Chef Holidays: Cooking Classes and Demonstrations

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Chefs' Holidays®

Yosemite’s Chefs' Holidays® at The Ahwahnee®, held each year in January and February, feature some of the world's most innovative and acclaimed chefs. These culinary adventures provide a showcase for the range of styles, personalities and trends that characterize the American cuisine scene.

Featured in each session:

  • A "Meet the Chefs" reception
  • Cooking classes and demonstrations
  • Behind-the-scenes kitchen tours
  • Five-course Chefs' Holidays Gala Dinner, that includes 4 paired wines

     Traci Des Jardins, Guest Chef for Session VIII, 2008, wrote this glowing report of her experiences at Chefs' Holidays.  You can also listen to a piece from the California Report on 2008's Session 6 – The Whole Hog.

2010 Chefs' Lodging Packages and Pricing

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Chefs' Holidays Sessions

The session dates and sponsored chefs’ information for the 26th Annual Chef’s Holiday are now available!  Below is the schedule of the 2011 sessions.  We hope to see you there!

Session 1*— Moderator: Pamela Wischkaemper, Culinary Consultant
January 9th-11th

*A collaborative 5 course dinner featuring one course from each chef:
Host Chef: Percy Whatley---The Ahwahnee
Guest Chefs: Mark Franz & Emily Luchetti (pastry)---Farallon, San Francisco, CA
Parke Ulriche---Waterbar, San Francisco, CA
Adam Mali---Nick’s Cove, Point Reyes, CA

Session 2— Moderator: Pamela Wischkaemper, Culinary Consultant
January 12th & 13th

Headliner: Michael Tusk---Quince, San Francisco. CA 
Demonstrators: Colin Ambrose---Estia’s Little Kitchen, Sag Harbor, NY
Jesse Cool---Flea Street Café, Menlo Park, CA

Session 3— Moderator: Izabela Wojcik, Director of House Programming, James Beard Foundation
January 16th-18th

Headliner: Tony DiSalvo---Whist, Los Angeles. CA
Demonstrators: Ariane Duarte---CulinAriane, Montclair, NJ
Scott Youkilis---Maverick & Hog & Rocks, San Francisco, CA

Session 4— Moderator: Izabela Wojcik, Director of House Programming, James Beard Foundation
January 19th & 20th

FEATURING Culinarians from the San Francisco Ferry Building
Headliner: Traci des Jardins---Jardiniere & Mijita
Demonstrators: Peg Smith & Sue Conley---Cowgirl Creamery
Michael Recchiuti---Recchiuti Chocolates

Session 5— Moderator: Sara Moulton, Author, TV Personality
January 23rd-25th

Headliner: Michael Cimarusti---Providence, Los Angeles, CA
Demonstrators: Douglas Keane---Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA
Annie Somerville---Greens, San Francisco. CA

Session 6*— Moderator: Sara Moulton, Author, TV Personality
January 26th & 27th

*A collaborative 5 course dinner featuring one course from each chef:
Host Chef: Percy Whatley---The Ahwahnee
Host Chef: Paul Padua (pastry)---The Ahwahnee
Guest Chefs: Neal Fraser---Grace, Los Angeles, CA
Suzanne Goin---Lucques, Los Angeles, CA
David Lentz---The Hungry Cat, Los Angeles & Santa Barbara, CA

Session 7— Moderator: Andrew Friedman, Author
January 30th-February 1st

Headliner: Barbara Lynch---No 9 Park, Boston, MA
Demonstrators: Jerry Traunfeld---Poppy’s, Seattle, WA
Elizabeth Falkner---Citizen Cake & Orson, S.F.

Session 8—Moderator: Andrew Friedman, Author
February 2nd & 3rd

Headliners: Duskie Estes & John Stewart-Zazu, Bovolo & Black Pig Meat Co, Sonoma County
Demonstrators: Brandon Miller---Mundaka, Carmel, CA
Andrew Kirschner---Wilshire, Los Angeles, CA

Bring home the flavor of Chefs' Holidays with unique gift ideas from Yosemite.

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Testimonials

“To surprise my family one year , I planned a vacation at Curry Village. At the time we thought we'd only stay a few days and then continue on to Disneyland. Our daughters at the time were 8 & 10. Coming through the tunnel that opens to the magnificent Yosemite vista...and a tour of the valley floor on our first day...they didn't want to be anywhere but Yosemite! We were able to extend our visit a couple of extra days so that we could enjoy more day hikes and "dream" of making our way to Half Dome! Sipping coffee in the morning in the open auditorium at Camp Curry is a memory I will always savor. We try to return as often as we can. This vacation was one of the most memorable for our family.
”
– Deb Z. from Florin, CA

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