Cooking or gourmet vacation is a concept that is not very popular in India, as yet. In Europe, in countries like France, Italy, Greece and Spain, and at other popular destinations like Morocco that boast of a dash of ?history? and ?culture??besides a steady stream of rich, primarily Western vacationers wanting to sample these?niche holidays with focus on local food have been popular for a while. Who, after all, can resist the charm of a Tuscan villa, nestled deep in the countryside, with a chef in place to take you through the paces with a rustic pizza if not more? Or, of a quaint B&B in Provencal that will allow you to sample life and dining al fresco even as you tackle the nuances of French cooking? And so forth.
These cooking vacations are not merely about cooking though. Food becomes a vehicle through which you enjoy regional cultures and interact with local people in a much closer way than typically touristy shop-and-dekko vacations we Indians are more used to. Often, visits to local vineyards, cheese factories, olive oil presses, even the local baker and village mart are organised for the benefit of the outsider. And for those growing up in the new world, as it is called, in cities without a sense of history and architecture, such trips naturally exert a magnetic draw.
Indians, who have (till now) mostly grown up with so much history and culture (not to mention food and help in the kitchen to cook it) surrounding them, were largely seen as immune to the charms of such cooking vacations. But now that seems to be changing as the Indian traveller grows up and seeks to engage with other cultures in more meaningful ways rather than just seeking kadhi-chawal-aloo on trips abroad.
Closer home in Bangkok, I recently found evidence of this as I enrolled myself in an afternoon?s session of cooking Thai food with Tam Piyawadi Jantrupon, a one-time corporate-type turned popular cooking instructor. Tam (whose enterprise is called Amita cooking class, by the way) lives in a home by the Choa Phraya River, the River of Kings, in an old part of Bangkok, scarcely visible any longer, dwarfed by the rising skyline of shiny malls and plush hotels that define this city?for most Indian travellers at any rate. The ageing home (actually, a set of three Colonial bungalows) has been abode to four generations of Tam?s family and is the perfect setting for a gourmet retreat with its lush garden full of herbs, flowers and plants, many of which are plucked fresh and go right into the pan to flavour the dishes.
In an open pagoda by the river, an informal round table is set for an opening session with participants before they walk through the garden to understand the aromas, flavours and healing properties of various herbs used in Thai cooking. From there on, a highly organised army of helpers steps in, as Tam first demonstrates four simple dishes and then allows participants to cook these at individual stations in a carefully moderated exercise so that there is no chance of burning your stir fry.
Since Tam?s groups comprise people of all nationalities, this often becomes a cultural collision of sorts, but all in good humour. The day I attended, for instance, a group of Indians were cooking against a group of hapless Norwegians (Asian similarities in the food meant that we won, easily!).
Post-lunch, a quaint boat (the same one that had brought us to the class, paused midwater to feed fish) may drop you at the hotel, or then again, a car or a bus battling terrible traffic. But that?s another story.
The point to be noted is that Tam, who is fairly popular (with mentions in Bon Apetite, Vogue and other food and international lifestyle magazines) with primarily Western tourists?and certainly not inexpensive? says that, of late, Indians have started coming to her classes. Usually, these are individuals who have found out about this lesser-known aspect of a Thai vacation for themselves and have hunted for her place to make contact.
In Delhi, as I find more and more mentions by younger (and obviously affluent) people wanting to sample the globe and take vacations purely based on restaurant or cuisine choices, the impression of a discerning, gourmet Indian traveller is getting cemented.
But while it may be refreshing to hear of our countrymen exploring global cuisine-and-culture diversity, what about similar experiences within our own country? After attending Tam?s class with all its accompanying frills, I was struck by the fact that nowhere in India can you really enjoy a similar cooking vacation of this caliber. There is one in Kerala, run out of a homestay, I am told, but that?s about it.
With states like Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, besides God?s Own Country, and lately Orissa, Gujarat, not to mention the Himalayan belt drawing so many travellers, local food and culture can and should come together to offer a slice of authentic India. Heritage tourism and even village tourism draw a chunk of high-end leisure business to the country, so why should gastronomic journeys lag behind, especially since each region in the country boasts of unique and diverse cuisines?
In fact, even for domestic travellers, wouldn?t it be a wonderful idea to be able to stay in a Portuguese home in Goa, a flowering bungalow in the hills, or even a haveli in Benares and learn to cook and eat local food made therein? It?s an idea in need of entrepreneurs.
The writer is a food critic