A Family That Cooks Together…
Edited by Jennifer L. Price
 Esencia Resort in the Riviera Maya, Mexico is offering a
new way of enjoying time together as a family: a culinary vacation for young and
old. The top chefs of Esencia, the 29-room luxury boutique resort, now offers one-day cooking classes in traditional Mexican cuisine from
celebrated Chef Alejandro Rojas. As Executive Chef of Sal y Fuego, the resort's
signature restaurant highlighting Meso-American cuisine, Chef Rojas helps adults
and children, as young as four years old, learn the finer points of botanas,
Yucatecan appetizers, and the secrets of tasty salsas.
"We developed these classes because many guests wanted to
learn how to make the destination's regional dishes," explains Chef Alejandro
Rojas. He adds, "Guests are becoming more sophisticated about foods and are no
longer happy just to taste but also want to know how the food is prepared. For
kids, this is a great opportunity to inspire a love for cooking."
The different lessons offered include:
Mini Pastry Chef
The world of a Mini Pastry chef involves cookies, muffins, small cakes and tarts
with icings and meringues. The objective is to have young children become
familiar with basic ingredients like flour, sugar, chocolate, eggs, butter,
dried fruit and nuts. Classes are not only entertaining but educational as young
students tour the resort's organic herb and vegetable garden. The little chefs
are taught to value the land, which in turn provides essential foods. 4 to 8
years old, 2 hours, $100 per child.
 Junior
Chef
Junior chefs learn how to make salsas, guacamole and masa fantasies (Mexican
specialties made from corn or flour dough) such as sopes (fried cakes),
tortillas, gorditas (thick tortilla tacos) and tamales (cornmeal dough with
filling). Most of the ingredients are gathered from the organic herb and
vegetable garden. Junior chefs are taught to recycle and replenish the earth by
re-planting small plants in the garden and are taught the nutritional value of
different plants. The objective is to create good food with home-grown
ingredients. 8 to 12 years old, 2 hours, $100 per child.
Executive Chef
Adults assume the task of preparing a six-course traditional Mexican meal. Chef
Alejandro shares his tips on how to properly treat ingredients with love and
respect. First, chefs prepare botanas like empanadas or ceviche. Next, soups,
salsas and moles (Mexican sauces) are prepared. Entrees often include Chile
Relleno (stuffed chiles), and Tikin Xic Fish (Yucatecan baked fish). Each lesson
ends with dessert. To accompany the meal, chefs will learn how to make Esencia's
signature cocktail, Caribeña, inspired by the tropical flavors of the Caribbean.
2 chefs minimum, 6 chefs maximum per class, 4 hours, $100 per person.
Reservations for classes should bee made in advance at
1-877-528-3490 or visit
www.hotelesencia.com
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