265937 Tue Apr 26 22:56:04 -0700 2005 6 26 International 0 1403289 can anyone recommend a culinary tour in oaxaca, mexico. Where there are hands on cooking classes, making mole, tamales, etc. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! Tue Apr 26 22:56:04 -0700 2005 0 christine 1 1403291 I was looking up the same subject and came across this website below. Also, Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley has a tour to Oaxaca given by Rick Bayless, unfortunately it was in March, but I'm sure they will have another trip nex year. Link: http://www.seasonsofmyheart.com Tue Apr 26 23:33:48 -0700 2005 1403289 0 pastrygirl 2 1403296 I took the Weds Seasons of my Heart class and really enjoyed it. Susanna is a good teacher and we had a lot of fun, first at the Etla market - very traditional and full of stalls selling good stuff. Susanna has regular vendors she buys from who have tastes of products ready for the class to come through - everything from chapulines to breads to nieves. Then you hop in her van for a trip to her cooking school, which is way out of town. It is a beautiful facility with a huge kitchen. She has several helpers who do the grunt work and dishes, so all you have to do is combine stuff like on a cooking show - kind of fun to cook that way for once. Then a big 4 or 5 course meal with your newfound cooking buddies. I should think her week long courses would be fun, too. While you are in Oaxaca, make sure you go to Teotitlan del Valle - I am sure someone knows the name of the great restaurant there. Wed Apr 27 02:26:05 -0700 2005 1403291 0 snackish 3 1403331 Thanks for all the suggestions! Wed Apr 27 19:51:36 -0700 2005 1403296 0 Christine 3 1403333 Re the restaurant in Teotitlan del Valle - it has odd hours, if you do go make sure it will be open since there's not much else there, food-wise. Wed Apr 27 20:51:59 -0700 2005 1403296 0 bookistan 1 1403330 Run, do not walk, to Marilyn Tausend who knows everyone and everything about food & cooking in Mexico. Info on tours, etc. can be found at marilyntausend.com. No, we're not related and I don't get a pink Cadillac -- she's simply "The Best" at what she does. Wed Apr 27 19:01:29 -0700 2005 1403289 0 Sherri 1 1403720 I'll second the recommendation for Marilyn Tausends tours. She is the best and has been doing it for at least 20 years. I've been on 2 of Marilyn's tours, she does the Mexican tours sponsored by the CIA/Greystone. She works extensively with Roberto Santibanez of the Rosa Mexicano group, Ricardo Munoz and Rick Bayless. I was on her tour for chefs this past October to Oaxaca. We stayed in Teotitlan del Valle at Casa Sagrado and had cooking classes and tours for a week. We learned all 7 moles of Oaxaca, pipians, tamales and desserts, among other things. The "famous" restaurant in T de V is Tlamanalli and is run by Abigail Mendoza and her sister. It's usually only open for comida and the menu doesn't vary much. One of the highlights of the tour had to be learning to make the infamous Mole Negro from Abigail at her home. We toured several indigenous markets (and the big Abastos market in Oaxaca City), visited a family that makes mezcal, visited the Del Maguey (single village, organic, hand made mezcal) bottling facility (very rustic), learned how real/authentic barbacoa is made, and a host of other things. Any tour Marilyn offers is extremely well organized, all details ironed out - she is, after all, a Virgo - and full, there is not a lot of unplanned time. The tour sponsored by the CIA is a little on the pricey side, and compared to her other tours, I'm not sure the current price now warrents. In Feb. 2004 Marilyn did a tour from Mexico City to Acapulco with Ricardo and Rick Bayless, she will be doing a Yucatan tour with Rick in 2006. Casa Sagrado in Teotitlan del Valle offers cooking classes, some over several days depending upon the size and orientation of the group. Seasons of My Heart does one day classes. Iliana, who owns Naranja restuarant offers classes and I know several people who have taken them and are VERY enthusiastic about her classes. Check out the web page for the Oaxaca Hotel Group (Google for it). They've got links for all kinds of cooking related activites, as well as a very wide range of other general activites for Oaxaca. This web site is truly a wealth of information if you spend some time just following links. Mon May 09 00:22:02 -0700 2005 1403289 0 Gayla