Ischia Island Cooking

This looks do-able and interesting. Here is their blurb: Experience the culinary delights of traditional Ischian cuisine in our hands-on, cooking classes at the Augusto. The professional kitchen, led by our team of award-winning chefs, is the setting for your cooking experience. Traditional recipes are prepared with typical regional and island products.

• Coniglio all'ischitana, the island's most famous dish, is rabbit in white wine, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and chili pepper.
• Mackerel, the herring family, squid, octopus, and anchovies are among the many varieties of fresh seafood that are abundant in this fishing community.
• Broad beans, peas, tomatoes, artichokes, peppers, potatoes, and zucchini are the foundation of the local cuisine.
• Ischia also produces fresh, aromatic herbs such as basil, oregano, sage, parsley, rosemary, and chili peppers.
• Oranges, peaches, cherries, figs, grapes, walnuts, apricots, lemons, and prickly pears are among the many varieties of fruits that grow sweet and ripe in the fertile volcanic soil of the island.
• Used in everything from jams and marmalade to pasta, biscotti, and chocolate, the lemon plays a significant role in the island's cuisine and is what makes the famous Limoncello liquor.

Program includes:

• * 8 days/7 nights accommodations
• * Daily breakfast
• * 6 hands-on cooking classes, followed by lunch or dinner on the foods prepared in class
• * Island Tour by land
• * Visit to Limoncello maker and wine producer
• * Visit to Sorgeto /bath and thermal springs
• * Boat tour~ tour the Island by sea
• * Half-day visit to the Poseidon Gardens, entrance included.
• * Round trip transfers to Naples Airport or Naples Train station

Program Prices Rate per person/based on double occupancy: $2,900.00. Single supplement $250.00 airfare ~1,100 week in Naples at Hostel of the Sun (http://www.hostelnapoli.com/languages/english/) 50Euro/night=75*7=$525 food $200 transportation= $100 total would be $4085 for two weeks.

Tuscan Cooking Vacation

A great Tuscan Cooking and Wine vacation in the Heart of Tuscany with Chef Paolo Monti. In this comprehensive "Hands On" cooking and wine tour, you will learn the best of "Tuscan Cooking and living" with 4 exciting Italian cooking classes: traditional, Tuscan, pasta and fish Cooking Classes with effervescent Chef Paolo Monti, all together more than 45 recipes! Fish and vegetable market visits, 2 winery visits, excursions to Lucca, Parma, Modena and Siena. -A great Tuscan Cooking and Wine vacation in the Heart of Tuscany with Chef Paolo Monti. In this comprehensive "Hands On" cooking and wine tour, you will learn the best of "Tuscan Cooking and living" with 4 exciting italian cooking classes: traditional, Tuscan, pasta and fish Cooking Classes with effervescent Chef Paolo Monti, all together more than 45 recipes! Fish and vegetable market visits, 2 winery visits, excursions to Lucca, Parma, Modena and Siena. - 7 nights full board "All Inclusive" program. The Cost For the 7 day all inclusive cooking package with hands on Tuscan Cooking, with 4 cooking lessons, all meals, wines and tours included is as follows:

From November to end March:
• Euro 1490,00 per person in double room (USD $2,156.38)
• Flight to Pisa (round trip transfer 100 Euros ... USD$142) plus ~$1000 US for flight
• total: $3,298 plus 1 week in Lucca ~$800

San Miguel de Allende Cooking Vacation

As our Mexican Cooking Vacation student You will receive the following Complete Package: * FREE VAN or CAR TRANSPORTATION to and from Leon/Bajio BJX Airport (90 minute trip)! * 6 nights' accommodations at the school site, Arcos Del Atascadero Bed and Breakfast » (Sunday through Friday night) * 26 hours Mexican Cooking instruction from Patricia Merrill Marquez and native guest instructors * 1 Daytrip to Guanajuato for shopping and a fine Mexican restaurant for lunch * 6 days' Breakfasts and Lunches and evening snack * WEEKLY SCHEDULE » * Afternoon and evening freetime to explore San Miguel de Allende and eat at your choice of fine restaurants featuring Mexican cuisine * Guided Tour of the people's mercado for fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs & spices * "Kick-up-your-heels" musical & culinary nights-on-the-town costs: $2,000 U.S. for the lodging and school, Sunday through Friday flight $700 7 days in San Miguel at Hotel Quinta Loreto @35$/night =$245 meals= $200 transportation=$100 Total=$3245

El Masroig and Barcelona Spain Cooking

OK. Here is the dream. Fly to Barcelona, Spain get picked up by the Catacurian Cooking School, leisurely driven to their location, cook like crazy for 6 days, return to Barcelona and cook more.

The 6 day school school sounds intriguing, even though there are several "excursions". There is cooking every one of the six days.

6 - Day Gourmet Food & Wine Experience in El Priorat This culinary vacation program will really allow you to discover first hand why Catalonia and its food have become so popular. With six or seven hands-on classes of approximately three hours each and a combination of restaurant meals and class preparation meals, a very good knowledge of Catalan cuisine is attained. Four visits to local Priorat wine producers and vineyards, along with wine tasting will allow you to discover and appreciate the fantastic DOC Priorat and DO Montsant wines. An official olive oil tasting presentation will let you discover the incredible DO Siurana olive oils. A trip to a local ceramics producer, the Scala Dei monastery, and the Gaudi architecture in Reus will enable you to learn of the areas history as well as indulge in the landscapes of this beautiful and unspoiled region.

Sounds good. Then after that back to Barcelona and stay at the Barcelona Rambles Hostel. A single room is ~50 Euros/night. There is a cooking school, Cook and Taste, with half day courses at 60 Euros. Also, the Catacurian people also teach in Barcelona.
Now, the details:
Costs: pretend dates: Oct 18-25th for school ... Oct25-Nov02 Barcelona

• misc-$200
• flight ~$1000
• 3 cooking classes in Barcelona $250
• Catacurian Cooking School cost 3,400€
• hostel 350€
• Total=~$6,382

Yes, I could do New York for that.

Looking forward to next year

I don't know if I will be able to get to go anywhere, but I can dream. Check out the dreamers blog, about cooking vacations.

Martha Sherpa's Cooking School in Hong Kong

Full Day Hands-on Chinese Cooking Classes In this series of 1 to 8 days Chinese cookery course, you'll learn the genuine Chinese cooking technique which is different from those mentioned in the cookbooks or cooking shows. Class Schedule: From 10:30am to 6:00pm

The cost would be about $3862 for flight and hotel, then another $1200 for the course. There could be two courses, one on Thai cooking. Another $1200. Then there is transportation. Ride from the airport will be about $50. So tacking on another $100 brings the total to $6362. I know I have said this before, but I could do New York for that.

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.

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.

Leaning towards Italy

This place (Ciaolaura) has a bunch of different cooking vacations, ranging from one day to eight. The eight day one caught my eye. It looked pretty good, but only available April through October (my emphasis) and only 4 cooking classes in 8 days.

Eight-Day Package: Cooking Lessons + Accommodations
April through October
Eight-Day Package includes the following:
Price per person is 1200 euro per person (based on double occupancy)
Roundtrip transfer to/from Naples airport
4 hands-on cooking lessons
4 meals on the school’s premises
Beverage included
Recipes of the lessons
Cook apron
Shopping bag
Certificate of participation

Not exactly the place I am looking for (prices good, only four cooking lessons), but getting close. I'll keep looking.

Cooking School vs Cooking Vacation

There is a difference between a school and a vacation. Sometimes. What I am looking for is somewhere in between. I want hands-on cooking experience. I could care less about tours to local wineries, cheese makers and olive groves. I will go to the markets in the town. I do not need an escorted tour. You move too quickly and never ooh and aah over the same things that I like. I would like to pick my own place to have dinner. I do not want to have to spend one week at a chateau with only 2 cooking demonstrations. It is not important to me to see the historical sights. I just want to learn how to cook really good regional food in the tiny amount of time that I have. 2 weeks. That is all.