Culinary Trips: Online Extras Spotlight

Love food almost as much as travel? Book a culinary vacation.

By Genevieve Brown

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If your love of travel is second only to your love of food, you’re perfectly suited to a culinary getaway. Sure you could just sample the local cuisine of your next destination, but why not dive a little deeper and actually learn to cook it? Once you master the meals of your chosen locale, take home your new skill and apply it in your own kitchen – a better souvenir than a t-shirt any day.

CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
California’s Napa Valley and New York’s Hudson Valley are both worthwhile places to visit in their own right, but the fact that they’re home to the bi-coastal Culinary Institute of America (www.ciachef.edu) makes them destinations that top any foodie’s travel list. New York's Hyde Park campus offers a Boot Camp series with classes that range from one to five days and cover a variety of topics. If you’re a newbie, the Basic Training (5 days; $1,995) might be for you; if you know your way around a kitchen blindfolded, check out the Advanced Boot Camp (5 days; $1,995). There are also several cuisine-specific classes like Spanish Tapas (1 day; $325), Healthy Cuisine (4 days; $1,695), and BBQ (2 days; $835). Take that love of outdoor cooking one step further on California's Napa Valley campus where a two-day Ancient Cookfire class ($1,995) is offered as part of the Sophisticated Palate series, or sign up to sample (and of course cook) the region’s bounty in the Taste of Northern California course (4 days; $3,995). Classes at Hyde Park typically include meals at the world-renowned on-campus restaurants; Napa Valley classes include excursions into the surrounding wine region.

SANCTUARY ON CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN
Spectacular views of Arizona’s Paradise Valley are one great reason to stay at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain (www.sanctuaryoncamelback.com), but there are many more incentives to book a room at this uber-luxe, world-renowned boutique property. There’s the spa, the wood-burning fireplaces, and the most recent addition: the Mi Casa, Mi Chef culinary program. You and seven friends will be treated to the very best of Sanctuary: Two nights in a private mountain home, a trip to the Farmer’s Market with one of the resort's chefs to select the ingredients for your interactive in-home dinner with wine pairings later that night. At $8,000 including taxes and gratuities, it isn’t cheap but for those who want to relax on their vacation, it isn’t too strenuous either – especially when you factor in the 60-minute spa treatment included for each member of your group. The package is available until December 31, 2007.

MANDARIN ORIENTAL, BANGKOK
For 15 years, one of the finest hotels in the world has been teaching the art of Thai cooking – right in the heart of Bangkok. Every day except Sunday, a rotating schedule of hands-on classes at the Mandarin Oriental (www.mandarinoriental.com) will teach you to cook most any Thai dish your stomach desires – from the westernized Pad Thai and spring rolls to less-known delicacies like stir-fried squid with chili jam and sweet mango with sticky rice. You don’t have to be a guest of the Mandarin Oriental to take the cooking classes, but when you have the opportunity to stay at a hotel that's consistently ranked among the world's best – where private butler service, four-poster beds, and river views are part of the experience – you better take it. Classes are 5,000 THB and are followed by lunch; the hotel also offers culinary packages that combine your accommodations with several cooking classes.

INTERNATIONAL KITCHEN
The beauty of the International Kitchen (www.theinternationalkitchen.com) is that you can plan an entire culinary getaway or simply opt to take a one-day cooking class on location during your trip – provided your destination is in Italy, France, or Spain, which, if you’re a foodie, it probably is. Provence, the Loire Valley, Tuscany, and the Amalfi coast are all on offer – and chances are once you take one cooking class, you’ll want to learn much more. For the full culinary immersion, book yourself on one of the many multi-night vacations offered by the International Kitchen; most include accommodations, cooking lessons, local wines, transport to and from the airport, daily breakfast, and several dinners. The International Kitchen also offers “specialty trips” that allow you to combine your interest in cooking and traveling with yet another passion, such as pilates, writing, painting, or biking.

MANSION ON FORSYTH PARK, SAVANNAH
Savannah’s Mansion on Forsyth Park (www.mansiononforsythpark.com) isn’t just a magnificently restored Victorian mansion set in the Historic District, but a bastion of culinary education, too. The property’s one site cooking school – named 700 – offers hands-on cooking classes at $90 a pop. Perfect for beginners, the offerings range from classes dedicated solely to making salads to a syllabus devoted to baking sweet treats. But since you’re Savannah, why not do as the southerners do and take a class on Low Country cooking? You’ll finish up the three-hour course knowing how to make a black-eyed pea salad, cheddar and chive biscuits, shrimp with red-eye gravy, creamy grits, fried green tomatoes, and pecan praline angel food cake. The property also offers specials for those looking to combine their cooking lessons with a stay at this standout hotel.