Travel Writer, Photographer and Social Media Influencer
Travel Writer, Photographer and Social Media Influencer
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Imagine having two well-known and expert chefs all to yourself!
Where you can roll up your Golden Door issued chef’s jacket and dive right in. Or simply sit back and let these celebrity chefs do all the work, showing you a glimpse into their foodie world. At the Golden Door, the choice is completely up to you!
Advertisement
Envision how exited I was when I got the invitation to join Executive Chef Greg Frey, Jr. of the Golden Door and his special guest Chef Ludo Lefebvre, both whom have amazing Instagram foodie accounts, for a 7-day Golden Door Cooking School experience! The Golden Door Cooking School only occurs twice a year and was started back in 2016.
While at the school, I had a chance to learn basic knife skills and learn simple fundamentals like how to prepare stocks and sauces, as well as time management in the kitchen, and preparing the final meal from scratch. I even got to help plate the closing meal dishes to the ladies attending the Golden Door Spa week! It was a ton of fun and something I had no experience in. It truly makes you appreciate what goes on behind the scenes of a restaurant.)
Advertisement
Of course, I have always loved food, but never completely enjoyed preparing it. I had learned how to prepare Southern meat-and-potatoes type of meals as a kid growing up in rural Texas. So diving into the experience of how the Golden Door begins its process of clean eating and organic farm-to-table cuisine was extremely interesting to me. The staff of Chef Frey, Jr. produces and picks most of their products onsite from their expansive organic garden and orchard. They even have bee hives and a small farm. If they don’t grow it here, they get their products from locally sourced producers with the highest quality of products in mind.
The Golden Door: In Case You Don’t Know it
The legendary Golden Door is a 600 acre retreat and spa getaway with over 20 miles of hiking trails for visitors to rejuvenate their lives in a four-day or seven-day retreat. It was voted World’s #1 Destination Spa in 2015 by Travel + Leisure magazine and I can see why.
Advertisement
Styled as a traditional Japanese village, it is dedicated to your personal well-being with many different tracts offered in ways of clean eating, mindfulness, spa, exercise, meditation, and the final labyrinth ceremony of releasing your worries and anxiety. They have women’s weeks, co-ed weeks and men week options.
Chef Frey, Jr. is all about clean eating as he continues with the 58-year tradition of “spa cuisine” meals that keep the energy flowing and help with evaporating the extra pounds the clients have packed on. Creating meal choices daily at 1200, 1400 and 1600 calorie counts, and healthy snacks served twice a day on tea carts, he has his work cut out for him.
Advertisement
He manages the kitchen team where the kitchen is open for 3 meals a day, plus snacks for seven days a week! That is no small feat with wealthy, high-end clients! Of course, you can have more food if you want, but the whole thought process behind the limited calories is to become more mindful of what you eat, think about where it comes from, and how much of it you eat. The whole culinary style here is to help you with not only nourishing your mind and spirit, but also your body thru communal dinners and fresh organic food.
Chef Frey, Jr. helps maintain a roster of classic recipes that have been here at the Golden Door for quite some time, but also updates and re-invents some of the recipes to cater to a healthier regime. He effortlessly prepares some of the classic dishes here for all to enjoy, which the Golden Door also sells at the local food markets and onsite in the gift shop. Things like Potassium Broth and their iconic and signature ginger cookie are readily available.
A typical summer dinner may start with a fresh spring salad with white balsamic vinaigrette and small crostini’s with goat cheese and minted grape that had been tossed with shallots and balsamic vinegar.
Advertisement
For the main course, there are many choices of fresh fish available from the fishmongers Chef Frey, Jr. works with, but one of my favorites was the seared salmon fillet with the sweet-hot honey and chile glaze served with a mash of fresh vegetables. Don’t eat fish? No problem, as the Golden Door kitchen caters to your culinary wants and needs.
During the week I also participated in educational workshops and field trips related to herbs & spices, wine parings, nutrition, bee hive keeping. I also attended a special session with culinary expert and renowned French Chef Ludo Lefebvre. Guests at all levels of cooking experience are welcome and I can attest to that. Each guest receives a Golden Door chef’s jacket, apron, recipe boo, and kitchen tool kit. The cost of the week for one week is $10,850.
To reserve your Golden Door Cooking School experience, contact the Golden Door and tell them Dr. Cacinda Maloney of PointsandTravel sent you.
Advertisement
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.