Discover Spain’s culinary delights

Home to world revered chef, Ferran Adria and heir to the culinary revolutions of modern Basque and Catalan chefs like Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Subijana, Spain has become the epicentre of modern Mediterranean cooking. And while the culinary traditions of France and Italy have been over-exposed for all to see, Spanish cooking has come of age, holding the promise of unknown flavours, styles and traditions.

A new programme of Spanish Cooking holidays at Casa Ana Mountain Retreats, in Las Alpujarras mountains in southern Spain’s Andalucia, is a unique way to experience this. Focusing on authentic Spanish recipes and the culture of the Alpujarras region, the hands-on holidays teach guests how to create the genuine tastes of Spain. Holidays include a full programme of cultural as well as culinary experiences, with visits to local bodegas and vineyards to sample Andalucia’s gastronomic specialities and wines; trips to Granada’s spectacular Alhambra Palace and shopping excursions to the city’s Moroccan quarter.

At the heart of the experience are the freshly selected and hand-picked ingredients from the markets of Malaga, Granada and the local Moorish mountain-side villages, where in the spring and summer guests forage for wild herbs and in the autumn go to the woods to gather sweet chestnuts and wild mushrooms. Each course covers a range of different dishes, such as gazpachos, paellas prepared outdoors over an open fire, the rich and hearty broths of Galicia, the delicate Ajo Blanco garlic soup from Malaga, robust cazuelas of beans and pork, slow-roasted lamb, tapas and marinated oranges in rosemary honey.

Casa Ana is a beautifully restored 400-year old farmhouse that clings to the side of the Trevelez river gorge in Las Alpujarras mountains of Andalucia. The perfect setting for a cookery school, it has easy walks to nearby village kitchen gardens, olive and almond groves and mediaeval mountain paths bordered by wild herbs.

“Casa Ana’s tranquil setting is the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of modern living,” says Anne Hunt, owner of Casa Ana. “Our cooking holidays will appeal to the sophisticated traveller who is equally comfortable holidaying in or out of season, who enjoys the mountains as much as the coast and who appreciates the peace of a rural location.”

The members of Casa Ana’s team share a passion for Spanish cuisine and the Spanish countryside. Kim Schiffer has cooked in Italy, Morocco and California, as well as Spain; Francisco Lillo, chef, gourmet and raconteur from Cordoba now runs Granada’s most famous delicatessen, La Oliva; Julio Donat has devoted his life to the study of the local flora and the their culinary and medicinal uses; Wes Somerville, a chef based in the Granada area, realised his life's dream of opening his own restaurant in Andalucia two years ago; and Anne Hunt is a former festival director in London who moved to Spain in 2002.

Autumn Cookery and Culture course 2008, Saturday 1 to Saturday 8 November 2008
Led by Kim Schiffer, guests will cook hearty cazuelas, rabbit stews, soups and authentic paellas and learn to bake the Spanish way with almond-olive cake with candied kumquats and tangerines, port-scented flan and Anise biscuits. The course includes a day in Granada and a visit to the Alhambra palace. Price: EUR 1,625 per person,

Secrets from El Limonero Kitchen 2008, Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 November 2008
Led by Wes Somerville, owner/chef of El Limonero restaurant in Orgiva, Andalucia. Guests will prepare aromatic herb breads, pan-fried fish, wild boar baked in clay, lavender crème brulée and much more. Price: EUR 690 per person.

Spring Cookery and Culture course 2009, Monday 20 to Wednesday 29 April 2009
Led by Kim Schiffer, guests will prepare dishes for dinner parties, cook with sherry, quince, garlic and pistachios and learn how to bake sweet and savoury treats such as bitter chocolate coffee and cardamom truffle cake, orange flan and tangy manchego crackers. Also includes a day in Granada and a visit to the Alhambra. Price: EUR 1,995 per person.

All prices include accommodation (based on double occupancy), meals and wines, tuition, excursions and airport transfers. They do not include flights. As well as offering a range of organised cooking, walking and somatic education holidays, Casa Ana may also be used as a venue by groups to hold their own creative and holistic holidays or by individuals who want to getaway to relax and be inspired.

For more information, log on to casa-ana.com.