Cooking Caribbean tour

[CCBelle]

We just did this excursion via Celebrity and had a wonderful time. We had a small group (3 other couples) and ranged in age from mid 30's to mid 60's. We all had a great time and enjoyed the cooking as well as each others' company. And the food was delicious!

 

As a side note, I did not receive the email so I emailed Daria directly (she had given me her business card). She replied quickly with the recipes, but said that she had sent them that very night. I think they went into my spam folder, which I had deleted. So email her if you haven't received them yet.

[texascruzer]

This is one of the BEST excursions I have ever done! I booked it via the RCCI's excursion desk. The vans picked us up at the pier and took us to a lovely mountain top home of Daria, the host. The views were stunning, the weather was wonderful. We were two van fulls of tourists from the RCCI's Explorer. The host Daria, has a gorgeous semi open air kitchen and eating area, surrounded by fantastic views. Daria and Liz demonstrated and everyone participated in the cooking. The food was delish:p! I loved it. The whole excursion took about 3 1/2 hours including lunch (We did the 9 am to 12.30 time, then went for an afternoon swim at the Titou Gorge and Sulphur Springs). In case you wonder what kind of a mix we were, we were a very diverse group of people ranging from late sixty-ish to very early twenties, and all of us enjoyed this. Daria emailed us the recipes and I have tried them out twice already. You will love this excursion! Do post your experience once you do it.

The swim is not listed as part of the tour. How did you book it?

 

Thanks :D

[maryh307]

I just came back from Cruising to Dominica. I haven't received the recipes from our cooking class. Has anyone that attended received the recipes?

[maryh307]

I'd like to echo Cindy's comments. My wife and I did this excursion last week and absolutely loved it. There were 7 in our excursion. Everyone participates in the preparation, and Daria (home owner) and Liz (cook) were very personable and very concientious about cleanliness of the cooking area as well as the cooks. They have an outdoor kitchen that opens up to their back yard and, while open, is protected from the sun. If you leave an email address, they'll send you all the recipes.

 

The view wasn't quite as beautiful as Cindy probably experienced because Montserrat (sp?) erupted the night before and there was a lot of volcanic ash in the air. So we weren't able to see the water, but the surrounding mountains were still gorgeous and slightly mysterious in the mild haze.

 

Here's the link to the cocktail video that Cindy mentioned:

 

(I can tell you that Daria poured a LOT more rum in our drinks than she does in the video - and it was good. If you try this at home, I'd suggest adding a little sugar as their local pumpkin is sweeter than what you'll likely find.)

 

And here's a link to a video showing the same meal we prepared, and showing more of the scenery around Daria's home:

 

Bottom line - try this excursion!

 

Tom

 

I have been unsuccessful in getting the recipes. We were on this excursion last week. I checked my spam, but no luck. Would you have Daria's e-mail address or the recipes?

 

Loved the class

 

157 days till next cruise

[maryh307]

If memory serves me correctly, it was about $85/person. The total length was 3 1/2 hours. And it took about 20 minutes to drive up into the mountains from the pier. I haven't yet seen the email from them with the recipes, but I can try to post that after they send it. You might also look at similar excusions for Carnival, as they said that they've used like five different names to describe it. If it talks about a mountain home in the rain forest and creole cooking, that would likely be it.

 

Tom

 

 

I just returned from the same excursion. Never recvd. e-mail with recipes. Did you have any luck getting the recipes?

 

Want to go back to islands!!

[maryh307]

We returned last week from this excursion. Just loved it. Unfort.didn't receive recipes. Can anyone give me the recipes or Daria's e-mail address so I can request them. I want to make the fish, rice and beans and coconut plantanes.

[lives-to-travel-er]

Just returned from the Equinox and went on this excursion last week--it was great. My Mom already made the rice, the plantain and the salad dressing recipe--from what she remembered off the top of her head. We're still waiting for Daria's e-mail so we can make the fish recipe and adapt it to shrimp and chicken.

[Buffettfan 225]

How Many people on tour, did you notice if any people were from Carnival ship? I cannot locate tour thru them.

How hot was area? My concern is cooking in July!

Love to get copy of recipes too. Let us know when you receive them.

Suzy

[lives-to-travel-er]

We were only in port with Princess and our group had 9 people in it. They can accomodate up to 25 and as little as 8 but Daria prefers a smaller group like ours and so everyone can participate and we were given little tasks...I had the coconut plantain preparation. The set up is all outdoor and it was comfortable at mid 80's, not humid and with a breeze but I don't think the temperature will vary that much more even in July.

[CCBelle]

Daria's email address is jtas@cwdom.dm

[maryh307]

I will e-mail Daria today.

 

Thanks,

 

Mary

[maryh307]

Thanks to all for the help! I had used the e-mail address listed above to contact Daria. She had advised me that she sent the recipes to both my husband and my e-mail address. She didn't realize that it was not received in my in box. If anyone else has difficulty getting the e-mail from Daria, you can let her know. She sent all the recipes that we tried during the excursion, as well as a few extras. I would highly recommend her cooking class. Everything about this excursion was great. Her home and grounds are lovely. The only suggestion I would make is to add her e-mail address to your system to avoid the problem some of the others and I had. My computer would put the e-mail address in to my spam file. My internet provider has it set up that you can't retrieve spam. Once Daria responded to my e-mail, the recipes came into my in box. I would highly recommend this excursion to all. Can't wait to make a few of the foods this weekend.

[Lady Jane]

Thanks to all for the help! I had used the e-mail address listed above to contact Daria. She had advised me that she sent the recipes to both my husband and my e-mail address. She didn't realize that it was not received in my in box. If anyone else has difficulty getting the e-mail from Daria, you can let her know. She sent all the recipes that we tried during the excursion, as well as a few extras. I would highly recommend her cooking class. Everything about this excursion was great. Her home and grounds are lovely. The only suggestion I would make is to add her e-mail address to your system to avoid the problem some of the others and I had. My computer would put the e-mail address in to my spam file. My internet provider has it set up that you can't retrieve spam. Once Daria responded to my e-mail, the recipes came into my in box. I would highly recommend this excursion to all. Can't wait to make a few of the foods this weekend.

 

We did the tour to Daria's in Feb. I concur...an awesome tour, and Daria is a gem. Loved her home!

[Buffettfan 225]

Thanks to all for the help! I had used the e-mail address listed above to contact Daria. She had advised me that she sent the recipes to both my husband and my e-mail address. She didn't realize that it was not received in my in box. If anyone else has difficulty getting the e-mail from Daria, you can let her know. She sent all the recipes that we tried during the excursion, as well as a few extras. I would highly recommend her cooking class. Everything about this excursion was great. Her home and grounds are lovely. The only suggestion I would make is to add her e-mail address to your system to avoid the problem some of the others and I had. My computer would put the e-mail address in to my spam file. My internet provider has it set up that you can't retrieve spam. Once Daria responded to my e-mail, the recipes came into my in box. I would highly recommend this excursion to all. Can't wait to make a few of the foods this weekend.

I had same trouble. Would you mind forwarding your email copy. I am sure Daria is quite busy.

buffettfan225-cruise at yahoo.com

[Arzeena]

The swim is not listed as part of the tour. How did you book it?

 

Thanks :D

 

Sorry, i just saw this question. The cooking tour and the Titou Gorge n Sulphur Springs tour are two different ones. Both can be done in a day. Hope this answers your question.

[Last Mango]

Our cooking class on St. Kitts was cancelled so we booked this one as a last minute replacement. Excellent! We both thoroughly enjoyed the dishes and can't wait for our recipes to arrive. I know I'll be making the fish recipe and salad dressing for sure. Glad to hear everyone else enjoyed Daria and Liz's class as well.

 

FYI...we were on the Celebrity Millennium and there were only 5 of us in the class. Perfect size.

[Lois R]

I booked this excursion for my upcoming cruise too:D I am sailing

2 weeks from TODAY:) and will be doing 2 culinary excursions this trip!

I booked the Caribbean Cooks in St Kitts and this one in Dominica.

Sounds like both are really, REALLY good:D.

 

Last Mango, I see you were on Millennium earlier this month.....the one

in St. Kitts was cancelled?:(...was it because there were not enough

people? I know many times these type of tours must have a minimum.

I am sailing SUMMIT on Feb 5th...can't wait!:)

Oh, hope you had a good time!

[Wanderbug]

My sister and I did this excursion last week and loved it. The scenery was breathtaking. We loved that Daria used so many herbs that she grows in her own garden.

 

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to experience something different from the typical shore excursion.

[Heathercrest]

Celebrity Millenium Dominica February 17, 2011

 

Picked up at the pier for a 20 minute drive up into the mountains overlooking one of the highest peaks on the island and the sea. Spectacular views of both the mountains and ocean - beautiful scenery.;)

 

We all took turns cooking under the capable direction of Daria and Liz resulting in a delicious lunch.:) They accomodated me (a diabetic) and another person (lactose intolerant) in making a memorable lunch.

 

Upon returning home our Inbox had the recipes that we cooked and some others. We have yet to emulate the good cooking but can not wait to try.:)

[texascruzer]

We just did this excursion through Celebrity Equinox and I can't say enough good things about it. Daria and Liz were delightful! I would book it again in a minute. The view from the outdoor kitchen is breath taking. The flowers and birds around the property are beautiful. The food we took part in preparing was delicious.

[Lois R]

We just did this excursion through Celebrity Equinox and I can't say enough good things about it. Daria and Liz were delightful! I would book it again in a minute. The view from the outdoor kitchen is breath taking. The flowers and birds around the property are beautiful. The food we took part in preparing was delicious.

[ATTACH]191904[/ATTACH]

 

I was supposed to have taken this tour back in February but they

changed the schedule:eek::(. I was looking forward to it but they removed

the lunchtime tour and so there was only 1 and that was at 8:30am:rolleyes:

I decided not to to do it...who wants to eat a full lunch at that time

of day?:confused:

[texascruzer]

I was supposed to have taken this tour back in February but they

changed the schedule:eek::(. I was looking forward to it but they removed

the lunchtime tour and so there was only 1 and that was at 8:30am:rolleyes:

I decided not to to do it...who wants to eat a full lunch at that time

of day?:confused:

 

The same thing happened to us.They said it was Celeberity that changed the time on us. By the time we had prepared the food it was lunch time and we were ready to eat. :D

[Lois R]

The same thing happened to us.They said it was Celeberity that changed the time on us. By the time we had prepared the food it was lunch time and we were ready to eat. :D

 

How long was the tour then? You left early in the morning and what time

was lunch? I had no idea:(...maybe if I go back and it is offered again

I will try it at that point.

[Mrssyvo]

We were on Royal Caribbean, and did this class, and it was the BEST!!! Even though we were picked up at the pier at 8:30, it was a full morning and we did not eat lunch until 11:30 am, after cooking, ect. I can not say enough good things about this class, They were so organized, and on the ball, that the class just flowed, we did not feel rushed, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch- If you take this, I KNOW you will NOT be disappointed! I just received my recipes by e-mail, and I can not wait to try them again- the salad dressing is incredible, and I am going to make the cocoanut plantains as well.

[RVRCLC]

Is everyone expected to cook.

Can you just watch?

Can you wander around the yard?

I'd rather be taking pictures of the scenery!