When visiting a new country or city, taking a cooking class is a great opportunity to discover the local delicacies and learn how to make them again once at home.
Following a strategy to complement their accommodation offering with local experiences for visitors to enjoy, Airbnb has just announced the launch of a new cooking experience platform. Adding to the current offer, which already includes wellness, nature and outdoor, entertainment or sports activities, this new category of bookable experiences aims at immersing Airbnb users in real culinary traditions of families all around the world.
READ MORE: Cookery Courses Around Ireland
More Intimate Than A Typical Cooking Class
The goal of the travel giant is to offer a new way to understand culture through food. But unlike typical cooking classes led by chefs, which some can find intimidating, the Cooking Experiences wish to offer more intimate sessions, hosted by families, farmers, or pastry cooks.
“Ever since the very first guests travelled with Airbnb, we have realised that sharing a meal is the key that unlocks culture and fosters connection. Through Airbnb Cooking Experiences, we want to bring back the tradition of people coming together to make and share meals, and through this help preserve unique recipes that are shared within family kitchens around the world”, said Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb.
Among the experiences available to book, you can now learn how to make pasta with a real Italian grandma in Rome (€85 per person), try yourself at French pastry making in Montmartre (€53 per person), understand the ancient cooking customs of Mexico (€53 per person), or learn how to ferment food by season in Kells, Co. Meath (€75 per person).
READ MORE: How To Make The Most Of A Whole Chicken
Win the trip of a lifetime to Italy
To celebrate the launch, Airbnb is organising a global competition that will see the world’s 100 best home cooks sent on a trip to Italy to study alongside culinary experts, including American celebrity chef David Chang, and take on a five-day course at Slow Food’s University of Gastronomic Sciences, in Pollenzo.
To enter the competition, candidates (or people who wish to nominate someone) need to submit an essay explaining why the nominee’s passion for cooking and their family recipe makes them the perfect fit. Applications are open until December 23rd on airbnb.com/cooking.
