THAT. WAS. INCREDIBLE! Jacqueline is the best, and I was there for almost 4 hours talking and cooking and meeting a truly special woman. My Traveling Spoon experience enjoying a Middle East feast with Jackie and her family was truly a magical experience. This is a woman who is living with all her stars out- full of adventure and interest in other people and experiences. She has lived everywhere from Amman to Bethlehem to Philadelphia and now LA, and we got to talk about much of her story as I watched her put the finishing touches on a beautiful array of Jordanian and Lebanese dishes. She also told me the stories of some of the dishes themselves, and was continually making connections between the ingredients she was adding to her homemade Baba Ghannouj or Musakhan (a Palestinian chicken dish with sumac and stewed onions) and the history of the countries she has called home. As Jackie dropped bay leaves into a pot, she told me how the bay leaf is a traditional symbol of peace. As I dipped a piece of bread first in a dish of honey-colored olive oil and then rolled it in za'atar, she taught me that because this dish is thought to be "brain food," Jordanian students eat it before exams in hopes it will give them an extra boost. Jackie is also just fun- greeting me with a glass of Arak, donning a belly-dancing skirt instead of an apron, and inviting me to join in the dance as we cooked. Once at the table, we were joined by her husband George and brother Jad, who were just as lively conversation partners as Jackie. Together we dove into a feast of Hummus, Fatoush, herbed Labneh with preserved lemon, and Baba Ghannouj for mezze. The main course was Musakhan with yogurt cucumber salad. As we ate, we talked about life and language, philosophy and career, family and travel, and by the time it was time for tea and Kunafah (a cheese pastry sprinkled with pistachios and drizzled with orange blossom syrup) in the garden, we had become fast friends. Another delightful component of the experience was George's garden, from which much of the produce for the meal was grown. It is a small, suburban garden, but with Jackie the seed procurer (she brought back seeds for most of the plants from the Middle East) and George the master gardener, it is wonderfully diverse. Figs, grapes, cucumbers, zucchini, lemons, and kumquats are just some of its offerings. George, who is perhaps less gregarious than Jackie but just as friendly, is a passionate gardener and showed me his plants with the same pride that he later showed me pictures of his grandsons. Jackie, before I had seen the full scope of her culinary skills, plucked a grape leaf from the vine and showed me how to roll fresh dolmas. By the end of dessert, I felt like a fully-welcomed new member of the family. I also felt full. Like, really really full. Full of life and gratitude for these kind of experiences and...well...I cannot emphasize enough...full of delicious food.
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Nenu is nice and friendly. She is very into cooking and good food. The home is gorgeous and immaculate and sits on a hill above a lake. The garden and how she uses it in her cooking was probably one of my favorite parts. Nenu used uncommon items like curry leaves and Indian basil from her garden along with access to numerous herbs, fruits and plants. She introduced us to fragrant and unique spices like onion seeds. We talked a lot about different Indian regions and how that influenced the flavors and food. Nenu markets herself as possibly Indian fusion and the first dish – an Indian pork taco was fantastic. The pork was juicy and flavored well with Indian spices and topped with pickled onions and cilantro. This was wrapped by dosa. The second dish was herbed Tilapia with basmati rice and Indian potatoes and was very flavorful. Dessert, vanilla ice cream with saffron and cardamom was delicious. We finished with some good chai. Overall a very good experience.
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Kylie was very knowledgeable about all the spices she uses and really cared about cooking. We had great conversations about what we do and I actually learned a lot about cooking and the neighborhood. It was really an awesome experience and I would love to do it again. The home was fairly clean. The food was amazing, all the ingredients were really fresh and the taste was very unique compared to any other places I ate, you can really smell all the freshly ground spices.
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Fantastic experience, wonderful hosts! We came across this fantastic activity whilst searching for something a bit different to the ordinary touristy excursions, via British Airways experiences. Don and Nancy were wonderful hosts and made us feel welcome and relaxed. Nancy had contacted us via The Travelling Spoon beforehand to ask if we would prefer a breakfast type snack rather than the charcuterie, as our experience started at 10.30am, which was great, so our day started with coffee, delicious homemade granola bites with fresh fruit and yoghurt and getting to know our hosts. The pizza making itself was excellent, picking up key culinary tips, constructing the pizza, personalising the tomato sauce and the extra ingredients (we went for spinach and sausage) whilst getting to chat about Chicago and travel! We were really pleased with how our pizzas turned out and tasted. After eating pizza with a Chicago skyline view, the experience ended with a delicious homemade lemon curd pie and liqueur. Getting to take home the recipes too was brilliant, so we can now attempt to re-make the pizza, salad and granola. A really enjoyable and unique foodie experience in the heart of Chicago and something that we highly recommend!! Thank you Don and Nancy for such a wonderful day and for teaching us how to make proper pizza!
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We had an awesome time! Highly recommend. Ruby made a custom menu to adapt to my family's food allergies. It was delicious and dishes we will add to our family recipes. We felt so at ease and welcome in her home. The conversation never stopped and we learned so much! I am hoping to book with her again. This was a gift to my daughters boyfriend for his birthday. We have decided togrther on gifts of time. This was a hit!
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I've actually tried to make dosas several times before from recipes in books or on the internet, but Kavitha's class was the first time I got them to work; I'm really grateful. The spicy potato filling and accompanying chutney were also great, a really excellent brunch.
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What a fun and delicious meal share! Melody was such a welcoming host, and the dinner she made was absolutely delicious. I honestly couldn't stop eating the rice even after I was full :) Thanks for everything, Melody!
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We had Sunday brunch with Nate and Kristen. Delicious! Mimosas, egg and sausage skillet, most amazing buttermilk biscuits, and homemade doughnuts with fresh cream and peaches! What a great couple... we really enjoyed meeting them! They are excellent hosts and great conversationalists. We even had a brief visit from Princess Filomena :)
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Etienne has great international insight from his days in France and simply knows what good food is! Never a dull conversation have I had with him. It's impossible to not enjoy his presence.
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Samm and Erika were awesome hosts! They whipped up a super tasty and #fresh meal, paired with delish vino, served up in a sweet Hyde Park coach house. A 100% great experience!
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Not only was it educational, learning a lot of little tricks along the way, it was fun and relaxed. It genuinely felt like I was cooking in the same room with my friends, which given the current state of the world, was an added bonus.
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Amar's dinner party was AWESOME!! The dishes were well executed. Amar is definitely a pro! He uses the local and seasonal ingredients and is very creative in terms of using spices. I'm very impressed. I highly recommend going to Amar and Carolin's mealshare if you get a chance!
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Tony's place is the place to be. Great food and great company all around. In true fashion, the Soul Food meal event was a family affair with mom, sister, and the wife contributing to the feast. Tony is one of the most personable person you will ever meet whether it be at his place or anywhere else. A must attend!
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Naila hosts at her home in Keller with her husband. She is excited to share all about her heritage, cuisine and food traditions. Start your experience with a cooking class followed by a meal you helped prepare. Join Naila in her kitchen for a 1-2 hours hands-on cooking class to learn some of her favorite dishes, that have resulted by combining flavors from Bangladesh, where she grew up, and Texas, the place she now calls home. You will learn to make Bengali-style quesadillas - beef or chicken keema (minced meat cooked with Bengali spices) sandwiched between two tortillas with cheese and grilled to a crispy perfection and her signature dum aloo, using whole new potatoes from the nearby supermarket. Or she can also teach you to make a typical Bengali meal of chicken seekh kebab or chicken curry and lentil and rice biryani. After your cooking class, join Naila at the dining table to share the meal you helped prepare, which will be served with salad and jardah, a sweet and buttery vermicelli dessert.
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Interaction with BA and her family was fun. We felt like we were at a friends house for lunch. We grilled everything we ate so it was nice to be outside on a beautiful day.
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Market Tour
Cooking this spicy pork sausage dinner is a special tradition in BA’s family. And she is so excited to share with travelers how to make this homemade pork sausage. BA’s dad, Ray, learned to cook this dish from his parents and then passed on this family tradition to his family. Join BA on this unique and fun experience and learn to make sausages using her family recipe. Everyone will participate in the grinding, mixing, spicing, tasting and stuffing the sausages! After you make the sausages, sit down at the dining table to enjoy a meal of roasted potatoes, salad, sausage, and dessert.
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George was an amazing host and the food was outstanding. We have been to Greece many times and have eaten in their restaurants, George has outdone our highest expectation when it comes to authentic Greek cuisine. We would highly recommend experiencing a night with George and the travelling spoons for exceptional cuisine, atmosphere and hospitality.
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Cooking with Eric was a unique experience. It was a one of kind evening with good food and a lot of laughter.
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Lenka was kind and made the evening special for a couple who were celebrating their 50th anniversary. I would highly recommend her classes.
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Young was a very gracious host and very knowledgeable with Thai food and customs. If you want a good meal and a good time this is for you.
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