Cooking Schools in Europe - and Everywhere Else
Too
We travel for many reasons - and visiting cooking
schools in Europe is a great way to break a journey or to
re-energize. It's also an easy
thing for solo women
travelers to do -
cooking is not traditionally known as a couple's activity and most
schools will be happy to fit you into one of their classes. And lets
not forget - it's a great way to meet other people.
Just a moment though - if you don't like to cook -
then quick, click to
another page! Foreign cuisines won't be part of your travel journey.
But if tasting foreign foods and cooking them is
something you love to do, then why not learn to cook as you travel?
When it comes to top cooking schools, you have so many choices...
It's
easier than it looks
Photo: k0sm1k
via Flickr
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Tuscany
cooking school
Among gourmet cooking schools in Europe Tuscany has a - well-deserved -
reputation, not just because of its cuisine (though
I did eat the best lasagne of my life in Florence) but because it's an
ideal setting for learning about Italian food. Tuscany is a wonderful
stopover if you're traveling in Europe, since you'll most likely be
going through Florence anyway. Why not slow down for a few days and
learn how to
make fresh stuffed pasta while tasting the nearby wines of Chianti?
Companies are falling over one another offering one or several days of
learning Tuscan or Italian cuisine, often combined with a wine tour.
There are also many smaller independent Tuscan cooking schools that are often cheaper
-
just search for Tuscany cooking schools and you'll find more than you
need.
Florence,
in the heart of Tuscany
Photo: izarbeltza
via Flickr
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Cooking
Schools in Europe: France
cooking school
France perhaps has the greatest number of cooking schools in Europe.
Not only is it renowned for its gourmet cuisine, but its regional
cooking - especially that of Provence - has made mouths drool for
centuries - not to mention that France has the world's greatest number
of Michelin chefs. Learning to cook in France is relatively simple,
since there is an abundance of cooking schools in Paris and throughout
the country, with classes ranging from a few hours to a few years.
Cooking
schools in Europe: isn't this gorgeous?
Photo: Mulling It Over
via Flickr
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In France, as in other cooking schools in Europe, there are courses for
all levels. Beginners can learn the art of the
perfect vinaigrette
(salad dressing) or quiche,
while those with a track record can focus on more delicate patisserie (French
pastry) or foie gras.
The beauty of French cooking is that in addition to its regional
differences, there are also different styles - mountain cuisine in the
Alps, nouvelle cuisine, home cooking, single-pot dishes like cassoulet... And
lest you worry about its difficulty, don't. There are plenty of
beginner dishes that are almost impossible to ruin, and French cuisine
is as much about choosing the right ingredients as it is about using
them.
Cooking schools in Europe: cooking
schools Spain
Spanish cooking has become hugely popular, often
through the tiny
dishes called tapas.
As a young girl growing up in Spain, my friends and I used to start our
evenings in a tapas bar, eating tiny portions of tortilla (potato
omelet), chorizo (spicy sausage) or gambas
al ajillo (garlic shrimp) before going out for more hearty
fare. We went from bar to bar, as each had its specialty. So did towns
- and the tapas you'd find in Seville would often be vastly different
to those in Barcelona (whose tapas culture isn't as developed as in the
South). Making tapas is fun - but so is learning more substantial
dishes like paella.
Spain doesn't have a huge proportion of the cooking schools in Europe,
but you'll certainly find classes that fit your budget and tastes.
There are plenty of other cooking schools in Europe - Ireland, for
example, has ample classes, as does London.
Perhaps cooking schools in Europe aren't brash and bold enough for you
- and you want to try
something new and different. Here are more options to make
your travels
even more enjoyable.
Cooking
schools Mexico
Plenty of fast Mexican food outlets churn out tortillas, guacamole and
tacos - and even such dishes as mole
(chocolate sauce) or arroz
con leche (rice pudding). You have to admit, though, that
they don't even begin to compare with the real thing, cooked at home.
Because it's so close to the US and Americans love cooking classes,
you'll find Mexican cooking schools in almost every city or town with
an expat population - and these include some of the most beautiful
locations in an already beautiful country - for example, a view of the
beach while you whip up your salsa...
Not only do schools teach Mexican cooking, but some of them specialize,
for example in Yucatan cuisine. There's also an added advantage to
taking a cooking class in Mexico: if you're backpacking down through
Central America, you'll be able to practice your Spanish for a few
days!
Cooking
classes in Thailand
Thai
food is one of my favorites and I still remember standing in front
of a full restaurant pounding away at a som tam thai mortar
to a full house. Som
tam is a traditional northeastern Thai dish made of green mango,
chillies and peanuts - very hot but delicious and fresh.
It's a simple recipe
and one of the first taught in cooking schools.
Others are tom yam kung
(spicy-sour shrimp soup), pad
thai (fried noodles with shrimp and tofu), or gaeng keow wan gai
(green curry chicken).
Thai cooking is actually not that difficult - the trick is in the
timing and in preparation
beforehand. Plenty of cooking schools exist
in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and many schools teach in English,
since most
of the clientele is foreign. You can take short courses of just a few
hours or half a day, and the results will be impressive.
International
cooking schools
There are plenty of other countries with cuisines worth learning,
especially if you happen to be passing through. Of course I have my
favorites, and the list below reflects that just a little.
There are plenty of cooking schools in Japan
- and not just in Tokyo - but both times I was in that country, I
somehow failed to learn how to
cook what I was eating. I thrive on sushi (raw fish)
and sashimi
(the same, on rice) and pretty much anything Japanese, so I would
thoroughly enjoy learning how to slice fish properly, how to choose the
best and the freshest, and how to marry the incredibly subtle
ingredients that make Japanese cuisine so extraordinarily fine.
If you love Asian food as much as I do, you may
want to take cooking
classes in India, whose food is both varied and rich.
There may not be as many formal schools as in Japan - most Indian
cooking takes place at home - but opportunities for the culinary
apprentice are plentiful for the curry and spice addict - and
especially for the vegetarian, since India has a range of meatless
delights. A quick search on the web will yield plenty of classes in
Bangalore, Mumbai, Rajasthan or Goa - everywhere, really. You can learn
how to make everything from nan
bread, rotis,
samosas,
tandoori dishes and curries - and I've left plenty out.
Cooking
schools in Egypt don't get much of a mention yet Egyptian
food is a classic Middle East staple, blending as it does the cuisines
of Lebanon and Turkey, in addition to its own. My mother was brought up
in Egypt so between her and my grandmother, I was raised on babaghanoush, kibbeh, and molokheia - the
latter an acquired taste. The good news? Cooking classes are becoming
slightly more common in Cairo - but it's still a far fry from what
you'll find elsewhere.
Hummus,
popular throughout the Middle East
Photo: Paul
Goyette via Flickr
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It's much easier to find a cooking
class in Morocco, especially in Fez, the country's food
capital. If you haven't tried Moroccan food yet, run, don't walk. It's
incredibly tasty and varied, but doesn't resemble that of the Middle
East at all. Typical of Moroccan cooking is the tajine, more a type
of cooking dish (cone-shaped, ceramic) than a food. Few people can
resist a tajine aux
pruneaux (prune tajine), which mixes slowly braised lamb,
prunes, almonds and honey. And who hasn't heard of couscous, semolina
covered in meats, vegetables and a spicy broth.
Steak,
Lamb, chicken, sweetbreads, tripe, kidney, sausage, pig ribs ...
Photo: Jon
Hadley via Flickr
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For something really off the beaten path, why not try cooking classes in Argentina?
With its world-class beef (and yearly per person consumption of 100 kg
- that's 220 lbs) it should be no surprise that BBQ is a national
pastime. You'll learn how to prepare grilled meat or asado, mix a
mind-blowing chimichurri
(parsley and garlic sauce for meats) or stuff empanadas (meat
pies). And while you're in Buenos Aires, please note it does not always
take two to tango - there are classes available for women on their own
throughout the city.
This overview doesn't cover all the best cooking schools in Europe, nor does it
claim to provide advice about schools - but I did want to give you a
'taste' of what was available out there. You'll find schools by
searching the Internet, but also post questions on expat forums,
because people who live
in a country are usually the best source of information.
Women travel for many reasons, and learning to understand a country's culture
through its cuisine is often one of them - it certainly is for me!
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