Cooking or culinary holidays, vacations, tours in Mexico:

La Villa Bonita School of Mexican Cuisine
. . . learn how to prepare traditional and modern dishes

Named one of the five best culinary vacations worldwide by The Food Network, La Villa Bonita is a combination of hands-on instruction and informative culinary and cultural field trips in and around Cuernavaca. The week long and four day programs, limited to six participants, are designed to teach students how to prepare traditional and nouvelle Mexican dishes, salsas and condiments, seasonal and holiday specialties, and beverages - vegetarian and vegan options are available.

Excursions include market tours, field trips to villages such as Tepoztlan and Taxco, and cultural tours that include pyramids, such as Xochicalco, the Palacio de Hernan Cortes, the Gellman Museum, Catedral, Borda Botanical Gardens, and Brady Museum of Art.

Located in a Sixteenth century addition to the beautiful Cathedral in the town's historic center, La Villa Bonita is protected by the United Nations. Amenities include a garden, pool, and historic rooms with fireplaces and private baths.

Chef Ana Garcia, your host and chief instructor, is a Cuernavaca native who learned Mexican cuisine from traditional family methods. Her specialties are traditional central and northern Mexican cuisine and experimental nouvelle Mexican cuisine. She is owner and head chef of Reposado, one of Cuernavaca's most popular restaurant hotels. Reposado and Chef Garcia were featured on the Food Network and her recipes were featured in Bon Appetit Magazine. She is currently filming and starring in her first television series for the US market to be aired in 2007.

Chef Ana Isabel Garcia Moreno is your host and chief instructor throughout the week. Chef Garcia, a native of Cuernavaca, learned the art of Mexican cuisine from traditional family methods passed down from generation to generation.

With her traditional experience, Chef Garcia, likes to expand upon that base by using traditional Mexican ingredients in new and interesting gourmet combinations. She is currently the head chef and owner of Reposado, a restaurant which showcases Chef Garcia's incredible cuisine.

The La Villa Bonita program is a combination of hands-on instruction and informative culinary and cultural field trips in and around Cuernavaca. The week long package runs from Sunday to the following Sunday and the four day package is from Sunday to Thursday. Dates are flexible and can be arranged to the scheduling desires of the guests. The culinary program is geared to give students a full working knowledge of how to prepare traditional and nouvelle Mexican dishes, salsas and condiments, and drinks from the simple to the complicated.

For those who are interested in a vegetarian or vegan program, email La Villa Bonita for details!

Field trips include excursions to the Mercado (the market) for instruction on how to select the best fresh Mexican ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, spices and meats. Students learn alongside native residents in making their time-tested, traditional recipes, as well as explore the nuances of the Mexican Nouvelle Cuisine with Chef Garcia.

Other field trips from which guests can choose include visits to villages in the state of Morelos to experience Mexican life and tradition in the small town environment. During Mexican holidays, the program includes traditional seasonal dishes pertinent to the particular holiday. All classes are in English and / or Spanish depending on the preferences of the students. Chef Garcia also speaks French.

Chef Ana Garcia, one of the youngest, most vivacious spokeswomen of traditional Mexican cuisine, was born in Monterrey, Mexico and raised in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Chef Garcia traces her lineage in Cuernavaca well beyond the Mexican Revolution.

Her great grandfather was a contemporary of the famous and revered revolutionary Emiliano Zapata and participated in founding the first constitution for the State of Morelos. Her great grandmother was a well known butcher with various stands in the large central mercado, revered for her incredible longaniza and chorizo. Chef Garcia’s recipes and experiences are extracted from her family’s long history in central and northern Mexico. Her abilities as a chef are intricately linked to her close relationship with her mother, aunts, grandmothers and great grandmother as each passed down their culinary wisdom to her.

Chef Garcia’s specialties are traditional central and northern Mexican cuisine and experimental nouvelle Mexican cuisine using traditional ingredients in new and exciting ways.

Chef Garcia has always maintained a passion for Mexican cuisine, even though she has never formally trained as a chef. Gaining her degree in business administration from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in 1998, Chef Garcia worked as a public relations specialist for a division of Cemex for two years before succumbing to her passion to cook and teach Mexican cuisine as her family taught her.

Along with the culinary instruction that takes place on the grounds of La Villa Bonita, students also enjoy a wide range of culinary and cultural field trips included in the week long package.

Culinary field trips include guided tours of the Mercado to chat with the local residents and learn how to select the best Mexican fruits, spices, vegetables, and meats. The students also take guided field trips to local villages such as Tepoztlan or Taxco to experience village life firsthand and to enjoy local delicacies.

Also included in the package are cultural tours and depending on your package one may select to see various pyramids such as Xochicalco or Teotihuacan, the Palacio de Hernan Cortes, the Catedral, the Borda Botanical Gardens and the Brady Museum of Art.

La Villa Bonita School of Mexican Cuisine is located in a Sixteenth century addition to the beautiful Cathedral in the historic center of town. La Villa Bonita mansion is protected by the United Nations as a historical treasure to humanity as it was built under the supervision of Spanish Conquistador, Hernan Cortes, to house visiting dignitaries to the first Cathedral to the Americas.

In your free moments you may enjoy the Villa's beautiful garden, the pool, the spacious traditional kitchen or simply relax in your historic room complete with working fireplace, traditional decoration, private bath, and beautiful woodwork.