Four
Seasons Resort Punta Mita (www.fourseasons.com/puntamita) is kicking up its
culinary offerings with a new menu of classes and amenities designed to give
guests a taste of Mexico. Guests will learn authentic pre-Hispanic cooking
techniques and traditions, blend tequila with an expert tequila master, catch
and prepare local seafood and indulge in Mexican-inspired frozen desserts at a
new beachfront surf shack.
A
new series of historically inspired cooking classes will educate guests on the
region’s culinary traditions with a focus on pre-Hispanic cooking techniques
and ingredients. The interactive cooking experience will take guests outdoors
to the resort’s new Iku Garden, which features equipment and tools designed to
mirror the kitchens of ancient times. Guests will learn how to prepare dishes
using ingredients such as grasshoppers, ant eggs and agave worms along with
regional ingredients like cactus, banana leaves, agave leaves, huitlacoche and
epazote.
Couples,
families and groups will prepare dishes like grilled octopus marinated with
grasshopper sea salt and fresh barbacoa. Cooking classes for up to 10 people
are priced at $95 per person. Family-style dinners are also available for 20
people maximum at $130 per person.
The
resort will also offer tequila aficionados a customized way to sip their
favorite spirit with hands-on tequila tasting and blending hosted by the
resort’s cultural concierge, Enrique Alejos. After helping each participant
identify the flavors and aromas, Alejos will then walk guests through the
blending process, enabling them to create a unique tequila blend from four
different barrels. Tequila-blending classes are priced at $150 per person.
A
seasonally inspired Catch & Cook program will immerse guests in the
region’s fishing heritage. Guests will begin with diving and fishing lessons,
followed by a boat ride out to Bahia de Banderas to learn proper free diving
and fishing techniques, including spearfishing. Back at the resort, a chef will
guide them through the preparation of signature dishes. The seasonal schedule
will include mahi mahi, sea urchin, yellow fin, snapper and octopus. Classes
will culminate in a three-course lunch, including a cocktail and dessert,
priced at $225 per person.
Finally,
the resort has opened a beachfront Mexican Gelateria. Housed in a colorful surf
shack, the gelateria serves custom gelato and popsicles. Flavors will rotate
seasonally and include chocolate and chili, black bean, guanabana, tamarind,
corn, avocado and hibiscus.