Culinary Weekends - Not Your Typical Vacations
According to many published studies, at least a quarter of all travelers or vacationers plan their destinations around a dining or culinary experience. Nothing beats going to a new town or city and exploring the different kinds of local cuisines or just eating someone else's cooking for a week!
I know I do…one of my secret joys, is not only seeing new sights or learning about a new city but I also just like eating new and different kinds of foods. But why limit yourself to a standard vacation? Why not book a culinary weekend? Several travel agencies, hotels, restaurants and cooking schools now offer great culinary weekend getaways or even summer culinary programs.
Why a Culinary Weekend Getaway?
It's been estimated that over a 12 million people each year take trips to "learn about or enjoy unique and memorable eating-and-drinking experiences…". And now with "culinary tourism" entering the mainstream, culinary weekend adventures are being offered more and more. A culinary weekend basically can take several forms:
Culinary Weekend Demonstrations: These are basically classes where you will be given a behind the scenes look of a professional chef preparing a 3 or 5-course meal. In this informal atmosphere you can interact with the chef and his culinary team.
Culinary Weekend Hands-on Workshops: These are some of the most popular getaways. Something about getting an apron and being set up to work side-by-side a top culinary professional is trilling even to most jaded foodie! These hands-on experiences are most often given in small groups that allow personal instruction and an opportunity to learn all sorts of new techniques.
Now the ultimate culinary getaways are the summer culinary programs. This can be full blown weeklong trips to overseas locations such as France, Italy or Greece or remain in the US and take over a professional kitchen and learn new cooking techniques and skills.
Learn the basic skills of wine making and blending at a wine boot camp or spend the day with a cheese maker to create a batch of cheese from start to finish or for those who think, "life is short, start with dessert" , take an intensive baking and pastry course.
Culinary weekend cooking classes are for the foodie on a budget. Okay you may miss out on the travel to foreign climes or viewing that sunset from a European villa, you still get to indulge your passion for food and culinary techniques at a very affordable price. Many traditional cooking schools offer special culinary weekends for both locals and out-of-town visitors. Also many catering companies and culinary studios offer special demonstrations or workshops during the year.
If a the above travel ideas are the kind of food-filled vacation experiences you have always wanted then you owe to yourself to learn more about culinary weekend getaways.
