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 by the ocean in Paraty, Brazil. The seminars focus on Brazilian culinary art and its relationship with various aspects of Brazilian cultural life.

The school in Paraty is situated in a colonial paradise. Founded in 1660, Paraty faces the sea, and is backed by mountains. During the rush for gold and diamonds in the 18th century, the city became famous and wealthy. Today it is a beautifully preserved seaside village with many mansions and estates, and narrow streets that contain hidden surprises: charming pousadas (inns), colonial houses, restaurants and art galleries. The village provides easy access to spectacular island beaches and mountain trails through rain forests that lead to waterfalls with natural pools.

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. 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. The Paraty program includes boat trips and hill country visits to its core culinary experience. The three-day program offers students hands-on cooking, trips to a water-powered manioc flour mill, a hearts of palm plantation, and other pleasant distractions (candy making demonstrations and outdoor musical presentations, for example).

Includes 4 nights/5days in Paraty and 5th and final night in Rio
Hotel accommodations
All breakfasts and gourmet meals
Cooking school tuition and excursions
Transfers to and from airport in Sao Paulo to hotel

2007
	January 22-February 2	July 15-20
	February 26-March 3	August 26-31
	March 11-16	September 30-October 5 (10% discount for this period)
	Other dates negotiable for preformed groups of three and more.

2007
	Double Occupancy $2,500 per person
	Single Occupancy $2,600 per person
	Dinner demonstration $75
	Cooking class and dinner $135
	Heart of Palm Plantation $170

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SUNDAY	Transfer by air conditioned van from Sao Paulo International airport to Paraty along a coastal road that easily surpasses the splendor of other world renowned beauties. We stop on the way to Paraty at an operating "fazenda" (ranch) to see what working the land looks like in Brazil and have a first taste of some of its unique products You start your stay in Paraty with chef Yara Castro Roberts's brief orientation along with a welcome drink at your hotel. Your tour includes 4-nights stay at one of the several fine hotels in the historic center of Paraty. Dinner demonstration: Brazilian food history presentation of the cookery of the region of Minas Gerais by chef Yara Roberts, and dinner at the Academy, hosted by Yara and the Academy staff. The table is specially decorated by Marta Cintra Leite using items from Minas and she tells brief stories that link each item to the region's history.
MONDAY	Today, and on the next four mornings, we enhance breakfast at the hotel with specially prepared additions to the regular fare including a diversity of regional home recipes. These include creamy banana porridge, a�a� soup, cakes and special breads presented upon a brilliantly decorated table. Hands-on cooking class at the Academy of Cooking and Other Pleasures, making dishes from the Amazon region of Brazil and learning about the origins of the ingredients in the local cuisine and the traditions of how the dishes are prepared with tips on simple ways to transform these dishes so that you can easily make them upon your return home. Lunch at a relaxingly beautiful island restaurant, a short 10 minute ride from the village pier via a fast launch. Swim before, after or during lunch. After lunch, there will be a guided walking tour of the beautiful colonial center of this three hundred year old village with its cobble streets, shops, cafes, and tree shaded main square that is an always-changing unrehearsed theater of life in a timeless village. In the afternoon we will experience an Amazonas Brazilian food history presentation by Yara Roberts, and dinner at the Academy with the dishes you made in the morning. The table will be decorated by Martha Cintra Leite using items from the Amazonas region
TUESDAY	After breakfast, we will enjoy a splendid morning boating tour on a comfortable, well-adapted boat visiting islands and beaches. We will enjoy an informal lunch, tasting some of the fruits of the land at an unforgettable private estate with a romantic white sand beach bound by lush tropical vegetation. Join chef Yara and her assistants for lunch and participate in the preparation of salads and fruits, and with the grilling of the freshest seafood using spices and recipes with a contemporary style. There will be a sunset return in the late afternoon. Upon our return, we will have a "happy hour", Brazilian style: Discover cacha�a, the Brazilian sugar cane alcohol, through a selection of the best cacha�as from several regions. Learn about this drink, its production and the implications it has had in Brazilian History. Sip the different cacha�as, as you taste ample and delicious Brazilian appetizers. As you finish the cacha�a tasting, conclude the evening program by listening and dancing to the Cirandeiros, a lovely music group that preserves and celebrates the local traditions of Paraty.
WEDNESDAY	After breakfast, there will be a hands-on cooking class at the Academy of Cooking and Other Pleasures making dishes from the Bahia region of Brazil and learning about the origins of the ingredients in the local cuisine and the traditions of how the dishes are prepared with tips on simple ways to transform these dishes so that you can easily make them upon your return home. There will be a special Caicara lunch at a lovely village restaurant serving authentic dishes native to Paraty and its culture, with fun and knowledgeable commentary on the dishes and the ingredients by your host, Chef Yara Castro Roberts. You have the afternoon to yourself to do what you'd like (including nothing at all if that's your choice). Touring activities including kayaking, waterfall swims, and horseback riding are available at additional costs through our local tour agent. You can also wander about the town, shop and visit artists' studios on your own. The evening will include Brazilian food history presented to you as it is to Brazilians on the Brazilian television network "Globo" by Yara Roberts; and an Academy Dinner of the Bahian dishes you made in the morning.
THURSDAY	After breakfast we will motor to this working plantation by modern pontoon boat by gliding along a broad river, winding through a luxuriant greed tidal plane. The plantation uses only natural methods to cultivate the palm plants. See how they are cut, prepared and packaged. And see cultivation of other typical Brazilian fruit (e.g. pineapple) and vegetables. Sample dishes made of fresh hearts of palm and other country fare brazed dishes. The setting is the family farmhouse with a view of spectacular rock cliff faces and the fertile river valley. On the journey to our destination in Rio de Janeiro, we will stop at an excellent resort restaurant with a spectacular panoramic view of the rain forest as it joins the ocean and frames distant islands. As the final item of our package we provide you with a free hotel accommodation in Rio for one evening. We do this so that you will have a renowned jumping off point from which to extend your stay in Brazil or leave for home with a flourish.

"..I just wanted to let you know what a Fantastic time I had on my trip. Yara was wonderful and she and Richard are great hosts. The entire experience exceeded my expectations. It was a perfect introduction to Brazil and I look forward to future visits."
Sarah H.