Immerse yourself in the food culture of Oaxaca during this all-inclusive, 5-day, 4-night eating, cooking workshop extravaganza from Thursday-Monday, February 21-25, 2013. Oaxaca is known for her chocolate, mezcal, organic maize (corn), fresh fruits and vegetables, abundant chiles, savory spices and family operated kitchens. Superb meals are around every street corner and in fine dining establishments. Hand to mouth. Market basket to kitchen. Pan to plate. We will explore it all.
Make this your perfect winter getaway! Limited to 6 people.
Come with us to enjoy meals in fine-dining restaurants. Sample some of the finest mezcal made in Oaxaca not available for export. Taste humble street and market food from trusted vendors. Participate in food shopping and tasting to learn about local ingredients. Roll up your sleeves and make one of Oaxaca’s famous moles with a cooking class from a noted local chef.
Cooking class includes a complete multi-course menu, from soup or salad through dessert. Your experienced cooking instructor has recorded traditional recipes passed down through the generations. You will receive complete recipes printed in English that you can adapt to available ingredients at home.
Taste Oaxaca is limited to 6 participants.
What Taste Oaxaca includes:
- 1 cooking class
- 4 breakfasts
- 3 tasting dinners
- 3 lunches
- 4 nights lodging
- Mescal tasting
- Market excursions
- Associated on-ground transportation
Preliminary Itinerary:
Day 1: Thursday, February 21, arrive in Oaxaca and check in to our hotel, overnight Oaxaca
Day 2: Friday, February 22, market shopping and cooking class, afternoon visit to Oaxaca’s biggest cooking supply store, fine-dining at one of Oaxaca’s top restaurants, overnight Oaxaca (B, L, D)
Day 3: Saturday, February 23, eat Oaxaca style, explore organic market food stalls, afternoon on your own with options of what to see and explore, taste great mezcal, and experience fine-dining, overnight Oaxaca (B, D)
Day 4: Sunday, February 24, travel to the famed Sunday market in Tlacolula, meet for lunch at a local comedor, travel to Teotitlan in late afternoon for a weaving demonstration, return to Oaxaca for a farewell supper. (B, L, D)
Day 5: Monday, February 25, depart after breakfast.
Taste Oaxaca with Norma Hawthorne, executive director of Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. Norma has organized this food shopping, cooking and eating experience based on her interest and background as former owner of a gourmet cookware shop, cooking school and catering business. In addition, Norma taught classes in French, Mexican and Chinese cooking for ten years through Indiana University Division of Continuing Education. She led Culinary Tour of France, taking participants to Paris and Lyon to meet, eat and cook with the great chefs Paul Bocuse, Georges Blanc and Alain Chapel.
Cost: The base cost is $995 USD per person, double occupancy and private bath. Programs of this type and length cost more than twice as much! Single supplement is $1,295.
It does NOT include airfare, taxes, admissions to museums and archeological sites, gratuities, travel insurance, liquor/alcoholic beverages, some meals and some transportation not included in the itinerary.
Lodging/Accommodations
In Oaxaca city, we will stay in a lovely upscale bed and breakfast featured in many travel articles and rated very highly. We will dine at some of my favorite restaurants.
Please indicate your preference on the registration form.
Reservations, and Cancellations
A 50% deposit ($800) is required to guarantee your spot. The final payment for the balance due (including any supplemental costs) shall be postmarked by January 1, 2012. We request Payment with PayPal. We will be happy to send you an invoice.
If cancellation is necessary, please notify us in writing by email. After April 1, no refunds are possible; however, we will make every possible effort to fill your reserved space. If you cancel before April 1, we will refund 50% of your deposit. We strongly recommend that you take out trip cancellation, baggage, emergency evacuation and medical insurance before you begin your trip, since unforeseen circumstances are possible.
To register or for questions, contact: oaxacaculture@me.com
This workshop is produced by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. For more information, see: http://oaxacaculture.com
From Casa Oaxaca, we have Squash Blossom Soup with the local herb chipil, quesillo stuffed squash blossoms, and a blue corn tortilla drizzled with garlic oil, topped with queso fresco accompanied with fresh made salsa with red tomatoes and tomatillos.
An agua de sandia!
Hormigas in the Salsa: Cooking in Oaxaca with Chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo
People cook and eat in Oaxaca based on what’s available seasonally in local markets — or in their backyard. Today it was huitlacoche that was among the delicacies we could procure at the Mercado de la Merced. This is the neighborhood market where Pilar’s family shopped because they lived nearby. The market tour offers a great orientation to the cooking class.
And what about the hormigas? Pilar and her daughter Ita gathered the hormigas in the early dewy grasses of morning.
After a field trip foraging through the Mercado de la Merced for ingredients, we made our way to Pilar’s Colonia Reforma kitchen, ample enough for all eight cooking class participants to gather, learn and prepare the menu. There sat the hormigas, washed, plump and round in the metate waiting for the grinding stone and hand to pulverize them into the Salsa de Chicatana that would top the Memelitas appetizer. (Do you recognize them, below left?)
Add plenty of fresh squeezed lime juice! Pilar commented that hormigas are a great protein source. (I heard the same about chapulines earlier in the week from my friends in Teotitlan who liberally sprinkle this toasted, tasty treat on just about everything they eat.)
Our group of four Guanajuatecos were joined by two Estadounidenses and two Australians. Pilar easily went back and forth in English and Spanish with her instruction so that all the participants could understand each step. Complete menus in English guided us, too.
Before we sat down at the dining room table to the meal, we all gathered in the living room area for a mezcal tasting. Pilar brought out three different types of mezcal accompanied with orange and lime slices, plus gusano salt (ground worms, chiles, and sea salt) for dipping and sucking before or after sipping.
Menu del dia: 100% Oaxaca–memelitas, sopa de guias, chichilo con pollo or res (chicken or beef with Chichilo mole sauce), salsa de chicatanas, and nieve de mango (mango sorbet with a garnish of fruit of the nopal cactus called tuna).
The tourism and economic development delegation from Guanajuato is interested in starting a cultural tourism program in some of its smaller towns in the state. Organizing cooking classes is one goal they have, which is why we attended to see how the master of the kitchen Pilar organizes her programs.
Pilar’s hospitality and expertise provided a perfect example for them to model!
Casa de los Sabores Cooking School or website.
Mercado de la Merced (corner Murguia and Insurgentes, near Calle de la Republica)
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Food & Recipes, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Travel & Tourism
Tagged blogsherpa, cooking, food, Mexico, Oaxaca