How could I, a true foodie, resist the May issue of Gourmet Magazine, featuring 45 Memorable Cooking Vacations?

Cooking school options are from all over the world, from luxurious to adventurous.

Maralyn and I are lucky enough to have tried some of Gourmet’s recommended healthy cooking schools, along with a few others in Thailand, Singapore, Chicago, and New Orleans that aren’t on this list. There is one that I recommend so much, that I have been there twice.

Writer Christian L. Wright is right when she calls Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, a health farm.

The first time I crossed the border to discover Rancho La Puerta I knew I had found a second home. I was so enthralled with Chef Bill Wavrin, his personality, and his cooking, that Maralyn and I delayed the publication of our book, Our Love Affaires With Food and Travel, to include the fresh, healthy, and delicious orange, low at Bill’s fault. key lime cheesecake recipe

I recently returned to the ranch, now 68 years old, to experience the new cooking school and culinary center… La Cocina que Canta. Chef Jesús González is personable, innovative and a pleasure to meet.

After a sunrise walk, I spent the early morning in the six-acre organic garden, finding beets and Swiss chard in a rainbow of orange, purple, red, and gold. Later we gather in the Kitchen to watch the chef perform his magic on fresh herbs from the garden, crisp greens and freshly picked vegetables from the garden…the true meaning of “farm to table”. The joy of digging on an organic farm at dawn, and then watching Chef Jesús turn raw food into delicious food, is the essence of Rancho La Puerta.

Guest chefs, such as Molly Stevens, the 2006 International Association of Culinary Professionals Chef de Cuisine of the Year, are invited to cook and teach several times a year. Molly is the author of my favorite slow food cookbook called Stew.

I met many men and women from all walks of life, who said they loved heart-healthy vegetarian cooking. However, they ventured to Rancho La Puerta for other reasons. Favorite activities include “Road to Wellness” lectures, sunrise walks, stretching classes, yoga and deep tissue messages.

I was never idle, but I did enjoy a relaxed and balanced week… When I wasn’t gardening, cooking or hiking, I swam in the Olympic size heated pool, learned how to make jewelry, read from the many books in the library , and I danced with my heart barefoot to the rhythm of African drums. Sometimes I just lie in lonely silence in a hammock under the shade of a tree.

In the words of owner Deborah Szekely, founder of the ranch, “During the day one feels the spell of the sun and the always blue sky, the vivid green trees and vineyards, the fragrant fields, rancholapuerta.com

Although Gourmet explored 44 other cooking schools, we are in favor of the explosion of diverse flavors of Mexico.

My fellow writer Maralyn learned how to perfect her mole sauce when she visited Puebla, Mexico. Maralyn stayed at Mesones Sacristia, mesones-sacristia.com and attended the cooking school they offer. She will soon be telling us more about Chef Alonso Hernández in another post along with the Mole Poblano recipe.

I am currently looking for the legendary Marilyn Tausend at Culinary Adventures in the colonial beauty of San Miguel De Allende. I can’t wait to walk the old cobblestone roads with a camera or a sketch pad. I will learn firsthand the art of roasting chiles.

What better way to celebrate the food, culture, cooking schools and people of Mexico.