The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (47 page)

 
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum,
St. Michaels, Maryland, 410-745-2916,
www.cbmm.org
.

 
Great Lakes Boat Building School,
Cedarville, Michigan, 906-484-1081,
www.greatlakesboatbuilding.org
.

 
Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building,
Port Haddock, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula, 360-385-4948,
www.nwboatschool.org
.

 
Silva Bay Shipyard School,
Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada, 250-247-8809,
www.boatschool.com
.

get into the kitchen

NATIONWIDE

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

—
HARRIET VAN HORNE, SYNDICATED NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST (1920–1998)

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Postcards and paintings might make appealing souvenirs, but they fade over time. However a cooking class can last a lifetime. It’s a souvenir that lets you literally bring the flavor of your journey home—that you, your friends, and family can all enjoy.

In recent years, cooking schools have gone mainstream. Demonstration classes let you watch a chef make dishes and allow time for nibbling. Think of it as a fancy meal with an educational component, and it’s really quite a bargain. Participation classes are a bit more expensive, but they provide a hands-on experience preparing the food. Nearly every city has them, and all welcome visitors.

The classes listed below are all located in popular travel destinations that have a distinct culinary tradition. Some programs include enough activities that you can build a whole trip around. Others make a great way to spend part of a day. You’ll have a chance to meet and cook beside locals, giving you a better understanding of your destination. Plus you’ll eat well, too.

Chinese Southern Belle, Atlanta, Georgia.
Atlanta’s culinary scene has evolved well beyond Southern staples likes grits and barbecue. The city attracts immigrants from around the world, and most of them seem to shop on Buford Highway. A mother-daughter company, Chinese Southern Belle, offers bargain-priced classes at the
Buford Highway Farmers Market
(5600 Buford Hwy. NW, Doraville, 770-455-0770,
www.aofwc.com
), which isn’t really a market, but a sprawling international grocery store. Two-hour demonstration classes cover topics like Asian dumplings, spring rolls, and sushi. The classes promise “hands-on demo, eating, kitchen/cooking/shopping tips, and entertaining Buddha-to-Bubba family stories.” Classes run $25, but you get a goodie box and a $10 store gift card. Plus if first-time students mention the secret code—“
Ni Hao,
Y’All”—when registering, the class is only $10.

Chinese Southern Belle,
404-494-0088,
www.chinesesouthernbelle.com
.

Crescent City Cooks!, New Orleans, Louisiana.
As any visitor to New Orleans knows, food is as much a part of the city as jazz and Mardi Gras. What better way to remember your trip than a cooking class? Crescent City Cooks! covers all the Cajun and Creole standards, for a moderate $30 a class, and those who take two in a week get 20 percent off supplies and souvenirs in their shop. Classes are offered on a rotating schedule: Monday, Red Beans & Rice and More; Tuesday, Chicken & Andouille Gumbo; Wednesday, Jambalaya; Thursday, Shrimp Étouffée; Friday, Seafood Gumbo; Saturday, Jambalaya; and Sunday, Crawfish Étouffée.

Crescent City Cooks!
1 Poydras St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-529-1600,
www.crescentcitycooks.com
.

Fresh & Wyld Farmhouse Inn, Paonia, Colorado.
About two hours from Aspen, you can build a trip around a culinary experience. The Fresh & Wyld Farmhouse Inn has its own vegetable gardens, chickens, goats, berry patch, and heirloom apple trees to feed its guests. Cooking classes run $40 for four hours and include lunch. For a foodie getaway, arrive by noon on Wednesday for a S.O.U.L. (sustainable, organic, unprocessed, local) class, which covers topics as varied as Brunchy Things, Chicken in the Pot, or Date-Night Dinners. Spend Thursday and Friday visiting the area’s acclaimed wineries or hiking in
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
(102 Elk Creek, Gunnison, CO 81230, 970-641-2337,
www.nps.gov/blca
), but be sure to make it back for Friday Feasts, communal-style home-cooked dinners that run just $15. If you’re visiting May through October, then spend Saturday morning in a farm-skill class to learn about tomato canning, applesauce-making, game sausage preparation, or apple picking and pressing. But what makes it an even better deal is that cooking class participants get 25 percent off room rates, which start at $95 and include a gourmet, farm-style organic breakfast.

Fresh & Wyld Farmhouse Inn,
1978 Harding Rd., Paonia, CO 81428, 970-527-4374,
http://freshandwyldinn.com
.

Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri.
Who’d think you could learn something from a theme park? Branson’s Silver Dollar City will let you expand your cooking skills while others in your party fling themselves around on thrill rides and take in musical performances and craft demonstrations. Silver Dollar City’s culinary classes not only cover home-style cooking and regional specialties, like Savory Skillet Dinners and Ozark succotash, but the park also offers classes tailored to special events and seasons, such as international specialties during the park’s World-Fest; barbecue tips and side dishes during its Bluegrass & BBQ festival; and hearty stews, soups, and pies during the fall and Christmas season. Classes cost $12, on top of park admission, which runs $56.96 for adults, although local discounts are often available.

$PLURGE

NEW YORK’S CULINARY INSTITUTE

With some of the nation’s top international restaurants, New York City is a dining capital. Visitors can tap into that expertise at Manhattan’s comprehensive Institute of Culinary Education. Recreational classes cover everything from Italian cooking to American comfort foods. It even offers grazing tours that wander the city to sample treats like dim sum or French macaroons. Classes run about $115, while tours are about $85.
Institute of Culinary Education, 50 W. 23rd St., New York, NY 10010, 800-522-4610,
http://rec.iceculinary.com
.

Silver Dollar City,
399 Silver Dollar City Pkwy., Branson, MO 65616, 800-475-9370,
www.silverdollarcity.com
.

Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas.
Whole Foods Market has helped raise the eating standards of the nation, bringing organic and gourmet foods to the masses. And although their prices aren’t exactly discount (some folks call the store Whole Paycheck), you can find some bargains at their cooking classes. The chain’s flagship store in Austin, Texas, has a dedicated culinary center. Midday Lunch Express demonstration classes run $18 and might include cooking with greens, steakhouse techniques, or southern Italian dishes. The hour-long sessions include a filling lunch.
[$
PLURGE
: For a splurge, consider hands-on classes like those devoted to vegetarian tapas or seafood grilling for $65 and up.] Even if you’re not interested in a class, the store offers a variety of entertainment from beer tastings to free movies on the rooftop plaza. About 30 other store locations around the country offer classes too, and theirs usually cost much less—some are even free. Find schedules through
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/
.

Whole Foods Market,
525 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78703, 512-476-1206,
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/storesbeta/lamar
.

delve beneath the headlines

CHAUTAUQUA, NEW YORK

When you step through Chautauqua’s gates, you enter another world. It is one rooted in the past, but focusing very much on the present and future.

—
FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR, IN
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER

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How would you like to spend your vacation with U.S. senators, Pulitzer Prize winners, filmmakers, and research scientists? It sounds like one of those annual gatherings reserved for world leaders, but this one is open to the public—and it’s a bargain to boot.