Cooking schools emerge as ultimate hands-on cultural experience at Marriott International Hotels
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Cooking schools emerge as ultimate hands-on cultural experience at Marriott International Hotels
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2006-08-09
World travelers can now take home more than just the memory of great food; they can learn how to cook it. Chefs at a number of Marriott International hotels are sharing the secrets of their native cuisines to small groups of guests, often in specially equipped kitchens, covering everything from selecting the freshest ingredients, to the use of native spices and spirit blessings – all of which can be replicated at home.
• In Thailand, hotel guests at the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa learn how to make authentic Thai cuisine at the resort’s new Ginja Cook learning facility.
• At the Renaissance Koh Samui Resort and Spa in Thailand, students learn from veteran chef Kampong Samorbaan (Chef Yai) how to pound spice pastes and prepare the spicy specialties of southern Thailand at a breezy, open-air pavilion.
• In Munich, Chef Giulio Lentoni at the Renaissance Munich Hotel teaches the rustic, regional Italian cooking that he serves up every day in his acclaimed Bistro 46° 47° (named for cuisine that spans those global parallels).
• Opening in March 2007, the Renaissance Bali Resort Villas & Spa in Bali, Indonesia, will have purpose-built cooking and preparation facilities added to the all-day dining restaurant to accommodate small groups of student foodies.
“The continued growth of cooking schools is consistent with the desire of our guests to have a deeper understanding of the cuisine and the history, culture and traditions it represents,” said Fitz Aguilar, regional vice president of operations based in Hong Kong. “Today's travelers are not only looking to relax and recharge while on vacation...they are also looking for new knowledge and experiences. Cuisine can also play a part in the guest’s choice of destination.”
Traditional in Thailand
At the JW Marriott Phuket, the Ginja Cook facility celebrates southern architecture and traditional design in the style of a typical Thai Sala, using teak wood and glass sliding doors to showcase stunning views of the resort’s fragrant gardens and the Andaman Sea. At four cooking stations, dramatic overhead fans add to the overall ambiance of the Sala, which employs traditional cooking utensils of copper and wood.
The Ginja Cook Day begins at 8:00 a.m. with a culinary journey to a local Thai market, followed by a Phuket style breakfast back at the resort. After a Traditional Spirit house blessing, the class begins with an exploration of Thai herbs and spices, the cooking adventure, and lunch, winding up at 2:00 p.m. with food carving the Thai way. Classes cost US$150 for adults and US$75.00 for children between the ages of 10 - 15.
Courses in the preparation of specific lunch and dinner favorites – such as Som Tum (spicy green papaya salad) or Thod Mun Goong (crispy fried minced prawns marinated in coriander root and garlic) -- are also held from Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m., to 2:00 p.m. Special Ginja Cook Packages are available, including hotel accommodations, cooking classes and buffet breakfast daily, and Ginja Cook students go away with a cookbook, a start-up herb and spice kit, Ginja Cook Signature Apron, Ginja Cook Master Certificate and a 20% discount for another Ginja culinary course.
Spicier in Koh Samui
At the Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa, 90-minute cooking lessons take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the outdoor pavilion overlooking Koh Samui’s Lamai Bay. Here the focus of culinary instructor Kampong Samborbaan (Chef Yai) is on balancing the distinctive flavors of Thai cuisine, particularly that of southern Thailand, which tens to be spicier than elsewhere in the Kingdom. This program is more of a hand-on cooking demonstration, with Chef Yai doing the cooking and students pitching in to chop or stir the pot. Ninety-minute classes cost 1,200 baht (US$50).
Mediterranean Made Simple in Munich
Chef Lentoni converted a basement space at the Renaissance Munich Hotel into a comfortable cooking class/demonstration kitchen to teach “cooking lessons on demand” for up to eight “students,” who may be hotel guests or local fans of the chef and his hotel Bistro 46° 47°. Guests can choose to create a three- or four-course menu (from 65 Euros, including food and wine), emphasizing simple cuisine from the finest produce. A true expert, Lentoni uses traditional recipes where you can taste every ingredient, focusing on techniques such as scaling a sardine or kneading the perfect crust for a chocolate fondant.
Cooking in Bali
Although the Renaissance Bali Resort Villas & Spa is not yet open, General Manager Guy Godet sees the trend toward recreational cooking classes as an important addition to the resort experience. “We believe that there is strong interest among international guests who enjoy cooking something genuine and totally different and taking away a memorable experience and materials to recreate it at home, Godet says. “There are a couple of cooking schools in Bali, as well as in Thailand that have been very successful, and we aim to please in the same way and create packages to attract those food lovers, as well as incentive and meeting groups.”
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