Cuisine International - Brazilian Academy of Cooking

Brazilian cuisine expert Yara Castro Roberts, an Emmy award nominee host for PBS-WGBH cooking show series, conducts the Brazilian Cuisine Seminars in Ouro Preto, Brazil. Local Festival

The week features hands-on Brazilian cuisine with dishes from Minas Gerais, Bahia and the Amazonas regions, field trips to neighboring coffee plantations, sugar cane distillery, fine dining and cultural activities. The seminars focus on Brazilian culinary art and its relationship with various aspects of Brazilian cultural life.

The academy is located in Ouro Preto, a 17th century colonial town in the mountains of Minas Gerais. It is one of the world's best preserved examples of colonial baroque architecture offering a number of local festivals and historical celebrations.

Church Yara began her culinary education as a young girl, learning from her mother who was a chef and owned a cooking school. She graduated from Boson University Culinary Arts, has degrees in History of Art from the Ecole du Louvre and Education from the Sorbonne in Paris. Dining Hall Yara is quadrilingual in Portuguese, French, Spanish, and English and speaks some Italian and Russian. She is a vivacious and seemingly inexhaustible ambassador for food and other things Brazilian, making the classes most enjoyable and informative.

The cooking classes are filled with savory recipes and enriched with information on history, art, music, and literature as well as the social aspects relevant to the culture. Musicians The classes include Minas Gerais cookery, Brazilian pastries followed by a Brazilian traditional "high coffee", the cookery of Bahia and more. Some extras are a tour of Ouro Preto, the Baroque art museum and its architectural wonders, and the not-to-be missed classical musical performance of an outdoor "Serenata".

Hotel accommodations
All breakfasts and gourmet meals
Cooking school tuition and excursions
Transfers to and from airport to hotel

2005
	Classes are held in May, September and November starting on Sunday evenings and end on Friday afternoons

2005
	Double Occupancy $2,595 per person
	Single Occupany $2,895

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SUNDAY	You will arrive at the Belo Horizonte or Rio de Janeiro airport and transfer to Ouro Preto in comfortable air-conditioned vehicles. Upon arrival at the Hotel there will be a welcoming orientation session by Yara Castro Roberts, a program overview and distribution of printed materials. A CD-ROM will be available for participants to get familiar with the town and its surroundings. There will be beverages and appetizers served. At 6:00 there is a talk and video: "Brazil: its people and culture". Dinner is on your own. At 9:00, there will be live Brazilian music at the Hotel or in the local neighborhood.
MONDAY	Dr. Maocyr Laterza will lead a walking tour with commentary on "Ouro Preto, Baroque art and architecture, followed by lunch at a typical restaurant with Prof. Lazera. The first cooking class, at 3:30 on "Minas Gerais cookery" will be followed by dinner at the hotel.
TUESDAY	At 9:00 students board a bus for a field trip to "Cachacaria" where sugar cane alcohol is produced followed with a visit to art craft and artists studios. In the afternoon a cooking demonstration of Brazilian cookies, cakes and pastries will be followed by a Brazilian traditional "high coffee". Chef Conclaves will present a gourmet dinner at Restaurant Casa do Ouvidor that evening.
WEDNESDAY	At 8:00, a field trip will be held to a colonial farm that is a coffee plantation with a walking tour and coffee tasting. Yara will teach an afternoon class entitled "The Cookery of Bahia". Dinner will follow at the hotel. At 10:00 there will be a music performance by classic musicians performing an outdoor "Serenata".
THURSDAY	"The Cookery of the Amazon" is the title of this morning's class followed by lunch at the hotel. In the afternoon there will be a talk on "Food in Brazilian literature and movies". A Gourmet dinner at Restaurant Le Coq D'Or will be served by Chef Milton Schneider who will demonstrate his creations.
FRIDAY	Two renowned professionals will demonstrate the making of Brazilian candy fruits and fine sweets in the morning class. The group will then depart Ouro Preto back to the airport and depart for home.
SATURDAY (optional)	This is an optional free day in Rio de Janeiro with departure back home. Possible options for special activities if participants are interested include: Concert of classic music at a church Visits to artist studios Horseback riding Hiking Half day driving the old colonial gold route through nearby mountain villages Farmer's market visit Note: Slight variations or adjustments to the daily schedule may be made.

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