Chef Brings Cooking Classes To Life

Despite marketers’ enthusiasm for them, cooking classes from hotel chefs are not an innovative F&B offering, and packages built around them are pretty run-of-the-mill these days.

So why am I blogging about one such offering in particular? Because longtime RockResorts executive chef Rahm Fama has what it takes to sell a cooking class package–a big personality and the ability to simultaneously teach and entertain.

I know this because earlier this week I attended a mozzarella-making demo by Chef Fama in the Cucina Rustica kitchen at The Lodge at Vail, A RockResort.

The charismatic chef kept a small crowd interested and entertained with nothing more than some cheese curds, some salt water, some plastic wrap and a bit of twine.

How did he do it? See for yourself (thanks to Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and fellow journalist Allan Lynch for the video):

Thanks to Chef Fama, The Lodge at Vail ought to have an easier time selling its "Colorado Cookin" package, which includes a Sunday trip to the Vail farmers’ market with the chef (he says he always wears his chef coat to the market as a marketing tactic), his signature 4-course brunch, an interactive cooking class and a dinner stemming from that class.