INTERNATIONAL
TRAVEL / STUDY PROGRAMS
CIA at Greystone
By Staff Writer
Thai
curries fragrant with kaffir lime leaves… fish couscous
from North Africa… hand-made tortillas with Oaxacan moles…
steaming bowls of Asian noodles and other street food…
temptations from the Basque and Catalan tables… refreshing,
aromatic Vietnamese salads… pit barbecue from the Yucatan…
sparkling fresh sushi… tandoor breads and South Indian
vegetarian dishes…Sicilian pasta enriched with local olive
oil and sheep milk ricotta….spices and chiles, from fiery
harissa to Aleppo peppers and from ancho chile paste to freshly
ground garam masala.
Interest
in a widening palate of global flavors—from Asia and Latin
America to the Mediterranean— continues to be one of the
major trends transforming American foodservice. Chefs, foodservice
managers, food product developers, food writers, and other industry
professionals are being challenged as never before to secure
a solid, working knowledge of the ingredients, flavor dynamics
and cooking techniques of an unprecedented number of the world's
cuisines.
The Culinary Institute of America is working to meet that challenge
on behalf of the foodservice industry in a variety of ways.
Building on the success of their travel programs to date and
the hugely popular Worlds of Flavor International Conference
& Festival Series which they stage every November at the
CIA's Napa Valley, CA campus, they are launching in 2001 a more
comprehensive Worlds of Flavor International Travel/Study Program
Series that focuses on emerging cuisines and food traditions
in parts of the world that historically have not been center
stage in American foodservice. These travel programs will take
chefs and other culinary professionals toroughly a dozen countries
during the next three to five years: from India to Southern
Mexico and from Vietnam and Thailand to Turkey and North Africa.
The format of these travel/study programs will be densely packed
and multi-dimensional: participants will visit produce markets,
spice markets, fish markets; watch home cooks prepare local
specialties; scout out the best street food; learn about traditional,
regional agriculture; meet outstanding chefs, cookbook authors,
and other food experts; visit villages that specialize in one
type of food production; meet leading winemakers; learn from
distinguished cultural figures and academics; and, in some cases,
participate in actual hands-on cooking classes with local ingredients
and cooks. Each trip will be led by a nationally recognized
chef, writer or other food expert knowledgeable about the country
and cuisine being studied. Additionally, in-country cooks, chefs,
writers, producers and others will further enrich the trip's
expertise
2001
TRAVEL/STUDY PROGRAMS
Oaxaca, Mexico
(March 4-8, 2001) A four and half-day intensive with chef and author
Rick Bayless set in one of Latin America's best preserved cultural
sites, and one of Mexico's most exciting centers of traditional food
and cooking. Attendees will have a chance to make and compare a host
of different moles, sharpen their knowledge of chilies, learn the
art of the Mexican corn kitchen, and much more. This program is open
to chefs and other foodservice industry professionals only. Chef/author
Rick Bayless is the author of Authentic Mexican and Rick Bayless's
Mexican Kitchen, the chef/owner of Frontera Grill and Tompolobambo,
and the creator of the new PBS series about Mexican cooking, "One
Plate at a Time."
Vietnam: From South to North
(March 27 ? April 10, 2001) This 14-day culinary adventure to one
of Southeast Asia's loveliest and most culinarily rich countries will
be led by California chef and writer Mai Pham. Participants will experience
the incredible food markets of Saigon, learn how to make and work
with fresh rice noodles, visit Hanoi's best restaurants and pho vendors,
and enjoy the cultural legacy of Hue and Halong Bay, UNESCO World
Heritage sites. Chef Pham is the author of The Best of Vietnamese
and Thai Cooking and the upcoming A Bowl of Pho, is the chef/owner
of Lemongrasss, and contributes regularly to the San Francisco Chronicle
and Los Angeles Times.
Tunisia and Sicily:
(April 30 - May 13, 2001) This 14-day program includes two of the
hottest areas for inspiration in the entire Mediterranean region:
Sicily and, just across the water in North African, Tunisia. The tour
in Tunisia will expose participants to some of the best cooking in
the whole of North Africa as created and explained by Tunisian master
chef Abderrazak Haouari. After leaving the Roman ruins, the desert,
the vast expanses of palms and olive trees of this fascinating country,
the group will plunge into an intensive week of cooking, eating and
learning in Sicily. The trip leader for the two weeks is writer and
veteran Mediterranean food expert Nancy Harmon Jenkins, the author
of several books including The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, the The
Flavors of Puglia, The Flavors of Tuscany, and a forthcoming book
about Mediterranean ingredients. Ms. Jenkins lives part of each year
in Tuscany, and has traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean.
Upcoming Destinations, Beyond 2001—over
the next three to four years—the Worlds of Flavor International
Travel/Study Program Series will take chefs, managers and other professionals
to these additional destinations (now in development): India (from
New Delhi and Rajasthan to Kerala); Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai)
and Bagan (northern Burma/Myanmar); Thailand (Bangkok), Cambodia (Angkor
Wat) and Indonesia (Bali); Spain (a special wine and food program:
Barcelona, the Basque Country and Andalusia); Morocco (Fes, Marrakesh,
and the Atlas Mountains); Greece (Athens a Western Crete) and Turkey
(Istanbul and Gaziantep); southern Italy (Puglia and Sicily). In addition,
the 2001 series programs will be repeated regularly.
Who should attend these programs?
The travel/study programs are designed for chefs, club managers, restauranteurs
and hoteliers, foodservice managers, food manufactures, f&b directors,
caterers, supermarket executives, cookbook authors, writers, and wine
professional who need to develop a greater knowledge and understanding
of emerging cuisines. In addition, for selected tours, a limited number
of serious enthusiasts are invited to participate.
For more information contact:
Michael A.Coon, Travel Programs Manager, The Culinary Institute of
America at Greystone, 2555 Main Street , St. Helena, CA 94574, Fax:
707-967-2410, Phone: 707-967-2312, E-mail: m_coon@culinary.edu
