Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World

COOKING IN PARADISE is a rich, definitive guide to hands-on gourmet cooking vacations around the world.Ever dreamed of sauteeing in Sicily?Or having a master divulge the secrets of perfect patisserie in Paris? How about mincing in Morocco?COOKING IN PARADISE will show you how to get there and scores of other places with over 150 listings for cooking vacation programs around the world (and a handful right here in the United States too).The Naftalis give details about famous courses–like Patricia Wells’ “at home” in her eighteenth century Provencal farmhouse–but have also unearthed truly unusual fare, from a Kosher cooking course in Tuscany to an Australian country house gourmet retreat to a Mexican cuisine class held at a working hillside farm in Oaxaca.COOKING IN PARADISE provides all the information you need to book a cooking vacation today, but with its evocation of far-flung locales and over 50 unusual recipes from the schools included, it’s perfect for the stay-at-home chef as well.What better way to learn about a culture than to spend a few days huddled over a stove with a local chef cooking the region’s specialties? Cooking vacations–which become more popular with each travel season–are the perfect way to not just visit a country, but to really experience it, and even bring part of it home. If you’ve ever dreamed of sautéing in Sicily, mincing in Morocco, or stir-frying in China, Cooking in Paradise, Joel and Lee Naftali’s practical guide to cooking vacations around the world, will show you how to get there.

The book covers a wide range of cooking programs–from budget to extravagant, from half-day classes to three-week programs–in Europe, Asia, the United States and Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, and Morocco. The authors provide extensive information about each program, including its history, information about the region and its cuisine, the instructors, and a play-by-play of how you can expect to spend the time. You can choose whether you want the glamour of cooking with a famous chef (from Jacques Pepin to Marcella Hazan) or the informal fun of cooking like a native (many programs are taught by enthusiastic and knowledgeable home cooks). You might spend five days cooking with Patricia Wells in her Provencal home kitchen, which boasts a La Cornue range, rotisserie, and wood-fired bread oven. There you’ll prepare traditional Provencal dishes like Saumon Entier Roti en Papillotte, Soupe au Pistou, and Tarte Tatin. Or you might prefer to spend a week cooking in the kitchens of Tutti a Tavola, a friendly Tuscan cooking school run by four women who open their homes to groups of students so they can experience four distinctly different Tuscan kitchens.

As authors Joel and Lee Naftali write, “If the heart of a home is the kitchen, then the soul of a region is the cuisine.” –Robin Donovan

Rating: (out of 5 reviews)

List Price: $ 15.95

Price: $ 13.43

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#1 written by Fiorentina 1 year ago

Review by Fiorentina for Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World
Rating:
Having attended several cooking schools in Europe, I was eager to read COOKING IN PARADISE. I am sorry to say that I was very disappointed in this book for several reasons. First, the majority of the schools listed were way out of my price range. Most of the courses started at $2,500 for five days not including airfare. I don’t think that the majority of average recreational home cooks would be willing to spend that type of money for a short cooking course. While the descriptions of the courses and their locations was enticing, the cost of most of the classes listed was certainly a turn off. The second major fault I found with the book was its inaccurate information. Two years ago I attended the Podere le Rose cooking school listed on pg. 87 of the book. The description was fairly good but then I noticed that the address listed for the school was incorrect as they had moved at least three years ago. I found this odd since the book was printed a short time ago. I assumed that this was the only glitch and continued to read the book. Of the five schools listed in the book that I decided to research on the internet, three of them had incorrect websites. I know that websites do change but I think that the authors of this book did not follow up and check their information before having the final version of the book printed. There are many spelling errors, one school is listed as Cucina Devina (which is incorrect) in one paragraph and in the next it is referred to as Cucina Divina. There are no photos in the book which leads me to wonder if anyone really visited these schools. Photos would have been a wonderful addition. The recipes in the book were average and some contained ingredients which would not be readily available in the United States. If you are not seriously considering attending a cooking school and simply want to read about what they are like then you might enjoy this book, but for those of you who are looking for a book with solid useable information then this is not for you.

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#2 written by Anonymous 1 year ago

Review by for Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World
Rating:
Great book! It lists hundreds of culinary vacations, from gourmet five-star resorts, to living on a farmhouse learning traditional country cooking. Many of the vacations are in France and Italy, but there are also many in Mexico, Asia, England, –and a couple in Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, etc. Descriptions are really good–you get a very strong feeling for the place. It’s not only for experienced chefs or serious students, either, but for anyone who loves cooking and travel (I found it in the travel section,actually, and don’t know what’s better–the cooking or the activities, like visiting local markets and horseback riding and spa treatments and language classes.) Plus, I made the Pad Thai (the books has a recipe every four orfive pages–I’m going to try the ‘Fried Milk,’ a strange-looking dessert from Basque Country in Spain, next), which turned out to be easier than it looked, and delicious!

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#3 written by Constance 1 year ago

Review by Constance for Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World
Rating:
I found this book to be so helpful in planning my vacation. The listings are comprehensive, the descriptions fun and substantive, and the recipes are spectacular! Even if you don’t want to take a cooking vacation (but I’m betting you will after reading this book) you will still enjoy taking a mental vacation as you read it. Cooking in Paradise combines the best of travel and cooking writing in a unique, creative way. Great gift for those planning a honeymoon or a romantic getaway, too. The food of love!

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#4 written by Anonymous 1 year ago

Review by for Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World
Rating:
Great book! It lists hundreds of culinary vacations, from gourmet five-star resorts, to living on a farmhouse learning traditional country cooking. Many of the vacations are in France and Italy, but there are also many in Mexico, Asia, England, –and a couple in Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, etc. Descriptions are really good–you get a very strong feeling for the place. It’s not only for experienced chefs or serious students, either, but for anyone who loves cooking and travel (I found it in the travel section, actually, and don’t know what’s better–the cooking or the activities, like visiting local markets and horseback riding and spa treatments and language classes.) Plus, I made the Pad Thai (the books has a recipe every four or five pages–I’m going to try the ‘Fried Milk,’ a strange-looking dessert from Basque Country in Spain, next), which turned out to be easier than it looked, and delicious!

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#5 written by Fiorentina 1 year ago

Review by Fiorentina for Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World
Rating:
Having attended several cooking schools throughout Europe, I was really looking forward to “Cooking in Paradise”. I’m sorry to say that I was very disappointed. While the descriptions of the cooking schools make the reader want to hop on the next plane, the prices of the schools reviewed are prohibitive. I doubt that the average home cook would want to spend $2,500 for a 5 day cooking school, not including international airfare. I had hoped that there would be classes in all price ranges listed, but the majority were very high end. The book is dull in that it has no photographs. There are many glaring errors in the book such as; in one paragraph a school is listed as Devina Cucina (which is incorrect) and in the next Divina Cucina. About two years ago I attended the Podere Le Rose cooking school listed in the book. I noticed that the address listed for the school was an address that was old, the school had moved at least 3 years ago. Of the 5 schools in the book that I decided to research on the internet, 3 of them had incorrect websites and addresses. Did anyone really go to these schools or was this information just pinched from the internet many years ago? The recipes in the book are average but many of the ingredients listed are ingredients which are not readily found in the United States. This book might be enjoyable reading for those readers who are not seriously planning on attending a cooking school, but for those who are looking for a reliable source of information this is not the book for you.

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