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New York City cooking teacher Karen Lee has one simple goal for her students: "I want to change their whole life." Her logic: "The way they cook changes the way they eat, which changes the way they feel, which changes their whole life." Lee is a renowned caterer and author of such highly regarded culinary works as The Occasional Vegetarian. Twice a year--and by special arrangement at various times in between--she offers five-day courses for out-of-towners for $725. Monday through Thursday she and her students spend 3 1/2 hrs. preparing and eating lunch. On Friday she gives a walking tour of Chinatown ("Behind every great meal is a great shopper"), followed by lunch at a top Chinese restaurant. Students, who arrange their own travel and lodgings, have afternoons and evenings free to explore the city. Mistress of many cuisines, Lee is perhaps best known as a pioneer of fusion cooking, which unites the techniques and ingredients of East and West. Her emphasis: flavor and healthfulness. In class, she's a 5-ft. 2-in. powerhouse of instruction, demonstration and tips: "To keep food from sticking, always heat the wok before you add the oil," "Don't answer the phone while you're measuring." Class size is limited to 10 to ensure that all students get their hands dirty. Nancy Moorman, who teaches cooking in San Antonio, Texas, and has studied with top chefs around the world, took Lee's class last spring and rates it one of the best. Moorman says, "Her enthusiasm makes you think, 'Gosh! I'm going to go home and live better and cook this and create some joy!'"
SWIMMING IN WORDS
For two weeks every year Mary Wardrop, a retired math professor from North Carolina, dreams in French. It's not required, but it's a natural consequence of the total-immersion language program she's been taking for six years in the Belgian town of Spa. Ceran Lingua is where global-business executives and diplomats--and a growing number of retirees--go to put the finesse on their French for about $1,400 a week. For Wardrop, who misses the intellectual stimulation she enjoyed in her career, it's a way "to recharge my mental batteries." Students--who range from tongue-tied to nearly fluent--stay in the lovely Chateau Ceran, where they speak French in the classrooms, in the hallways, in the dining room. The diversity of the students, who come from all corners of the earth, makes for interesting conversation. "Because both the pupils and teachers are talking in class, there's a genuine exchange of ideas," says Wardrop. For some, the total immersion may feel like drowning; one participant described his first visit as "trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant." But most find the challenge invigorating. At other centers in Belgium and around the world, Ceran Lingua offers English, Japanese, Spanish and Dutch.
TAPESTRIES OF LIFE