The World Is a Kitchen

Tales of the Cocktail

A bonus three-fer in this event! A culinary adventure (1) to one of the best American food cities, New Orleans (2), for the (3)! This means you get to eat AND drink your way tbrough NOLA – and what could be better than that?

Mark your calendars and book your plane tickets for July 18-22, 2007 for  this year’s Tales of the Cocktail, a culinary and cocktail festival, allows the connoisseur or amateur to fully experience (taste, see and learn about) cocktail culture in New Orleans and around the world. The event’s annual components are Spirited Dinners, a Seminar Series, Cocktail Hour, Cocktail Luncheons, walking tours of the French Quarter, and classic and contemporary cocktail parties -- all presented by the country’s hottest chefs, authors, bartenders and cocktail experts. Tales of the Cocktail has “shaken and stirred” the New Orleans French Quarter since 2003 and celebrates its 5th anniversary in July 2007.

Just a sample of what you can experience:

•    The 2007 Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition
•    New Orleans Original Cocktail Tour
•    Lost Ingredients: Obtaining (or making) rare ingredients for even rarer cocktails Presented by Imbibe Magazine
•    Drinks and Dishes Born in New Orleans Presented by 86 Recipes, New Orleans Rum and Tabasco
•    Tales of the Cocktail Bar Chef Competition Presented by Absolut
•    Cocktail Culture Around the World Presented by Barsol Pisco, Boca Loca Cachaca and Bols Liqueurs

The list of authors, mixologists and chefs that will be on hand are too numerous to mention, although you can check them out here.

Tickets are required for Tales of the Cocktail and can be purchased online or by calling 1-888-29909494.

The World Is A Kitchen in Chicago

If you are traveling to or live in the Chicago Area, we have an event coming up on June 9th and 10th. Join contributor Helen Gallagher at the Illinois Women's Press Assn. Booth at the 23rd Annual Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Book Fair, the largest Midwest free outdoor literary event. The streets will be packed with over 150 vendors of new, used, and antiquarian books, as well as author events, workshops, and food, glorious Chicago food.

When: Saturday and Sunday, June 9 & 10
Time: all day long
Where: Historic Printer's Row, in the blocks surrounding Dearborn and Polk streets  

Hope to see you there!

On the Menu: Cooking Holidays

On the Menu is a tour operator organizing “holidays for people who love food.” This UK-based company, run by Rosemary Shrager, one of Britain’s best loved chefs and TV personalities,  offers some great tours to world destinations, from the typical France, Italy, and Thailand to the more exotic Indonesia, Morocco, and Jordan, with points in between. Tours include hands-on classes, as well as cultural activities; teachers range from gourmet chefs to village grandmothers with more years of experience than you have been alive; accommodations include luxurious hotels and rustic villas.

On the Menu offers tours year round, with many destinations having weekly departures. Many of the courses are suitable for vegetarians. Below is a complete list of destinations, with length of stay and cost (in British pounds). Airfare is excluded.

East Bali  7 days, £849
South Bali  7 days, £1495
Cooking in Sydney  3 days, £299 (airfare and accommodations excluded)
Provence  5 days, £945
Charente 6 days, £1295
Loire 5 days, £1075
Cooking in Goa 7 days, £579 (class only options available as well)
Cooking in Ireland 7 days, £1300, Weekend £350
Tuscany/Arezzo  7 days, £1549
Toffia  6 days, £899
Cooking in Petra 7 days, £779
Cooking in San Miguel de Allende 7 days, £995
Marrakech Medina 6 days, £599, Weekend £349
Marrakech  6 days, £645, Weekend £375
El Priorat, Catalonia 6 days, £1675
Cooking in Seville  3 days, £749
Koh Lanta 7 days, £1675
Chiang Mai 7 days, £1745
Cooking in Hoi An  6 days, £599

TWIAK Contributor Receives Award!

The World Is a Kitchen contributor Helen Gallagher recently won Third Place in the Illinois Womens Press Association Essay Contest for her story "Flavor by the Spoonful."

The award was judged on the essay's fit with the overall theme of the book.  The Judge, a PR executive and Illinois bookshop owner, expressed pleasure with The World Is a Kitchen overall, so Helen generously shares this award with the editors, Susan and Michele, as well as all of the contributors. 

Judge's comments about The World Is a Kitchen: "Thoroughly enjoyed the lively selections. The editors' choices were completely engaging and shared a true taste of the world. I plan on carrying this title in my bookstore."

Way to go Helen!

Haute Cuisine on the High Seas

Last year I took my first cruise and enjoyed every minute of it. It was the perfect antidote to the stress of everyday life: get up when you want, go to sleep when you want, eat whenever and whatever you want. Go to the movies, play bingo, sit by the pool take an excursion, or do absolutely nothing at all. I would happily go cruising on a regular basis, and am very tempted by the Regent/Seven Seas Cruises which are offering culinary adventures in conjunction with Le Cordon Bleu.

Technically called Le Cordon Bleu Circles of Interest cruises, these “epicurean odysseys” offer special packages (for an additional fee of $395) that include:

• Welcome Cocktail Party
• Three intensive 2-hour workshops
• Market excursion in a select port
• Special Le Cordon Bleu dinner
• Graduation dinner and ceremony
• Cookbook, chef’s apron, hat and certificate of participation

These small classes, limited to no more than 16 guests, are led by a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and are available aboard select voyages on the Seven Seas Mariner and Seven Seas Voyager. Both the Mariner and Voyager are smaller, intimate ships with a maximum of 700 guests. The four upcoming trips include:

Tapas and Vintage Ports (Western Europe)
September 12-22
Departs Dover, England with stops in St. Malo, Bordeaux, Bilbao, Lisb on, Cadiz, Barcelona and Monte Carlo.
Fares from $5997

From Sushi to Mount Fuji: A Taste of Japan
September 12-26
Departs Seward, Alaska with stops in Kodiak, Petropavlovsk, Hakodate, Sendai, Yokohama, and Osaka.
Fares from $4998

Asian Spice With Down Under Wonders
November 4-19
Departs Singapore, with stops in Semarang, Bali, Komodo, Darwin, Cooktown, Cairns, Hardy Reef, Hamilton Cove and Sydney.
Fares from $7277

Flavors of the South Pacific
December 3-21
Departs Auckland, with stops in Bay of Islands, Rarotonga, Bora Bora, Moorea, Pepeete, Nuku Hiva, and Los Angeles.
Fares starting at $5298

Morocco Magic

Want to learn to make a tajine? Tour a souk? Dip into a bowl of couscous with your hands? Then the “Tastes of Morroco” tour may be the ticket for you. Gourmet on Tour  offers culinary adventures around the world, including a magical 8-day tour that takes you to Marrakech and into the Atlas Mountains.

The tour is based out of Dar Liqama, just outside of the famed old city of Marrakech. Your accommodations are in an 8-room boutique villa situated in a grove of over 150,000 palm trees that offers swimming pools, a hammam, spa, tennis, and great food. You will experience eight hands-on cooking lessons with expert chefs during your week’s stay, trips and tours of the souk in the Marrakech medina, Berber villages, Koutoubia Minaret, and Jardin Majorelle complete the experience.

Book now for tours dates offered in the fall:

13 Oct – 20 Oct
20 Oct – 27 Oct
27 Oct – 03 Nov
03 Nov - 10 Nov

Price Includes:

• 7 nights accommodation
• Cooking courses and recipes
• Transfers to/from Marrakech airport
• All listed excursions
• All meals, including house wine, except restaurant meals

Deluxe room, shared                 $2,595          
Superior room, shared               $2,395    

Gourmet on Tour also offers culinary adventures to:

Italy
France
U.K.
Ireland
Spain
Asia
Australia
U.S.

Tales of the Cocktail

A bonus three-fer in this event! A culinary adventure (1) to one of the best American food cities, New Orleans (2), for the   (3)! This means you get to eat AND drink your way tbrough NOLA – and what could be better than that?

Mark your calendars and book your plane tickets for July 18-22, 2007 for  this year’s Tales of the Cocktail, a culinary and cocktail festival, allows the connoisseur or amateur to fully experience (taste, see and learn about) cocktail culture in New Orleans and around the world. The event’s annual components are Spirited Dinners, a Seminar Series, Cocktail Hour, Cocktail Luncheons, walking tours of the French Quarter, and classic and contemporary cocktail parties -- all presented by the country’s hottest chefs, authors, bartenders and cocktail experts. Tales of the Cocktail has “shaken and stirred” the New Orleans French Quarter since 2003 and celebrates its 5th anniversary in July 2007.

Just a sample of what you can experience:

•    The 2007 Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition
•    New Orleans Original Cocktail Tour
•    Lost Ingredients: Obtaining (or making) rare ingredients for even rarer cocktails Presented by Imbibe Magazine
•    Drinks and Dishes Born in New Orleans Presented by 86 Recipes, New Orleans Rum and Tabasco
•    Tales of the Cocktail Bar Chef Competition Presented by Absolut
•    Cocktail Culture Around the World Presented by Barsol Pisco, Boca Loca Cachaca and Bols Liqueurs

The list of authors, mixologists and chefs that will be on hand are too numerous to mention, although you can check them out here.

Tickets are required for Tales of the Cocktail and can be purchased online or by calling 1-888-29909494.

Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries

is an internationally acclaimed program specializing in sustainable travel throughout Crete, Greece highlighting culture, nature and cuisine. These small group experiences are generally limited to 7-8 people. In addition to their regularly offered programs, they do conduct tailored programs for the professional and non-professional. Among their currently scheduled offerings are:

Just Cooking: 4-day program
Wild Nature Adventures:  Hiking, Caving and Eating – 5 day program
A True Taste of Crete: Organic Olive Harvest (Fall and Winter only) – 6-day program
Intensive Baking and Pastry Seminar – for professional chefs only

All journeys weave in a true taste of Crete's history, nature, organic agriculture and cuisine:
   1. Spending quality time in villages with local hosts
   2. Tours of historic sites including the Minoan Palace
      of Knossos
   3. An overview of Crete's renowned healthy cuisine
      and organic food production, including enjoying 
      fresh and local cuisine every day. 
   4. Olive Grove Tours & Overview of our liquid gold
   5. Botany -- wild plants and medicinal herbs
   6. Healthy Cooking Demos with optional hands-on
      classes
   7. Light to medium intensity hiking in the countryside

Program Fees Include (note exceptions for day seminars and tailored seminars)    
    * Airport transfers and ground transportation
    * Accommodation: Private room with private bath in
      gorgeous seaside apartments, restored traditional
      homes or ecolodges in the mountains.  Most are
      self-catering properties.
    * All meals, scheduled tours and demonstrations
    * Expert guides and admission fees to historic sites
    * Wine and our infamous raki...in moderation.

Tour de Forks Takes You to Puglia

The Italian jewel city of Lecce and the surrounding region of Puglia is the latest culinary destination organized by Tour de Forks, the group well known for its Sicilian and Australian food tours. Puglia is an historic and culinary gem far from the crowds, in the heel of the boot of Italy.  The seven-day tour from September 3-10, 2007, highlights this region’s landscape dominated by vineyards and olive trees; its architecture covered in baroque ornamentation; the magical cone-shaped houses called “Trulli”; and especially, its famous cuisine, a simple, fresh, flavor-packed Italian taste experience unique to this region.

Highlights include…

• Truffle hunting with famed restauranteur Giuseppe Lolli and his truffle hounds
• Demonstrations and tastings of the famous bread of Altamura
• Wine tasting and tour of the 17th century Leone di Castris winery
• Hands-on Pugliese cooking class
• Tour the caves of Matera, a troglodyte settlement in the Basilicata region
• Tour an olive oil mill and taste artisanal olive oils

Tour leaders are Michele Scicolone, food writer and author of 6 Italian cookbooks, including  The Sopranos Family Cookbook; 1,000 Italian Recipes;  and Savoring Italy: Recipes and Reflections on Italian Cooking, and her husband, Charles Scicolone, wine director for New York’s famed I Trulli and Centovini restaurants. 

Cost: $5,800 (not including air fare)

The World Is a Kitchen Kicks off National Library Week

If you are traveling to or live in the Chicago Area, we have an event coming up on April 15th. Forget about preparing those taxes, get on out of the house and down to the Glenview Public Library and share some stories with contributor Helen Gallagher, who will join other local authors in celebrating National Library Week.

When: Sunday April 15th
Time: 2-4 pm
Where: Glenview Public Library

Hope to see you there!