Cooking or culinary holidays, vacations, tours in Italy:

Peggy Markel's Culinary Adventures
. . . connecting cuisine, culture and lifestyle

All of Peggy Markel's Culinary Adventures are hand-crafted and designed with you in mind. She shares and works with the most authentic chefs and food artisans from her favorite regions, and skillfully arrange a balanced, yet full immersion into local food culture and lifestyle. This thread is maintained within each unique program.

These courses are presented to you like award winning recipes for a delightful, delicious and meaningful holiday. Each course will offer you an experience like no other; indeed, there are no other courses like them.

Heartfelt attention to detail, language skills and excellent relationships make for a happy and safe traveler.

"From the moment Peggy Markel met my Alitalia train from the Rome airport in Florence on a drizzly Sunday morning, I sensed I had made the right choice."

"When I sat down to lunch with my new classmates in the converted wine cellar that serves as the dining room, I knew I was home."

 

< TUSCANY > - - - - - - < MOROCCO >- - - - - - < SICILY > - - - - - - < ELBA >

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As with each region of Italy, Tuscany possesses distinct linguistic and cultural qualities which are reflected in its culinary practices. Traditional foods are still central to the identity of this region. At La Cucina al Focolare Peggy Markel offers you an experience, not only of the cuisine, but of the land and people who keep the traditions alive.

La Cucina al Focolare

La Cucina al Focolare (Cooking by the Fireside) was founded in 1991 by Peggy Markel in collaboration with Silvia and Roberto Pincitore, owners of the Fattoria Degli Usignoli (Farm of the Nightingales). La Cucina al Focolare is one of the first Tuscan cooking schools established by an American, and is one of Tuscany's most established and authentic cooking schools. Designer and director of the program, Peggy Markel, an American with a love and understanding of both countries and Piero Ferrini, renowned professor and Tuscan chef, bring together an inspired group of Italian experts. They will share with you the secrets of Tuscan culinary traditions. Traditional foods are still central to the identity of this region.

Courses are offered from April to June and September to November. Small classes ensure an intimate setting and one-on-one interaction with the teachers. This is for the novice and experienced cook. Advanced courses are scheduled for the professional or returning student.

Recipes are based on crusty, unsalted bread, extra-virgin olive oil from the most treasured hills in the world, and deeply satisfying wines. You will learn mouth watering recipes such as Ribollita (delicious bread and vegetable soup), Panzanella (traditional bread salad), Pollo al Rosmarino e Salvia (chicken with rosemary and sage) and much more. You will cook with a wood-burning oven, make pasta in traditional shapes and fillings, and learn the light touch of gnocchi and biscotti.

What will inspire you:

• a slower, more relaxed lifestyle
• learning how to prepare simple but truly delicious time-honored regional fare
• the local food artisans
• a row of cypress trees
• taking time to linger and study flavors
• food markets
• walking the streets of Florence
• walking the dirt roads between vineyards
• riding horses through olive groves
• the tingle of fresh Tuscan olive oil at the back of your throat
• laughing with new friends around the table
• a list too long to write home about

Includes:

• accommodation
• three meals per day
• all cooking instruction
• tours
• tastings
• ground transportation during the program

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY EMAIL <CLICK HERE>

A Feast for the Senses

Peggy Markel's most exotic cooking and cultural adventure yet! A unique culinary experience at Jnane Tamsna in the Palmeraie of Marrakech: cooking, dining and exploring. Designer Meryanne Loum Martin and ethnobotanist Gary Martin have created this compound of three charming houses and a thriving organic garden. Here you will learn to cook delicious mouth-watering aromatic foods in exquisite Ottoman style.

Instruction will be offered by Chef Baija in traditional tagine (stew) of fish, chicken with olives and preserved lemon, lamb with cinnamon and prunes with fresh Ouirgane Valley walnuts, to name a few. Festive couscous will be prepared in a couscousier, steamed with rich broth and rubbed with argan oil. You will make bestilla, the much celebrated filo phenomenon. prepared in various ways. You will learn kefta, popular spicy meatballs; harira, a staple vegetable soup; and Moroccan cooked vegetable salads. All dishes are resplendent with varying combinations of cumin, chili, ginger, saffron, and turmeric. Grind your own ras al hanout, a mixture using over twenty-five herbs and spices. Morocco is brought to you on a silver platter with a refreshing cup of mint tea and a smile.

A trip to Marrakesh would not be complete without a spa visit to the Hamam, right out the back door. The favorite excursions take you spice foraging in the Medina; hiking in the Atlas Mountains; picnicking in an aromatherapy garden; earthen oven bread baking; and to the coastal town of Essaouira.

Rest assured your senses will be delighted as well as your humanitarian spirit. Fifty euro from every participant's fees goes to support the Berber girls' school of Dar Taliba, and the Global Diversity Foundation's "Re-Greening of the Medina" program.

Join us in our effort to reclaim "the world as friend". The world functions as our teacher. By opening and extending ourselves, we discover our entire life is workable.

You will have time to relax in wondrous aesthetic beauty as well as feed your senses with knowledge and experience.

Includes:

• accommodation
• three meals per day
• all cooking instruction
• tours
• tastings
• ground transportation during the program

ITINERARY

Day One
You will be met at the airport by a private Jnane Tamsna driver. Arrival times will vary. Aperitif at 8:00 pm. Dinner served in the garden.

Day Two
Gary Martin will meet us for a foraging tour through the Medina with Mohammed Zahidi, to gain an overview of Moroccan cuisine and cooking ingredients. Visit with Bab Fteuh to choose fresh aromatic herbs that will be blended in Moroccan mint tea upon arrival at the Ryad. Lunch in Ryad Tamsna to meet Meryanne Loum-Martin and visit the Gallery. Cooking demonstration in the courtyard. Afternoon tour of the monuments, including the Palais Bahia and the Dar Si Said Museum for Moroccan Crafts. Dinner at Dar Moha. Moroccan chef Moha, born and raised in Marrakech, and partially trained in Switzerland, will join us before dinner to share his knowledge of local cuisine.

Day Three
After breakfast, drive across the Haouz plain to the market town of Tnine Ourika, where we will discover the Jardin de Senteurs et Cultures, a picturesque organic garden of aromatic herbs, planted by Jalil Balkamel. Here we will learn about essential oils used in aromatherapy, cuisine and massage. Before our picnic lunch under a tented shade, there will be a workshop on baking bread in traditional Tachelhit (Berber) clay ovens. Afterward, we will visit the Berber girls' school of Dar Taliba. In the late afternoon we will travel up into the Ouirgane Valley, to learn about the region's flora, including wild thyme, carob trees, Atlas figs and capers, en route to the Kasbah di Toubkal; Morocco's highest mountain. Dinner and an overnight in the Kasbah.

Day Four
After breakfast, we'll hike along mountain slopes to visit irrigation systems, walnut groves, home gardens and terraces of the Tachelhit Berber mountain agriculture. A demonstration of lamb and fig tagine, followed by lunch at the Kasbah. Leave the Kasbah for the Palmeraie, a date palm oasis outside of Marrakech. Enter into the lovely world of Jnane Tamsna. Relax. Settle in. Candlelight dinner in the garden.

Day Five
After breakfast, tour of the vegetable garden with Gary Martin. Prepare for a cooking class with Baija on tagine of chicken and preserved lemon with fresh vegetables from the garden. Lunch in the garden. Afternoon tour of the spice market. Learn to identify true saffron and tell the difference between various varieties of dates. Participate in the making of ras-el-hanout, the traditional mixture of herbs and spices used in many Moroccan dishes, especially tagine. Return to the Ryad for coffee spiced with ras-el-hanout. Dinner in the square at the Jema al Fna.

Day Six
After breakfast, Baija will present a cooking class on couscous and Moroccan salads. Lunch at Jnane Tamsna in the garden. Afternoon aromatherapy and massage optional. Relax. Swim. Catch up in your journal. Read. An exploration of Thai cooking in Morocco at the Aman Jena Hotel. Late afternoon cooking demonstration with chef Siam. After a tour of the hotel and aperitifs, we will enjoy a Thai menu de degustation. Late night Saturday after dinner drink at Le Comptoir for a taste of Moroccan night life and Moulin Rouge style belly dancing.

Day Seven
After breakfast, travel two hours to the Atlantic coast. Visit Sidi Kaouki for a stroll along the beach, and have lunch outdoors in Sidi Kaouki Inn. Settle into Dar Loulema in the charming seaport town of Essaouira. Dinner at Taros.

Day Eight
After breakfast, free time to explore Essaouira. Discover its mellah (Jewish Quarter), port and souks. Visit woodcarvers who produce artifacts of fragrant arar wood. Lunch at the port on freshly grilled fish. After lunch head back to Marrakech. Enjoy breathtaking views of the Moroccan countryside. Settle back into the peacefulness of Jnane Tamsna. Rest and relax. Have a swim. Dinner in the garden.

Day Nine
After breakfast, cooking class with Baija on pastilla, kefta and light desserts. Lunch at Jnane Tamsna. Afternoon free to catch up on shopping. A Gala dinner complete with gnawa and Andulous musicians. Au revoir.

Day Ten
Departure after breakfast.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY EMAIL <CLICK HERE>

A Different Italy

In Sicily, one finds oneself in a different Italy - rough and wild with an untamed terrain. Upon entering the entroterra, one senses that the past is stronger than the present. She begins to show her many-textured dress – woven by ancient influences of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Turks and Africans. Her rustic beauty is robust and passionate, as only a volcanic island could be.

Her fertile soil has been drenched in the Mediterranean sunlight for millennia. An agricultural oasis, Sicily's edible offerings are intensely rich in flavor. The simplest of dishes can provide the utmost gastronomic pleasure.

She opens her arms to us. Feeds us well. Smiles are found easily. We love to visit her. She treats us like family. Like welcomed guests she pulls out all the stops. Nothing is too good or too special for us to taste and enjoy. After all, this is what she has been waiting for. Us. To come and eat at her table and bathe in her hospitality.

Points of interest:

• It is not what you think it's like from the movies
• It is the largest region in Italy (9,923 square miles)
• The terrain is mostly hilly
• Mt Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe
• Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean
• The island of Pantelleria, off the coast of Sicily is 43 miles from Tunisia.
• The ancient name for Sicily is 'Trinacria', the three cornered island

Modern Sicilian character manifests itself in a curious combination of dignified reserve and exuberant hospitality. Dominated for more than 2000 years by various rulers, each succeeding culture left its mark, offering a rich gastronomic heritage. Used to innovation, Sicilians are dynamic in their approach to food. Using the best of their materia prima, they are known for creative new expression built on tradition.

Places to go, people to see:

• Our excellent guide and wine expert – Cipriano de Libero – "Nello"
• Vucceria and Capo food markets
• Freshly boiled octopus for a morning "pick me up"
• Foccaceria di San Francesco
• The estate of Regaleali to see Anna Tasca Lanza, food historian and cook book author. She opens her noble home to us, as she teaches us with the fine flavors of her land: fresh produce, freshly produced cheeses, lamb and wild greens.
• The "Valley of the Temples" of old Magna Grecia, in Agrigento
• The Altoplano Iblei. The high plains of the Iblei, with low stone walls, mura secca that are hand carved to give land boundaries to the various Masserie, as well as the black and white Modican cows that produce Ragusano cheese.
• The Eramo Della Giubellana: 5 star manor house complete with private plane and pilot for a spin around the countryside.
• The Baroque cathedrals of Ragusa
• Focaccia Ragusana
• Modica, home to our favorite chocolatier, Dolceria Buonajuto.
• Modica, home to the caves where we dine with our monsu, Giuseppe Luceforte. For Innocenzo's patient guidance in Felliniesque celebrations
• Noto and the gelato of Café Sicilia
• Siracusa and the peninsula of Otygia and her many splendid piazzas
• The fish lessons of Don Camillo
• The fresh market of Siracusa down by the docks
• To ancient amphitheaters and mythical waterways
• Antonio, who drives us everywhere
• The fish market of Catania, that takes you back in time
• The smoking site of Mt Etna
• Niccio's granita di café
• The luxury of Taormina as the icing on the cake
• A jewel rough and polished, she enriches our life with beauty, taste and culture.

Includes:

• accommodation
• three meals per day
• all cooking instruction
• tours
• tastings
• ground transportation during the program

SAMPLE ITINERARY

Day One
Afternoon arrival in Palermo. You will stay in the Massimo Plaza Hotel in the heart of the city. Typical fish dinner at Ristorante Sant 'Andrea, will be a great introduction.

• Arrive in Palermo
• Welcome gathering at 4 o'clock, 4:30 optional tour of Palermo
• Aperitivo in the center of town and dinner at Foccacciaria San Francesco
• Accomodations at the Massimo Plaza Hotel
  

Day Two
Next morning, your first excursion will take you to the 'Vucciria', Palermo's famous outdoor market. After a walk around, and hopefully a taste of freshly boiled octopus, your appetites will be ready for a seaside lunch.

Your trip heads south to Vallelunga to the world-renowned Regaleali, the best-known wine estate in Sicily, to spend a few days with Anna Tasca Lanza, a famous cookbook author and expert on Sicilian cuisine. In her private kitchen, you will cook with local herbs and traditional Sicilian preserves.

• Drive towards the heart of Sicily with a stop for a seaside lunch
• Then we head south to Vallelunga to Regaleali, the Tasca D'Almerita wine estate, home of Anna Tasca Lanza
• Begin a two day stay with Anna Tasca Lanza with culinary lesson of cannoli, arancini, and Sicilian sweets and dinner

Day Three

• Breakfast of fresh farm eggs and homemade breads and marmelades
• Cooking in the kitchen with Anna and fresh ricotta demonstration
• Explore the countryside, enjoy the vineyards, relax in the gardens
• Afternoon cooking lesson and dinner

Day Four
On the way to Ragusa, you stop in the city of Agrigento for a picnic lunch at the ancient temples of old Magna Grecia. After exploring the site, you continue to the baroque towns of Ragusa Ibla, Ciccli, and Modica. At the Eremo della Giubiliana, you will visit a beautiful manor house near Marina di Ragusa. Your hosts are Signora Vincenza Iolanda Nifosi and her son Salvatore Mancini, one of Ragusa's most celebrated restoration architects. You will work with Signora Nifosi in the kitchen on traditional specialties including caponata, focaccia Ragusana, and artichoke dishes.

• South to Agrigento to visit 2000 year old Greek temples and a picnic lunch at the temples
• Continue the drive East to Eramo della Giubilliana. Later afternoon cooking lesson including foccaccia ragusana, eggplant caponata, and stuffed artichoke dishes
• Dinner and accomodations here for the night and following 2 days
  

Day Five
Sicily is well known for its amazing desserts, and Modica is home to Sicily's oldest pastry shop, Dolceria Bounaiuto, which has been owned by the family of Franco Ruta for many generations. Franco demonstrates the making of the famous marzipan candy, seed and honey nougats and chocolate bars that use large chunks of ground cocoa from the Ivory Coast. Franco also uses chocolate mixed with pepperoncino as a savory meat sauce.

Savatore, a licensed pilot with over 1,500 flight hours, for an additional fee, will take the more courageous of us in a small private plane to see the surrounding countryside.

• Drive to Modica's Dolceria Buonajuto
• Demonstration and tasting of famous Ruta family chocolates
• Lunch in Modica at the Fattoria delle Torri
• Return to Eramo with the afternoon free
• Option for a scenic plane ride for an additional fee over the Sicilian countrysideDinner at the Eramo
  

Day Six
Your trip takes you through Noto, famous for its fig gelato, on your way to the seaside port of Siracusa. There, you will spend two days exploring the island of Ortygia, archeological sites, a mythical papyrus canal and last but not least, fish.

• Typical Sicilian breakfast, and ragusana cheese demonstration
• Famous Sicialian gelato in Noto on our way to Siracusa
• Arrive in Siracusa on the island of Ortygia in the afternoon
• Free night in Siracusa
  

Day Seven

• Market visit with local chef in the morning and a fish lesson and lunch to follow
• Afternoon free with options to take a boat ride through the mythical papyrus canal or visit to an Archelogical park
• Aperitivo in the piazza and dinner at La Foglia

Day Eight
After a lovely stay at Hotel Roma in Siracusa, you leave the south and head north past the active volcano Etna, to the resort town of Taormina, a Sicilian jewel perched on the cliffs overlooking the straits of Messina, and boasting abundant mandarin trees and beautiful gardens.

• Continue North along the Ionian coast
• Arrive in Taormina
• Lunch at a pizzeria and optional excursion to Mount Etna
• Free evening
• Accomodations at Sant'Andrea Hotel

Day Nine
Your last evening together is spent in lovely five-star accommodation, where you share laughter and stories of the week's adventures, creating wonderful memories for years to come. We look forward to having you join us for this unforgettable Sicilian experience.

• Free day with options to explore the center and do some shopping, visit the Greek theatre, relax on the beach and swim in the Mediteranean Sea
• Gala dinner and presentation of certificates

Day Ten
Breakfast and departure for Catania airport

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY EMAIL <CLICK HERE>

Rustic Tuscan Island Cooking

Peggy first met Luciano Casini in 1996. She called to announce her arrival. He told her, "When you arrive in Capoliveri, walk up the steps and call my name." Her eyebrows furled and curiously she thought, "okay." A few hours later under a darkening sky, she walked up the steps in an unknown village. Nobody was around, so she yelled "Luciano!" quietly at first, then "Luciano!" a bit louder. His head popped out of a window. "Oh," he said. "I am Luciano!"

Actor, chef, fisherman, friend, Signor Casini is a favorite to many. His restaurant 'Il Chiasso' has commanded Capoliveri for thirty years. It has kept its charm with the same timeless rustic Mediterranean dishes that keep the island food culture alive. His down to earth style comes from his experience as a child.

"My mother waited until the last fishing boat came in. She didn't go for the early catch, she waited for the last and the freshest."

Island Mediterranean doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, it is refined without fuss - relaxed. It will give you food and an experience you will long remember. We all have to learn from someone and you are lucky to learn from him.

With Luciano you will:

• visit fish markets
• cook with him in his 'Il Chiasso' kitchen
• discuss the technique of 'no' technique
• be privy to his culinary secrets
• cook a meal together at 'Porticiolo', the port where he keeps his lovely wooden boat
• go fishing for squid at dusk
• hear the stories that inspired Luciano to cook
• taste a lot of island specialties, including: fantastic local herb and flower honeys, local wines
• laugh a lot
  

Includes:

• accommodation
• three meals per day
• all cooking instruction
• tours
• tastings
• ground transportation during the program

ITINERARY

Day One
Check into Hotel Continental. Stroll the Ponte Vecchio and absorb your new surroundings. Afternoon open for shopping or museum exploration. Meet for an aperativo on the rooftop. Dinner together at Quatro Leone.

Day Two
Your private bus will leave at 10:00 am for a two hour journey to Piombino. Arrive in Piombino to take a one hour ferry to Portoferrio. Arrive Portoferrio and drive up the hill - 15 minutes to Capoliveri. Settle into charming apartments within the village. Free time. Aperativo and talk with Luciano about rustic island cooking. A trip into the kitchen to observe the evening's preparations. Rustic local fare at Luciano's restaurant, Il Chiasso.

Day Three
Cappucino and brioche in Bar Rodriguez. Leave for fish market in Portoferrio. Become familiar with Mediterranean fish, similarities and differences. Shop for today's lesson (Optional visit to the house of Napoleon Bonaparte). Lunch at the port. Rest / free time. Lesson with Luciano until 7:00 pm. Aperativo. Dinner of dishes you have prepared.

Day Four
Cappucino and brioche in Bar Rodriguez and free time until 11:00 am. A short trip to Portociolo, a private boat house where Luciano keeps his boat. A small bay for swimming and sea kayaking followed by lunch prep for squid ink pasta, pasta crab margherita, etc. Lunch and lesson prepared by Luciano on the terrace of Portociolo. Free time. Andare a totanare (fishing for squid). Dinner at Il Chiasso with the day's catch. Optional late night dancing at the local club.

Day Five
Cappucino and brioche at Bar Rodriguez. Morning free for shopping, journal writing, etc. Lunch at Porto Azzuro. Afternoon lesson on capra e agnello (goat and lamb), artichokes, flambè, torta mele and lemoncello ice. Rest and aperativo followed by festive dinner of goat, lamb, artichokes and Tuscan red wine.

Day Six
Cappucino and brioche at Bar Rodriguez. 10:00 am departure for Florence.1:30 pm check into Hotel Continental. Lunch and free time. 7:00 pm aperativo at Cafe Cibreo. 7:30 pm dinner at Ristorante Cibreo.

Day Seven
Breakfast, followed by 10:00 am departure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY EMAIL <CLICK HERE>

About Peggy Markel's Culinary Adventures

Peggy Markel, entrepreneur, gastronome and world traveler, has designed and directed culinary tours since 1991. Her love of food and travel have developed into a livelihood as a cultural translator, opening doors to experiencing and understanding culinary traditions at their source.

A long-time member of SlowFood, her programs immerse fellow culinary adventurers into the very soul of a regional cuisine to know its origins from field to table. Relationships are strengthened not only to food, but to ones self, the land and between cultures.

She founded La Cucina al Focolare ("Cooking by the Fireside") in 1992 with Silvia and Robero Pincitore of the Fattoria Degli Usignoli (Farm of the Nightingales), one of the first Tuscan cooking schools established by an American.

"I felt I knew what Americans were missing and what they were looking for. I wanted to offer others the same experience that I discovered through my own exploration. Something closer to the bone of coming back, reconnecting, as it were, to simple prepared foods, from the freshest organic ingredients. Tuscany offers a rich palate of food sources to choose from. It's tangible, and the entire culture lives and breathes good food and values conviviality at the table. It's earthy and sophisticated at the same time, steeped in deep philosophy of what makes life sweet - la dolce vita."

She found this same recipe could be applied to other regions of Italy. She found herself going here and there being introduced to new people and places. "It all happened organically. I didn't try to make anything happen. It would literally unfold in front of me. A new contact, a new spot, a new regional specialty, it would almost create itself."

In 1993 she started The Ligurian School of Poetic Cooking (1993 – 2000) with Angelo Cabani, master chef and proprietor of Locanda Miranda in Tellaro, a small village on the Italian Riviera. The program focused only on fish. "Angelo would take poor rustic recipes of the ancestors that survived lean times and embellish them in a refined way. Never using cream, he works with emulsified olive oils and fresh herbs. The fish was plucked out of the sea and into the pan. The pastel colors of the Cinque Terre made it all seem like a dream."

Elba was next, born out of her friendship with Luciano Casini, who used to take her fishing. "It was like hanging out with the old man and the sea". Elba: Rustic Tuscan Island Cooking (1996), was started in the late 90s as an adventurous culinary excursion, taking people into the village and into Luciano's kitchen as if we were all friends coming for a holiday. Elba's relaxed lifestyle mingles well with fishing and cooking the day's catch. Here it is rustic Mediterranean. Everything goes into the pot. It's the freshness of the ingredients that create the dish. Not the cook.

Sicily: A Different Italy (1998) came out of a trip Peggy took with a friend. "My curiosity was getting the best of me. It was time to venture south, down into unknown territory. What I found was a treasure waiting to be discovered. I knew Sicily would have to be explored as in 'a moveable feast'. She needed to be known from top to bottom, inside and out. She is as diverse as the many foreign cultures that conquered her. She is friendly and unspoiled. Her bounty is endless and she has no limits on hospitality. Being a southerner myself, I could relate to this. Sicily is full of delicious surprises."

Morocco: A Feast for the Senses (2001). Again a trip to follow some attraction to Morocco's color and texture. That's all I knew. I went with a few friends on a holiday, and it turned out an instant connection. When I met Meryanne and Gary Martin, their ideas and mine clicked. They had a guest house in the Palmereraie and I had culinary adventurers, always looking for new experiences. It was a dovetail. Morocco keeps unfolding her mysteries and we are there to receive them. (I was there on 9/11.) The importance of cultural exchange is paramount. Personal experience goes much further than propaganda and suspicion. We have landed in an exotic land full of flavor, kindness and over a thousand years of culture, still visible and touchable.

Other adventures are scheduled: Thailand, India and traditional Japan, to name a few. These have been put on hold. The world demands a lot from a traveler at the moment, not to mention a travel operator. Stay tuned.

Peggy splits her time between Boulder, Colorado and Florence, Italy . . . that is, when not conducting moveable feasts around the Mediterranean. She has two grown children, Emily and Graham, and Catfish, the family cat.

Peggy Markel's Culinary Adventures – Our Mission

• to support local sustainable agriculture
• to allow ourselves to soak up sensual stimulation from taste, texture, color and smell
• to gather food knowledge and food history to record in our cellular memories
• to learn how to nourish ourselves and others
• to protect disappearing species
• to enjoy the pleasures of diversity
• to experience our hidden nature reflected in the world
• to accept the world as a friend and exchange a heart felt smile
• to make offerings of peace and understanding
• to gather skillful means for reaching our full potential