Vacation cooking schools are a brilliant way to gain insight into the cultural essence and flavour of a region.
Okanagan visitors cook up rewarding memories
Whether they’re sampling unique spicing of the Moorish quarter of Grendada, Spain, or familiarizing themselves with grilling techniques used in the mountains of central Costa Rica, upscale Canadians are increasingly turning to vacation cooking schools to explore the world’s cultural and culinary bounty.
According to Okanagan chef and international hotelier Scott Wilshaw, vacation cooking schools are a brilliant way to gain insight into the cultural essence and flavour of a region. What better way to experience and learn about a place than to garner a groundup understanding of what a region produces and how it uses and views the most basic of human requirements – food?
Participants in cooking schools, Wilshaw says, can make these observations, plus they take home useful, imaginative tricks gleaned from culinary experts to incorporate into their own cooking. But perhaps most importantly, he says, vacation cooking school students have a really good time!
Wilshaw, who runs the Okanagan Cookery School at Hainle Vineyards Estate Winery just outside of Kelowna, says it is the fun that keeps people coming back and is part of the reason that the traffic through the school has increased significantly over the last number of years.
“I look at it from a hospitality perspective, says Wilshaw. “Yes, people are coming here to learn something, but it’s their vacation – they’re here for a good time. It certainly is as much about the people as it is about the food.”
So, says Wilshaw, he and the other chefs who work with guests go out of their ways to provide hands-on, meaningful experiences that are foremost genuinely enjoyable. Whether cooking school participants arrive en masse as a group or come in singles, Wilshaw and his colleagues’ goal is to ensure everyone leaves feeling at ease with the recipes, ingredients, tools, techniques – and one another.
Participants in Hainle’s Okanagan Cookery School can expect to gain some insight into both the winemaking prowess of the region – Hainle’s organic wines in particular – and become familiar with the abundance of the Okanagan’s fresh and varied produce. Recipes used in classes, says Wilshaw, employ the seasonal best of the Okanagan’s multitude of orchards and farms.
Classes, which Wilshaw says can be customized, are generally based around wine tasting and preparation of dinner or lunch. Because the intent of the school is to provide each person with the most relevant, useful experience, students have an opportunity to influence the class’s direction.
“We give everyone a full package with the recipes and instructions, and we make sure that they can reproduce what we’re doing in their own home,” says Wilshaw. “I know from the e-mails I get that people are using these techniques and recipes – and that they know we are approachable. Anyone has a question after they leave – we’re here to answer.”
As the Okanagan matures and takes its place among the best in the winemaking world, so too is it gaining ground as a culinary destination. Its ability to draw on some of the finest chefs and cooking schools in the country is a trend that is steadily transforming the Okanagan into a magnet for people around the world on the hunt for a delightful vacation culinary adventure.
---
TO READ THIS SPECIAL INFORMATION SUPPLEMENT AS IT APPEARED IN THE GLOBE AND MAIL, PLEASE CLICK THE ATTACHED PDF ABOVE FOR THE FULL REPORT>
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| july18trepanier.pdf | 258.21 KB |