Home : Why Women Travel : Cooking Schools in Europe

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

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

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

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

**Fresh seafood paella**
Photo: Adria Garcia via Flickr

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

**The perfect guacamole**
Photo: stu_spivack via Flickr

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).

**Mango and sticky rice**
Photo: Charles Haynes via Flickr

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.

**I could eat this picture!**
Photo: SaddaGocaraRupa via Flickr

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.

Scrumptious South Indian meal
Photo: Joseph Grossberg via Flickr

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

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

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!

What's New?

Are you planning to travel?

Get free monthly travel tips just for women, and download a free copy of my Bare Minimum Packing List to learn to pack like a pro!