Take a cooking class....

epiphany-or
May 10, 2016
1 min read

I think we've established this as an integral part of my travels. I love to visit markets and local groceries stores and just walk up and down the aisles finding all kinds of treasures. It's also nice to have a bounty of local food sitting in the kitchen of the apartment that we rent in order to escape restaurants sometimes.

I also love to learn about local dishes and history - which are both usually covered by taking a cooking class. You can learn a lot about a culture by the foods they eat, how they prepare it and how they eat it. Taking a class allows you to get better acquainted with the lives of the people where you are — something that’s important if you want to travel with more of a purpose.

There are several tips about finding the perfect instruction....

1. Do your research - before you leave, take a tour of the internet and check out Yelp or TripAdvisor to see other participants' reviews.

2. Determine your level of interest and participation. If you want to get in and cook, think about smaller "schools". If you want an overview with little interaction and maybe a glass of wine, most cities have culinary schools that offer special classes for tourists.

3. Always book early....especially for those classes that have smaller limits.

In Barcelona, we took a class that included a tour of the Boqueria in order to get the freshest ingredients for our meal. I've never had so much fun and learned so much about a simple paella dish....