A Cook's Tour to Mexico with Nancy Zaslavsky

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“I went to Oaxaca with Nancy with ten people that I put together all of whom I knew but most of whom didn't know one another. They were from all across the states and one from Canada. We had a blast, learned a lot, bonded as a group and still keep in touch. We laughed till our sides hurt, or did our sides hurt from eating SOOO much wonderful food? Every one of us still cooks the recipes we learned and makes chocolate as we were taught at the molino. Our group shopped till we could no longer carry another thing. We didn't want to come home!!! We all want to go back right now! I've been back three times and want to go to learn about a new part of Mexico with Nancy again. So, what's on the calendar for this year?”
Cindy Pawlcyn
Owner-chef, Mustards Grill, Yountville, CA,
Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and Go Fish,
both St. Helena, CA

“Aside from the big fun we had every day and night, two particularly pleasing aspects of our Oaxaca tour with Nancy were the visits to neighboring villages and the unfailingly delicious meals we shared.”
Laura Chenel
Sonoma, CA

“Nobody nails down Oaxaca better than Nancy Zaslavsky, our friend and colleague in the International Association of Culinary Professionals. So when we signed up for her Day of the Dead program we knew we were in for a treat. From the opening dinner onwards, we began to bond with her diverse small group, some couples and a smattering of singles including a delightful mother and daughter.

Highlights were the market tours but probably most special was the visit to a private home and making tamales with a family. We even built our own altar with favorite foods brought from home for our loved ones who have passed away. Finally on the eve of All Saints Day, we found ourselves wandering through the cemeteries and participating in the special connection these people keep at least once a year when they spend the night at the well decorated graves communicating and remembering their loved ones.”
David Carpita
Mas de Cornud
Saint Remy de Provence

OAXACA TOUR
Day of the Dead Festivities
October 26 - November 1, 2013

I've been traveling to Oaxaca for over a decade now bringing small groups to the magical area for a taste of the best and most interesting food and markets in Mexico. For annual Day of the Dead festivities you'll savor Oaxaca's famous moles, the finest Mexican hot chocolate, delectable and unusual tamales, tortillas so delicious they'll make you weep!, ice cream and sorbet flavors enlivened by fresh tropical fruit, to sensational sauces and table salsas ground from fresh and dried chiles....in fact, the most comprehensive selection of chiles in the world. We'll taste everything.

Our small group of 10 food-loving participants will roam open-air markets for samples of the most important flavors in the food capital. We'll dine in casual and sophisticated restaurants, plus in a private home, to capture the spirit of the important holiday when Oaxaca's colonial city-center is stuffed with shops overflowing with world famous folk art. We'll take day trips in a comfortable van to nearby indigenous pueblos to meet artisans and shop in their studios for Oaxacan rugs and weavings in Teotitlan del Valle, carved and painted fanciful animals in San Martin Tilcajete and/or Arrozola, famous black pottery in San Bartolo Coyotepec, and more. The quality of Oaxaca's folk art is world renowned and highly coveted by serious collectors.

We stay at a terrific, centrally located small hotel in the most desirable area and close to everything! Unpack your bags only once and make yourself at home. Our weeklong adventure begins with orientation, a stroll along the city's famous walk street in the colonial center and the first of our exciting Oaxacan meals together. All meals and snacks are included in the price of this tour. The next morning's walking tour of town introduces the city-center's lively market and adjoining food hall marketplace where we drink hot chocolate and eat specialty breads made for Day of the Dead before grinding our own chocolate at a nearby mill.

We'll hear experts speak about Day of the Dead traditions, visit the incomparable Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban and tour the Santo Domingo Cultural Center with its breathtaking ethnobotanical gardens. We'll visit the colorful Tlacolula marketplace and then enjoy a cooking class in a private home followed by a meal of holiday specialties including Zapotec tamales, visit a mezcal bodega and learn all about the mezcal mystique. No Day of the Dead tour to Oaxaca would be complete without a nighttime visit to a local cemetery for a once-in-a-lifetime magical experience. We'll see families congregate at gravesites to celebrate the special night, where young and old decorate graves with brightly colored flowers and thousands of candles to mark a bright, clear path for ancestors to return to visit. Food is served and plenty of mezcal is passed as part of the joyful welcome home event. Markets and folk art shops are bursting at the seams with festival items this time of year so plenty of time is set aside for shopping, relaxing, taking a siesta or sitting at a café on the zócalo watching Oaxaca go by.

$2900. Per person, based on double occupancy.
Plus $400 single supplement.
Does not include airfare, alcohol (except beer, and at specially noted events) and van/taxi to/from airport. Includes 7 days, 6 nights B&B (double occupancy), ALL meals when taken with the group, plus tastings, demos, tours, museum/site entrance fees and local tour transportation.

¡SALUD!
Enjoy traveling with a small group of 10 participants.
Registration deadline is September 1, 2013

Space is limited. To register for a tour, a $500 deposit is required to reserve your space. Send a check (made out to Nancy Zaslavsky) with a completed application to the address on the application. Payment in full is required 40 days prior to the start of the tour.

» download TOUR APPLICATION
» download PRINTABLE copy of Oaxaca tour