Cooking School In South India

Dates 2010

15 -23 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 January 2010.

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." 

The price includes :
 
8 nights accommodation with breakfast
8 meals
4 cooking lessons
local private bus transfers and outings
Guide in Cochin
 
Price 2000 euros
 
Not included
Hotel in Mumbai or Chennai. Most international flights depart very late.

International flights and 3 domestic flights with Jet or KingfisherAirways 

 
 

 " 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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