my modern artefact

I often fantasize about waking in a room in a foreign country to the sounds of a bustling kitchen preparing breakfast—the espresso machine hissing, the cabinets thrown open with haste, the airy kitchen filling with the smells of an unfamiliar morning meal. I would throw myself in the shower, dress, and dash down the stairs to greet the chef, have a sip of cappuccino, before joining him on a early morning trip to the market.

I’d really love to stay at one of the many cooking schools throughout the world, where one can experience such a morning. I once read an article in the travel issue of Bon Appetit, where someone went to the cooking school at Jnane Tamsna in Marrakech to learn how to create a lamb tagine dish, and I was immediately smitten with the idea.

Another place I’d really love to visit is Chef Sterling’s school at Los Dos in Merida, Mexico, where students learn how to incorporate the traditional Mayan cooking techniques that make up the cuisine of the Yucatan and that have inspired much of the Mexican food available in the states today.

[Photos courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine and Jnane Tamsna]