The best culinary experiences go far beyond the kitchen - they begin at the source, whether it's foraging, catching or exploring a chef's herb and vegetable garden. Ben McCormack goes in search of hand-on cookery courses around the world
This article was taken from the March 2024 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.
Imagine an all-you-can-eat oyster bar where the bivalves come for free, and you’re already on the way to picturing the big skies and wide mudflats of the Wadden Sea. Oyster appreciation has a long history in Denmark's second-largest national park. In 1587, King Frederick II claimed a monopoly on oysters and threatened anyone who persisted in picking them with the death penalty; by the time the law was abolished in the Eighties, the native European oyster had been wiped out and the Pacific oyster used to re-populate the beds turned out to be an invasive threat to the local blue mussel. Which is why anyone is allowed to take away as many oysters from here as they wish, although Danish decorum dictates filling nothing larger than a carrier bag. One could embark on a self-guided oyster safari, but given the vagaries of tides and temperatures, wind and weather, it’s far safer – and arguably morefun - to head out with a local guide. The oyster banks are exposed at low tide, when so many oyster shells are revealed that the shells look like rock formations, and it takes an experienced eye to know which shells contain meat. The oysters are tested for bacteria every couple of days so they can be eaten raw straight from the water, or choose one of the tours at The Wadden Sea Centre that ends by cooking the shellfish over fire and sharing recipe suggestions over a glass of wine (£63pp).
Bed down at 19th-century Hostrups Hotel on a cobbled street in nearby Tønder. Doubles from £195
Food has always been a high point of the charming, colonial-style Rosyth Estate House, set in 62 acres high in the hills near Kandy, with only tea and rubber estates for neighbours. Much of the produce that ends up on the plate has journeyed no further than Rosyth’s kitchen garden, where chefs and gardeners work hand-in-hand; it was recently monkey-proofed to ensure that none of its harvest goes to waste. The Sri Lankan Cooking Experience morning course (from £47pp) allows for a full immersion in all things local and Sri Lankan without losing sight of the practicalities – all the recipes that are taught on the day are made from ingredients that are easily available in European supermarkets – and you’ll take away a cookbook to ensure you can rustle up what you’ve learnt in your own kitchen. With no more than eight guests, personal attention is guaranteed.
Things kick off with a tour of the organic kitchen garden, with an introduction to local fruit, veg, and spices: mango and papaya, aubergine and lemon grass, cloves and pepper. Dishes covered in curries (green bean, lentil and spinach, aubergine and gotukola sambal) and a traditional salad; all that needs to be added are rice, chutneys and poppadums and chutneys as guests enjoy the fruit of their labours in a dining room floating in a canopy of trees.
After, follow one of the walking trails around the estate – in the paddy fields guests are free to join the tea pickers and have a go at plucking a leaf or two from the bushes. The 10-room property has plenty of spaces for relaxation too, whether mingling poolside or taking in the epic views from a private balcony or terrace in one of the simply furnished bedrooms. Doubles from £399.
Former French investment banker Véronique Polaert fell in love with Lagos but wasn’t content just to open a hotel there. Under the city walls of the Algarve town she has created not only the rustic-feeling resort village of Casa Mãe but installed a vegetable garden to supply the hotel’s Orta restaurant and can also arrange on four-hour morning trips (from £47pp) in his small modern boat, often with pods of dolphins for company. The waters are home to hammerhead, mako and blue sharks but it’s the small known to return with marlin, tuna and octopus. Back at Casa Mãe, the hotel’s sous chef demonstrates how to cook, clean and alongside other local delicacies prepared during the workshop.
Some of the Algarve’s best beaches are on the doorstep, while pretty, white-washed Lagos has a historic centre of narrow streets and bell towers. But Véronique has created such an alluring cocoon of comfort there are few reasons to leave the hotel. The 34 guest rooms are spread over three buildings and gathered around a garden, swimming pool and courtyard. Other activities include ceramic classes and yoga sessions, and there’s a farmer’s market and an outdoor cinema. Doubles from £205.
Many of the UK’s best restaurants employ a forager, but a glimpse is rare. Everything at this Pembrokeshire restaurant, however, is geared towards creating intimacy and personal connections, from the tiny, ten-seat dining room on Narberth’s Market Square to the stories behind the ingredients recounted by chef Matt Powell from the open kitchen and served by his partner Naomi. Matt, a former Le Manoir chef, ran a foraging company for 10 years, which saw him end each day cooking a meal with the ingredients found on the trip, before opening Annwn in 2021. His head forager here is Dan Moar, who guides guests around the estuaries (and the woodlands and meadows) for the produce that might end up on that evening’s menu: sea buckthorn, sea radish and scurvy grass to accompany local swimmer crab and St Brides prawns; wild garlic and leaves); or a dessert of rosehip custard and crab apple. While taking in the beauty of one of the least unspoilt corners of British coastline and countryside, you’ll learn how to safely identify and sustainably harvest wild ingredients and how to use them both in the kitchen and as natural medicines. Course with ten-course tasting menu from £200pp. After dinner, head to nearby Grove of Narberth, a restored Georgian house in 10 hectares of grounds, where everything at breakfast is prepared to order. Doubles from £199.
Few foraging experiences feel as evocative of the centuries-old certainties of man, animal and land working in natural harmony canopy like cobwebs and it is left to dogs, not humans, to do the hard work of unearthing the precious tubers concealed in the undergrowth. Guests at the woodland estate of Tenuta Torciano in the ravishing Tuscan countryside get to hunt for both black among their roots. Back at the hotel, a class provides ample examples of how these diamonds of the kitchen can lend their distinctive fragrance and flavour to home cooking.
The four-course lunch that follows might include truffle-laced lasagne or tagliolini, as well as oils from the estate and produce from the vegetable garden (tomatoes, aubergines, lettuce and peas). What you’ll be sipping is no less important: Tenuta Torciano has been making wines (including a trio of Super Tuscans) for 13 generations and the family behind the estate are happy to share their expertise on food-and-wine pairing as you taste.
You’ll stay overnight in the estate’s hotel, a converted 11th-century convent of oak beams, terracotta floors and views over vineyards, olive trees and mature cypresses. A breakfast
of homemade baked goods and seasonal fruits is served on
the terrace. Doubles with foraging, class, lunch and breakfast
from £216pp.
Beyond, the 6th-century town of San Gimignano, famous for its 14 medieval towers, is a five-minute drive away, while Siena and Florence are both another half hour.
Think of the northern part of Sweden and the winter wonderland of Lapland is probably what comes to mind, but long before anyone had heard of Father Christmas this pristine wilderness was better known by its historic name of Sápmi, the land of the indigenous Sámi-speaking peoples. The Huuva family have been tending reindeer in the woods outside the Sámi village of Liehittäjä for more than a century and now, every summer, Henry and Pia Huuva welcome visitors to share the close-to-nature lifestyle and Sámi food culture of their reindeer camp, Huuva Hideaway, 46km south of the Arctic Circle.
The pristine forest is an all-natural larder for locally sourced The four-hour experience (£120pp) begins with a welcome mocktail – no alcohol is served here – made from local fruit before a guided walk in the woods to forage for seasonal ingredients.
Back at camp, everything is prepared in the outdoor kitchen before sitting down to a shared meal and stories of forest life.
For a two-day, fully immersive experience, there’s room for four to sleep on-site in the Ajtta Lodge (doubles £360pp including foraging, cook-along and tasting dinner), a two-storey log cabin decorated with Sámi art and modern Scandinavian design. There relaxation room with a library plus a kitchenette to put those newly learnt foraging skills to the test. And this being Sweden, there’s an electric sauna too.
Or venture 14km further north and check into the Lapland View
Lodge on the Luppio Mountain, with views stretching across the
wild, stunning scapes below. Home comforts include a cosy lounge
cabins for two from £210.
Ibérico pork is one of the world's great luxury ingredients - one leg alone can cost hundreds of pounds – which is one reason this pilgrimage to all things piggy takes up two whole days, as you go behind the scenes, learn techniques and share in meals with the producers. The other is that this sustainably produced ingredient needs to be savoured slowly. The black pigs roam free in the woods of the Sierra de Aracena Natural Park in the Unesco-protected landscape of western Spain, gorging in autumn on the acorns carpeting the forest floor and doubling their body weight.
Your first sights of the animals is likely to be when their host calls to the black Ibérico pigs that venture out from the woodland of cork oak trees to get up close with their visitors. The farmers are conservationists as much as food producers - each pig requires 2 hectares of grazing land – and share their understanding of the local ecology. While the barbecue warms up in the farmhouse, guests are given a lesson in Ibérico ham carving before sitting down to lunch. Dinners are held in traditional restaurants in the white-walled villages that stand out starkly in the green landscape.
On day two, you’ll turn your attention to the art of Ibérico ham curing and enjoy some local cuisine, including a visit to an artisan producer in nearby Jabugo for a lesson in how the process works – sometimes taking up to three years – followed by a tasting accompanied with wine. Appetites whetted, the journey continues on to the classically beautiful village of Linares, where you’ll team up with a local chef for a cooking demonstration and lunch.
After,
join a guided hike on the old trail to Aracena in search of produceto forage en route. Here, you'll have time to explore the must-see natural wonder of Gruta de las Maravillas – a limestone cavern – followed by tapas-style dinner. Two nights in a private house on the farm with meals and excursions, £1,220pp.
Ignore the cringeworthy name: there’s some serious talent behind Room4Dessert in Bali. El Bulli alumnus Will Goldfarb transferred his restaurant to Indonesia seven years after closing the Manhattan original; his reward was winning the title of World's Best Pastry Chef in 2021 and appearing on Netflix's Chef’s Table. Needless to say, the R4D Academy is not an afternoon of cupcake icing.
Courses vary in length and price – from a week to a month – and they cater for the needs of both professionals and keen amateurs; subjects covered include cakes and doughs, ice cream and other frozen desserts, and mousses, tropical fruits and sauces, with classes led by Will himself, who provides insight into celebrated desserts such as his black tea and cardamom crème brûlée, and pandanbert: a pandan panna cotta with snake fruit purée and a nutmeg confit. The recently expanded garden provides medicinal herbs and ingredients like vanilla and cacao – ensuring puddings are marked by freshness as much as sweetness.
For a luxurious boutique hotel a 15-minute walk from Ubud's centre, book into Bisma Eight - views of a tree-lined valley make it feel far more remote. Doubles from £166.
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