Follow local gourmands on tours to Italy, China
Got a milestone birthday or anniversary coming up?
Any of these three exceptional culinary experiences would make an impressive gift. Two are trips led by local gourmands. The other is led by a celebrity chef and takes place in our own backyard.
First up is Lauren Stuart’s “A Week in Tuscany” adventure in the Chianti region of Italy.
Stuart, who runs the Cooking Naturally school in Colorado Springs, recently added culinary tours to her resume.
The idea to play tour guide started after she took a culinary trip to Italy in 2006. She was so impressed by the day she spent with Franco Lombardi, who owns an olive orchard and produces olive oil, that she arranged for him to come to Colorado Springs in 2007 to conduct several olive oil seminars. One thing led to another, and she and Lombardi’s daughter Francesca dreamed up a series of culinary tours in Italy.
The idea is to keep the group small — no more than seven people on each trip.
Participants will stay in a villa, where they’ll be served a daily breakfast, take cooking classes and olive oil seminars, take part in wine tastings and tour area towns and markets. Seven dinners are included.
Cost is about $4,000, depending on the Euro. Dates are Sept. 13-20, and Sept. 20-27. Visit www. aweekintuscany.com for the complete itinerary and registration form.
Next up is Mali Hsu’s “Colorado Springs Chinese Cultural Institute Introduction to China Tour Special,” a 16-day tour of China starting in Beijing and ending in Shanghai.
Although it’s more of a cultural tour, Hsu — president of the Chinese Cultural Institute — says there are plenty of markets and restaurant meals to satisfy any foodie on the trip. A highlight is seeing how duck is cooked at a Beijing duck restaurant. And, if you’ve never seen how a Chinese noodlemaker can take a glob of dough and turn it into long strands of noodles, that alone would be worth the price of the trip. In the province of Xian you’ll get to see noodlemaking up close at a noodle house where they also make Chinese pancakes, dumplings and buns.
“The one special treat for this trip is that in every city we visit, we always try different foods and find the local specialty,” she says.
If you don’t get enough unusual Chinese food on the 16-day trip, you can add on a six-day trip to Tibet.
Cost of the 16-day trip (not including airfare) is $3,170 for CSCCI members and $3,220 for others. The full package (including airfare) is $4,420 for members and $4,470 for others. The Tibet trip costs an additional $1,710 for members and $1,760 for others. For more information, visit www. cscci.org.
Closer to home is grilling guru Steven Raichlen’s “BBQ University” at The Broadmoor, June 1-4 and June 4-7. The acclaimed grilling school, touted as the “best BBQ experience in the U.S.” by the Food Network, is a wonderful way to brush up on your grilling skills or learn the basics.
“Students gain confidence with hands-on experience using wood-burning, charcoal, gas, and infrared grills, as well as kamado cookers and smokers,” Raichlen says in a news release.
“The goal is for the students to learn how to consistently produce food that will make them grilling rock stars among family, friends and business associates.”
The three-day interactive grilling classes start at 9 a.m. each day and wind up with lunch. The afternoon is open for relaxing, playing golf, and hitting the spa or pool.
The package costs $2,428 per person and includes three nights’ lodging, a welcoming reception, daily continental breakfast, daily barbecue luncheon, graduation photo with Raichlen, signed copy of Raichlen’s “Barbeque! Bible,” and 10 percent discounts for spa services, golf fees and Broadmoor retail shops.
To register, e-mail Melanie Shankland, “BBQ University” Reservations Coordinator at mshankland@broadmoor.com.
Reach Farney at 636-0271 or teresa.farney@gazette.com. She appears Tuesdays on KOAA’s Comcast Channel 9 at 4 p.m.
