if desired. Each day’s program offers something different; the prepared menus shared while taking in views of the Alhambra Palace, the insider’s guide to the regional production of olives and oil, and cheese, and tastings from the rich selection of local and regional wines, including the famed Sherries from Jerez and Montilla. The class is limited to 8 guests. The week begins with dinner on Sunday night and ends after lunch on Friday. The fee is $2,990.00 and includes market visits, all tastings, transportation for local visits, lunches on Wednesdays & Saturdays, and dinners Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The fee does not include lodging or transportation. (A list of recommended hotels and apartment rentals is sent to enrolled guests.)

The hotel/hostel availability looks very good, with the Oasis Granada hostel offering dorm beds for 18 euros, with every 9th day free. The picture seems to advertise cute young women as their main guests.The big plus is that it is only a 12 minute walk to the school. A little more grown up seems to be the Mochi Guesthouse. Same price and ten minutes walk away. A more upscale location are some apartments,El Numero 8, ranging from 50 to 65 Euros per night. Only a 8 minute walk to the school, and the plus here is the free access to the laundry facilities. The flights aren't too bad, running around $940. So it would be about $5600 plus some for transport and food. I could almost do NY for that.

Club Med

Oooh. This looks tempting. The cost for two weeks, all food and transportation included (from Chicago) would be around $5000, booking ahead.

Cancun Yucatan, November 15 - 22

November 15-22, 2008 the culinary weeks headed east to Club Med Cancun Yucatan.

There, Five Star Diamond Award winner, Cindy Hutson and James McDevitt, a Food and Wine Magazine Best New Chef, collaborated with a stellar group of top chefs and sommeliers to create new culinary experiences for Club Med guests. Discover the program of the week.

Columbus Isle, Feb 28 - Mar 7

Club Med’s culinary week February 28-March 7 in Columbus Isle, Bahamas holds a special surprise. Top Chef Winner, Stephanie Izard, will unveil her signature Club Med recipe at a cooking demonstration, lead a private cooking lesson for a lucky sweepstakes winner, and prepare a four-course dinner.

Learning on Line 2

The Free Culinary School has great moments. He just put out a video on Knife Honing and Sharpening that is not professional in the cinematographer sense, but really is a wonderfully clear instruction. Hooray. Just what I was looking for. His technique for finding the proper angle was very useful for me. Each lesson is a podcast, but since I learn by reading or doing I haven't tried them yet.

I Could do New York for That

The last entry talked about the high cost of the nice looking school in Spain . I realized that I could do NY for that amount. Really. Either ICE or CIA (added cost of a rental car and added stress of driving in New York ) would cost $3000, flight about $500, hotel for 2 weeks ... AGGH! Still undecided on a place to stay. First choice is the Chelsea International Hostel for the ICE.

• 14 nights for $560.
• Only nine minutes walking from the hotel to the school
• They have a women only dorm.
• No bathroom (down the hall, shared with other dorms)
• It has a kitchen. Big plus.

The other choice is luxurious, for me. The cost: $4,414.00

• One Sweet Double Bed.
• With good reading lights and
• sleek storage and
• work space.
• iPod docking station,
• flat-screen TV;
• in-room safe.
• rain-head shower, sink, WC.
• long trip to school some subways quit at 10pm, last class ends at 10pm.

Spain

I typed in

fish "cooking vacation" Spain

for a Google search and came up with what looks like a winner. Here's what their website says:

6 nights in elegant boutique hotel in Madremanya
5 lunches, 5 dinners, all breakfasts
4 cooking classes with chef
1 cooking class in private home
Winery and olive oil mill visits in Alt Empordà
Catalan cava and wine tastings

Catalan cuisine is characterized by the wide variety and incredible freshness of its often local, traditional ingredients. Ingredients commonly used include prawns, shrimp, squid, sea urchins, salt cod, anchovies, wild game, sausages, veal, free-range duck and chicken, rabbit, peppers, tomatoes, wild mushrooms, artichokes, eggplant, rice, and broad beans. The northern Catalan cheese landscape is diverse featuring artisanal goats and cows cheeses.
The cuisine is centered around four principal sauces: alioli, sofregit, picada and samfaina. After learning to make these sauces you will go on to incorporate them into a number of Catalan dishes. Typical dishes include suquet, a Catalan bouillabaisse, an enormous variety of fish and shellfish, escalivada (roasted vegetable salad), mar i muntanya (surf and turf)–pairing lobster or prawns with chicken or rabbit–escudella i carn d’olla (Catalan stew), pa amb tomàquet, and esqueixada.

The cost looks like ~$4000. Flight will be about $1,400. Then back to Barcelona for a week, about $1500. Almost $7000. Heck I can do New York for that.