Be a Wok Star!
Chef Juan Licerio Alcala shares tips for an outstanding salad during Wellness Getaway at Grand Velas Los Cabos, Mexico. He wants to eliminate unhealthy snacking throughout the day and keep you satiated.
I love that we share a lot of the same philosophies about cooking.
Traveling and teaching Wellness in exotic and serene surroundings is a dream come true and recently, I got to do it for the first time at Grand Velas Los Cabos, a $150 million all inclusive luxury spa resort in Mexico. Their Wellnessing Getaway with theme, Grateful Journey was so appropriate because I had so much to be grateful for: getting invited by Miami Curated to teach my delicious, no-recipe approach for a healthier lifestyle; my mom for teaching me how to cook; instant friendships made with fellow instructors at this Getaway.
Wellnessing Getaway at the Spa was a week full of activities guests could enjoy from Ceremonial Smudging, an ancient practice for energy cleansing to Mandala and fitness workshops, as well as yoga and meditation to finding your Dosha culminating with an Ayurvedic dinner which I’ll be posting in another blog.
My cooking classes were set up on the balmy terrace of Azul with ocean views. Thanks to Chef Juan Licerio Alcala, Executive Chef at Grand Velas and especially to Chef Luis Quiroz, Executive Chef at Azul, responsible for gathering all my ingredients. I got a chance to interview many of the restaurant chefs and discovered Chefs Juan and Luis had worked in the US (in separate blog soon.)
The most rewarding part of this experience was hearing from guests who enjoyed my dishes and were surprised by how fast and easy wok cooking was with so few ingredients and seasonings. I was happy to debunk many misconceptions about wok cooking like the kind of wok and stove to use. I was also happy to encourage moms to cook with their kids at a young age. Giving them small tasks with prepping and the stir fry give them a feeling they can cook and they end up eating what they cook. The kids were definitely paying attention and amazed me with how much they absorbed like ‘using what you have in your fridge’ instead of hunting for ingredients from a recipe or ‘keeping everything dry for a stir fry.’
I’m looking forward to focusing on corporate wellness programs especially if they involve staying at stunning resorts like the Grand Velas Los Cabos, bring it ON!
