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Everybody wants to do something different in the new year, it's the doing that's the challenge. With that in mind, here's Frommer's collection of great New Year's resolutions and concrete ways to make them happen.
Here are five cooking experiences in destinations around the world where you can learn to make a better meal while also seeing a new side to a great destination.
1. Blue Elephant Bangkok Cooking School and Royal Thai Cuisine, Bangkok, Thailand
What: A series of specialized one-day traditional and contemporary Thai cooking classes held in a stunning historic mansion in Bangkok.
Where: 233 South Sathorn Road, Kwaeng Yannawa, Khet Sathorn, Bangkok; Skytrain Station: Surasak.
Price: 2,800THB (approx. US$86) for a one-day class, or 2,500 THB (US$75) per class for two or three days, plus 17% taxes. Includes a visit to the morning market, a souvenir apron, and lunch.
Contact: Blue Elephant (tel. +66/2-673-9353; www.blueelephant.com/school; cooking.school@blueelephant.com)
2. Mexican Cooking Vacation, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
What: Classic Mexican cooking course with instruction by three generations of expert chefs in the culinary center of San Miguel de Allende.
Where: Atascadero 5, Barrio San Jose, San Miguel de Allende.
When: February 21 to 27, April 18 to 24, May 23 to 30, September 5 to 11 and November 7 to 13, 2010.
Price: $1,650 to $1,750 (depending on room choice) which includes airport pick-up, 26 hours of expert cooking classes, six nights' accommodations across the road from the school at Arcos Del Atascadero Bed & Breakfast;, day-trip to Guanajuato, musical and culinary nights-on-the-town, market excursions, and breakfast and lunch daily. A 50% discount applies to accompanying guests who do not participate in the cooking classes.
Contact: (tel. 301/591-4129; www.mexicancookingvacation.com)
3. The Pimenta's Kerala Cooking Adventure, Kerala, India
What: A seven-day, hands-on culinary adventure specializing in the flavorsome and exotic vegetarian cuisine of southern India while staying on a traditional Indian spice farm property in Kerala.
Where: The Pimenta, Kadalikad Post, one-hour's drive from Cochin Airport.
When: Courses available throughout the year.
Price: 54,000INR (approx. US$1,180) for a single or 75,000INR (US$1,640) for two people including all meals, cottage accommodations for seven nights, cooking lessons, all excursions, transportation, entry fees, and taxes .
Contact: Haritha Farms (tel. +91/485-226-0216; www.harithafarms.com; harithafarms@yahoo.com)
4. Italian Cookery Holiday, Lake Garda, Italy
What: A four-day/three-night package that includes two days of authentic Northern Italian cooking classes with chef Andrea at a local restaurant and a chance to sample the local produce around stunning Lake Garda.
Where: Albisano, Lake Garda, approximately 60 miles from Milan and 80 miles from Venice.
When: Courses available throughout the year.
Price: $551 per person based on double occupancy. The price includes eight hours of tuition over two days in a class of up to six people; three nights' accommodations in the three-and-a-half-star Hotel Albergo Alpino; breakfast daily; the two lunches you prepare with wine; all cooking materials; photos of your cooking lessons; and a visit to meet a local producer of olive oil, cheese, wine or grappa.
Contact: Go Learn To (tel. +44/844-502-0445; www.golearnto.com)
5. Dar Liqama, Marrakech, Morocco
What: An eight-day Moroccan culinary extravaganza based at Dar Liqama, a stunning pink palace at the foot of the Atlas Mountains outside of Marrakech.
Where: Dar Liqama, The Palmeraie, ten minutes from the medina of Marrakech.
When: February 27; March 6, 13 and 20; and October 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2010.
Price: $2,395 per person ($1,995 for non-cooking accompanying guest) including seven nights' luxury accommodations, hands-on cooking lessons, all food and wine consumed at the school, transportation for excursions, and airport transfers from Marrakech.
Contact: Rhode School of Cuisine (tel. 888/254-1070; www.rhodeschoolofcuisine.com)
