Plan a Family Culinary Getaway

The holidays are right around the corner, and who couldn’t use an extra set of hands in the kitchen? It’s easy to get the kids involved after some instruction and culinary getaways offer up the perfect means to teach some hands-on fun like stirring, slicing and chopping … or relaxing while someone else does the work!

Resorts & Residences by CuisinArt in Anguilla celebrates a reopening after Hurricane Irma in style, with a brand-new look and dining concepts. Cooking classes and chef’s table experiences will return, but this time it’s even more hands-on thanks to new executive chef Alan Larch. The resort was the first in the world to operate its own hydroponic farm, with diverse ingredients that limit the carbon footprint. A new lobby bar features North African décor and a meze menu, with international plates at new restaurant Mosaic, and Greek flavors highlighted at Santorini at the Clubhouse. Tokyo Bay returns with Japanese stylings, a visitor favorite.

Warm up the oven and catch some warm rays at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, where two culinary programs hit the spot for ages 6–12. A shorter kitchen adventure includes a two-hour cooking class with molten chocolate cakes, popcorn pops and candy pizzas. The three-hour extravaganza features even more hands-on fun with pizza painting, pretzel twisting, even napkin folding. Kids wear chef’s hats, whisk, knead, roll and measure — making math fun and tasty.

Cooking classes seem destined for Tutka Bay Lodge’s rustic-chic Alaska property — the cooking school is inside an old crabbing boat once also used to transport troops in World War II. Guests create three-course meals from one of eight globally inspired menus. Lessons are open to both the public and guests, and on the weekends, classes are inspired by local cuisine from Kachemak Bay. The lodge is spread over 11 acres, with a main lodge, six private cottages, a sauna, hot tub and boat house — and also includes plenty of opportunity to catch your dinner with freshwater fishing and deep-sea fishing for salmon and halibut.

Tutka Bay Lodge Cooking Class © Within the Wild

Recipes are taught, shared and handed down from generation to generation in Indian families, so learning to make new dishes together should be a bonding experience at The Lodhi. The family-friendly hotel in New Delhi is spread out over seven acres with extensive gardens for kids to explore — but when they get hungry, get ready to whip up something exotic. Master chefs lead interactive sessions with a menu of two appetizers, two main courses and a dessert. With lunch at the hotel’s Elan restaurant, you get to sample the fruit of your labors. The sessions include a book of recipes to take home.

The lessons extend beyond the kitchen at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay in Bali, where families can tour the fish market and explore the resort’s herb and veggie garden to learn about staples of Indonesian cuisine. Then it’s on to making the five-course meal with lessons from a chef, and sitting down to enjoy the fruits of your labor together — lunch!

At the Four Seasons Nam Hai in Vietnam, single-day and week-long courses delve into healthy, seasonal and regional cooking. The resort has 35 varieties of herbs and vegetables grown on-site; sample menus include rice noodle-making in a nearby paddy field and visiting Phuoc Hai fishing village. Families can also learn about making fun street food.

Finding a safari welcoming for kids can be a challenge given height and weight restrictions for safari vehicles, but at Kwandwe Game Reserve, villas are family-friendly — as are activities. During Campfire Cooking at Melton Manor, South Africans show off (and teach) barbequing skills. Become a braaimaster, preparing a three-course meal over an open fire, cook meats like ostrich and make mielie (corn) bread and chakalaka (spicy tomato relish). Dessert can’t be forgotten, of course, and you can whip up sorbets made with edible plants on the reserve; inside the kitchen, a camp chef will teach families how to make donuts flavored like malva, a South African sponge-cake dessert with apricot.