Savoring Scandinavia
Months before boarding the Viking Sky, Bob Lee was eagerly anticipating the dining he’d indulge in on the 15-day Viking Homelands cruise. Germany, Denmark, Norway — delectable entrees from the voyage’s stops in eight different countries awaited, not to mention those in the ship’s myriad dining venues. As someone who loves to cook, the Santa Ana, California, resident relished the recipes listed on Viking’s website. Then he noticed an additional activity option: Viking Ocean Cruises’ Kitchen Table, an onboard cooking school. Now this was right up his alley. “Diving into a recipe on my own at home is one thing, but learning at the elbow of a chef is even more exciting,” he says.
The Viking Kitchen Table shore excursion is an interactive culinary journey led by the ship’s executive chef. Participants explore the culture and cuisine in ports of call, with a visit to the local farmers’ markets to handpick ingredients for an onboard cooking class. Culinary skills are then honed on the ship at The Kitchen Table, a demonstration cooking and eating area, followed by the resultant three-course dinner.
Inspired in Italy
For Lee, Viking Sky’s cooking classes were a happy discovery. Other travelers, like Judy Witts Francini, find their lives changed by a country’s cuisine. Originally from San Francisco, Francini worked as a pastry chef in one of the city’s five-star hotels. In 1984, she decided she needed to travel and booked a flight to Florence. Italian food’s heady flavors and aromas can be intoxicating, making a diner nearly swoon. And swoon Francini did, canceling her return ticket to continue immersing herself in Italy’s food scene. Turns out, it was her calling.
The main event occurs at the historic Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo. On the itinerary are wine and truffle tastings, plus plenty of stories from local merchants. As her Florence Market Tour no longer includes a cooking component, lunch is upstairs in the market’s gourmet food court. Attendees renting a villa with a good kitchen, though, can book onsite lessons with Francini.
Students inspired by the Florence Market Tour can keep exploring Italian cooking by partaking in Francini’s Divine Days, a custom one-day or one-week program, or her weeklong Kitchens of Chianti or Secrets of My Sicilian Kitchen. In the Chianti wine region, three days are set aside for cooking, with the rest of the week devoted to activities like truffle hunting, exploring the Certaldo Market and savoring meals in restaurants in Greve, Panzano and Castellina.
Spicy in Thailand
At sunrise, monks bestow blessings on the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai. This sacred act seems apropos, as the resort’s cuisine is widely considered a spiritual experience. Enter the Rim Thai Kitchen Cooking Studio and its range of classes. “The school’s reputation precedes it,” Melanie Terrell, a Daly City resident, says. “I based my first visit to Thailand on getting behind Four Seasons Chiang Mai’s stove.”
Rim Thai’s morning classes, whether for groups or one on one, begin at the local food market. A two-hour ingredient treasure hunt commences, along with taste-testing new discoveries, like thousand-year duck eggs, which reveal tasty black orbs when peeled. Then, their baskets brimming with organic bounty, chefs-in-training head back to the school for signature programs like Thai Street Food Delights, Mastering Thai Curries, Thailand Lanna Cooking, Culinary Tour of Thailand and Healthy Siam Cuisine.
Closing out the day is Thai Kitchen Live, a dining experience from 7 to 9 p.m. Students lend a hand preparing traditional salads, Thai curry and steamed delicacies from the wok. Toasting follows, with wines from Southern Thailand and Mae Rim beer and spirits. After all, there’s plenty to celebrate — attendees have just learned some cherished secret recipes.
This article originally appeared in Marin Magazine’s print edition under the headline: “Fork, Knife, Passport”