Canada-Cuba Farmer to Farmer
Project
TASTE OF CUBA TOUR
November 24 to December 8th, 2008
COMMENTARY
AND RAVE
REVIEWS:
Click
here to read Meeting
the real Cuba, face to face
Pamela Irving, The Edmonton Journal, Aug 13, 2008
Click
here to read Why don't we
have gardens like this?
Jennifer Cockrall-King,
MacLean's Magazine, Sept
3, 2007
Click
here to read CUBA!
Vancouver Chef Christophe, Chefs' News, April
2007
Click here to read Chefs mix it up in
Cuba this winter!
Chefs' News, October
2006
Click
here to read From
Cuba with
Love
Canadian
Living Magazine cover story, April
2006
by
CL's Food Editor Elizabeth
Baird
and
prize-winning cookbook author
Rose Murray
Come
with
us to explore the
back roads, farms and
markets of Cuba! Learn the legend of ajiaco soup and other
authentic local cuisines. Have a hands-on learning experience in
a chef-to-chef exchange!
The
aromas and flavors of Cuba's cuisine are a convergence of the
island's Aboriginal, African, Chinese, Jewish, French and Spanish
heritage.
We'll sample traditional dishes prepared with
centuries-old recipes up to the most contemporary interpretations.
Our Cuban
partner is Asociacion Culinaria de Cuba - the Cuban Culinary
Association. In Cuba's most historic cities, we will gather at
elegant Casas del Chef to spend an afternoon with chefs from top local
restaurants learning about and tasting the cuisine typical to each
region. We'll explore prestigious paladards such as
La
Habana’s Cocina de Liliam and La Guarderia. We'll
visit
street vendors, hotel kitchens and homes honoring the traditions of the
cocina (kitchen) and expanding on them.
New words and dishes will enter your culinary vocabulary such
lechón, puerco asado (roasted and flame cooked pork),
tachinos, chatinos, mariquitas, tostones (all made from green
plantains) congrí (rice with red beans), moros y cristianos
(rice and black beans), picadillo a la habanera (ground beef in tomato
sauce), yuca con mojo (cassava in a sauce of oil, garlic and bitter
orange), malanga (a root vegetable), tamales and many
more. The Cuban sweet tooth honed by centuries of sugar
production means
each meal includes special desserts.
Our cultural program will complement your understanding of the cuisine
by introducing you to music, dance and art of the Cuban people.
Limited to 25 persons, this tour will be of interest to anyone
professionally or personally involved with food: cooks, foodies,
restaurateurs, food writers and others in the cuisine sector and their
invited guests who wish to understand the cuisine and enjoy the music,
dance and art of the Cuban people. (If food professionals,
Americans can travel under General License.)
Brochure: Click here for a
PDF
of the Taste of Cuba Tour brochure.
Itinerary:
Click here for a PDF
of the Taste of Cuba Tour itinerary.
Cost:
Total
"in Cuba" costs per person for the 2009 Taste of Cuba Tour are
$3,050
CAD based on two sharing and
included
all taxes, all hotels (7
nights in 5
star, 7 nights in country hotels), all meals (except 2 lunches and
dinners in Havana), transportation, transfers,
guide, full translation, an 8 day tour and a flight from Santiago
de Cuba to Havana. Does not
include air fare between Canada and Cuba,
airport departure taxes, optional travel insurance, beverages
(including bottled water) and gratuities. Single surcharge
of $335 applies. I will gladly put people in touch
who wish to discuss sharing a room.
We can also make all your air bookings with our affiliated travel
agents - our prices are very competitive! Per person deposit of
$500 CAD payable on booking, balance due October 1, 2008. Sorry,
cheques only.
Connections to
Canada Cuba Farmer to
Farmer Project:
To
attain goals we share for our food system – an abundant
supply of fresh, local, high quality, safe, nutritious and sustainably
produced food options – we need informed consumers, good public policy,
and a vibrant farming community.
Unfortunately, as Canadians move farther from their rural roots, key
issues of food policy take a back seat.
This
special two week Cooks’ Tour, organized under the auspices of the
Canada Cuba Farmer to Farmer Project, will introduce
food professionals not only to the cuisine of Cuba but also to
the remarkable success Cuba has had in
rebuilding its community agriculture capacity from the ground up in
only a decade.
Prior
to
the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Cuba’s agriculture was based
on large scale, high-input monoculture. Today, Cuba is a world
leader
community-based agriculture, urban farming and organic production
methods. Cuban farmers are respected. Food policy is
driven by
nutrition policy.
How
did this tiny nation achieve such dramatic transformations in its food
production system? What are the lessons for communities?
Itinerary:
- 3 days in the 5
star all inclusive Melia Varadero Hotel on Varadero Beach
- 8 days touring
the backroads, farmers markets and farms of Cuba - seeing the
countryside and meeting the peopl who grow and prepare the food.
- 1 night in 5
star Melia Santiago Hotel in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s Caribbean port
city
- 3 nights in
Havana’s 5 star historic Hotel Nacional on the Malecon (seawall) on the
edge of Havana's old city.
To
download a copy of the Taste of Cuba Brochure, click here:
Brochure
To download a copy of the Taste of Cuba Delegate Form, click
here: Delegate Form
To download a copy of the Taste of Cuba Program, click here:
Program
More about Canadian
Agrologist Wendy
R. Holm, who escorts each tour
And many thanks to Bill Siegel for the
use of his great photos!
