Join Chef Deborah Snow and Barbara White of Blue Heron Restaurant
and Sarah McKusick of Hearthstone Travel
for a
CULINARY & CULTURAL JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF OAXACA
November 14-22, 2014
and Sarah McKusick of Hearthstone Travel
for a
CULINARY & CULTURAL JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF OAXACA
November 14-22, 2014
Oaxaca boasts the most unique blend of pre-Hispanic dishes and Spanish-influenced Mexican cuisine, with its subtle yet complex flavors, most famous for their creation of seven very different moles (mo-lays). With fourteen different indigenous groups living there, the wealth of cultural diversity and deeply rooted cultural traditions are vast and fascinating. On this trip, you, Deborah, and
Barbara will cook with three different chefs of unique backgrounds (see also About Us-Culinary Tour):
Reyna Mendoza Ruiz, a traditional Zapotec woman in her open-air kitchen with dirt floors and hand-made ceramic steamers and ovens; you will find yourself grinding ingredients on an ancient metate stone, stuffing zucchini flowers with locally made cheeses, wrapping corn husk tamales, creating moles…
Susana Trilling, internationally acclaimed chef, author of cookbook “Seasons of my Heart” from the Austin, TX, who moved to Oaxaca in 1977 to start a cooking school, will take us shopping at her local market for our ingredients, after which we return to her kitchen to prepare a vast and delicious meal together, concluding with a feast!
Chocolatier Oscar Carrizosa will teach us to roast cacao beans, bring them to a mill where they grind it, tour the local market where he explains local ingredients, finally making chocolate bars that we will use to make a fiesta mole, a drink using chocolate, and a dessert
Interlaced throughout these cooking and dining experiences, we will visit the pre-Columbian Aztec and Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban, tour traditional arts and crafts in artisan’s studios in surrounding towns, and have time for your own exploration of the myriad fine art galleries, markets, churches, parks, gardens, and shops...or just relax in the shade of the trees of the zocalo to watch the world go by…
We will be staying at the lovely Casa Colonial, which hosts the lushest gardens in town in their open air courtyard and veranda, onto which all the bedrooms open into. We are two blocks from the Basilica Soledad, a landmark of beautifully built Spanish-colonial design, dedicated to Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, the patroness of the city of Oaxaca. Oaxaca is so small and accessible that the historic district, the main zocalo, and most of the art museums and markets are all only a 10-15 minute walking distance from our Casa.
Tour cost is $2,395 per person, double occupancy (single occupancy supplement additional $300), with a maximum of 14 travelers. This covers all lodging costs, cooking classes, tours and transportation, most meals (2 or 3 dinners will be taken independently), local transport, and guides.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Tips and alcohol are not included
- Airfare is NOT included
- We suggest you book your flights by July 15 for best rates and most direct travel to Oaxaca
- Deposit of $500 required by July 15; final payment in full by September 1
We will be staying at the lovely Casa Colonial, which hosts the lushest gardens in town in their open air courtyard and veranda, onto which all the bedrooms open into. We are two blocks from the Basilica Soledad, a landmark of beautifully built Spanish-colonial design, dedicated to Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, the patroness of the city of Oaxaca. Oaxaca is so small and accessible that the historic district, the main zocalo, and most of the art museums and markets are all only a 10-15 minute walking distance from our Casa.
Tour cost is $2,395 per person, double occupancy (single occupancy supplement additional $300), with a maximum of 14 travelers. This covers all lodging costs, cooking classes, tours and transportation, most meals (2 or 3 dinners will be taken independently), local transport, and guides.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Tips and alcohol are not included
- Airfare is NOT included
- We suggest you book your flights by July 15 for best rates and most direct travel to Oaxaca
- Deposit of $500 required by July 15; final payment in full by September 1
