Cooking School In South India
Dates 2012 4-16 February
The course
I fell in love with India many years ago and during the frequent visits I made while researching and writing "Favourite Indian Food" I became spellbound. Since then I have been lured back at regular intervals and last year I set up my first gourmet trip to Goa and Kerala in the South. I will be repeating this in 2012.
This year I returned to Goa and Kerala to plan things out. I used Qatar Airlines via Doha so that I could fly into Goa and out of Cochin. This means only one domestic flight from Goa to Kochi (Cochin). Many of us from different parts of the world will probably meet up in transit to catch the Doha flight to Goa.
On this trip apart from the cooking, food and history you can get clothes, eyeglasses with swiss lens and jewelley copied at a fraction of the price you would pay at home. Last trip someone had a photo of a Tiffany bracelet copied You can also enjoy amazing ayurvedic massages, 5 for the price of 1 at home.
I have planned 11 nights, 11 breakfasts and main meals, 4 lessons and all local group travel, except flights. Extra inexpensive meals out we will divide between ourselves with two bills, one for food and one for alcohol.
Price 2.800 euros.
7 nights - Vivenda Dos Palhacos, Majorda Time to order Swiss Zeiss eye glasses fraction of cost at home, favourite clothes copied, and jewellery repaired or copied from photo. From village. on the terrace with fado music. Kerala – 11-16 February Vembanad Lake – 3 nights Taj Garden Retreat Kumarakom Rice boat on the waterways Arrive by boat for a lesson and meal at the private island Philipkutty’s farm Ayurvedic massages Cochin –2 nights- Old Harbour Hotel Shopping and visit to Jewtown and synagogue Goa – 4-11 February
From Lawrence Roullier White's account of last year's visit :
"We quickly learned that with Indian food there are no hard and fast rules; a cursory glance is much more accurate than digital scales and if you lack one ingredient use something else. The skill is really in the blending of the spices, which are of course key. Kerala - the land of the coconut - boasts a cuisine rich with creamy, subtle favours. Lots of vegetables and fish are eaten, but meat is also on the menu. Kerala and Goa are the only two states in India where beef is openly consumed. From morning appams, gastro lunches, afternoon teas on the loggias of garden villas, suppers on the beach, family dinners on a privately owned spice farm, the tandoor fish and paneer, my birthday banquet on the houseboat in Kerala, it would be difficult to choose a highlight. Although that was probably it for me; the crew buying prawns from fishermen over the side of the boat and the unlikely, iced birthday cake."
Price 2800
" The whole trip was seamless; transfers were painless and even a national strike only delayed our schedule by an hour or so. Diane also managed to achieve the largely unachievable, a perfectly planed itinerary. Never was too long or too short a time spent in the handpicked heritage hotels where we stayed. Each hotel had a history and an individual charm; which made each stage of the journey unique."
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