Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World [Paperback]

Joel Naftali (Author), Lee Naftali (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 2001

Cooking in Paradise is a rich, definitive guide to hands-on gourmet cooking vacations around the world.

Ever reams of sauteing 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).

Joel and Lee Naftali give details about famous courses--like Particia Wells's "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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

This handy guide lists and describes recreational cooking programs around the world, with useful information on accommodations, activities for spouses and/or children and prices. The Naftalis (Generation E: The Do-It-Yourself Business Guide for Twentysomething Entrepreneurs) list cooking schools in places as far-flung as Rio de Janeiro, as well as a slew of choices in the U.S. and Canada. The usual suspects weigh in heavily, with numerous programs in Tuscany (e.g., hands-on lessons with Judy Witts Francini of Cucina Divina in Florence). For those with more exotic tastes, there is a spice-oriented tour with cooking lessons in India, offered by Indus Tours, and despite England's drab culinary reputation, it's represented by the likes of the Ashburton Centre in South Devon, whose programs on vegetarian cooking feature Indian curries and "nut loaves." The prose here is generally weak the Naftalis appear to have printed the information provided by the programs with little editing. Recipes scattered here and there are for standards such as stuffed calamari, and introductory sections to each chapter are gushy and insubstantial. Still, this unique and serviceable guide will appeal to adventurous gastronomes. (Apr.) Forecast: In the current heydays of travel and gourmandise, this book provides a rare market-potent combination. Shelved near lifestyle travelogues by the likes of Frances Mayes, it could take off.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (April 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312242972
• ISBN-13: 978-0312242978
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,851,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money, August 3, 2001

By 

Fiorentina (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World (Paperback)

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.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cooking in Paradise : Culinary Vacations Around the World, June 18, 2001

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"kkugelmeyer" (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World (Paperback)

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST OF TRAVEL AND OF COOKING!!!, June 14, 2001

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Constance (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking In Paradise: Culinary Vacations Around the World (Paperback)

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!