In my life, I have always wondered how I could become a master Italian chef. The realities of the working in a kitchen made it not worth my effort. If you have ever worked in a diner, you know what it is to be underpaid and overworked. Every day is a never ending process and although you are skillfully trained to make some of the best Italian dishes in the world, you spend most of your time cooking well done chicken patties for near to above minimum wage. Instead, I decided to become a great cook for my mother and a successful professional for myself. As the years went by I have regretted not having more opportunities to fully explore the culinary world. That is how I first discovered cooking holidays.



On one Sunday afternoon, I happened to be reading a culinary arts magazine, thinking about creative recipes I could try out on my kids. New Years Eve was coming up, and I was looking for a barnd new "New Years Eve" holiday recipe. That is when I saw the light bulb: an ad for cooking Tours in England. I never heard of a cooking tour before and I immediately wrote to the company to request more information. What I found out surprised me and made me so very happy. English cooking vacations are the perfect getaway for people who are somewhat like me.

A cooking holiday combines aspects of a workshop with some beautiful sightseeing adventures. There are so many different kinds of holiday cooking, but essentially they all involve a beautiful, scenic destination known for its cuisine. Once you are there, you get to combine sightseeing with cooking classes from some of the world's most renowned chefs - people who specialize in the cuisine of that particular area. In between the cooking classes, you get to go the local food courts and explore the native produce, as well as explore one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. I had never been to France before and I was so happy to try it out.

The gourmet cooking trips were expensive to say the least, but I had put away good money for a rainy day and I was convinced that it would be worth the trip overall. Although my family was disappointed to see me go away on this long trip, they knew that I needed a vacation to just be me. They were also thrilled in some way that I was leaving. You see, they knew that when I came back from the gourmet cooking holidays, I would have all-new recipes to cook for them. That was worth not seeing me for a few long weeks!