Goa Holiday Reviews & Testimonials
March 2010
We had a brilliant morning at the cooking school. A great and hugely enjoyable experience - from the moment we arrived to be greeted by Beryl and Ismail, through the chef showing us the real way to make vindaloo, xacuti and tarka dal, finishing with a great chat with Beryl and Ismail, over the lunch we made ourselves. Don't just go on the organised tours - drag yourselves (difficult!) away form the beach shacks for a few hours- it is a memorable and great value experience.
Thanks to all those involved
Stephen and Sharon Shooman, West Wickham, Kent UK
February 2010
If you want to go on an unusual but really fun holiday go on a Kingslee cooking course. I have just done a day in their new purpose built cooking school which is attached to the family owned and run restaurant in Betalbatim, South Goa. Under the enthusiastic and expert guidance of a local chef we prepared lunch between 9 and 12 am; Chicken Cafreal, Jeera rice and Dahl fry. The freshly ground local spices make these dishes aromatic but not too fiercely hot, a wonderful combination. The chef's English may not have been perfect, although undoubtedly better than my Hindi, but since cooking is a visual, tactile and olfactory skill we did just fine. We then got to eat what we had cooked, washed down by appropriate ice cold beverages. Goan heaven.
You can do a complete 5 day course, or if you are holidaying locally anyway they will fix you up with single or multiple days to suit you.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and can recommend it to anyone who does not want to spend all day lounging in the sun, which you have plenty of time to catch up on in the afternoons when school is out.
Dr K N Pearl, UK
February 2010
We are just back from a fantastic holiday in Goa. It’s a great place to be to avoid the British winter. Beautiful beaches, lovely people and a great place for a laid back trouble free holiday.
Whilst there, we were very impressed with the Goan cuisine, both vegetarian and non; so when we found an opportunity to experience and learn how to prepare authentic Goan recipes we jumped at the chance.
The cookery school organised by Go Goa Holiday’s is either residential or as we did opt for the daily lessons. Each day we prepared and cooked a veg and non veg dish under the supervision of a great team at the “Kingslee” restaurant. After we had prepared and cooked the dishes we had them for lunch – no pressure then! Nothing could be too much trouble for Inacio, Beni and their staff. They took great pleasure in giving us an insight into true Goan cooking. Many of the recipes we tried were family dishes that you wouldn’t normally find in restaurants.
They made the whole course a very interesting and fun experience. We initially enrolled for one day, but ended up doing the full week – it was that good.
Since we have been back in the UK we’ve tried several recipes and they have travelled very well. The certificates we were awarded have taken pride of place in our kitchen. Our friends are very impressed and want to know our secrets, no chance!!!
If you like Goan/Indian cuisine and like to dabble in the kitchen, we recommend you give the cookery school a try. The school has found the right balance, it makes the whole experience fun, but you also get a tremendous amount from it.
Ian and Lorraine, Scunthorpe UK
January 2010
The word cuisine has always seemed to me to be pretentious and doubly so when linked with “fine dining” but there is no doubt that Goan Cooking is something special; the blend of all sorts of cultural influences with a Goan spins. Inacio and Benny Fernandes have dedicated a special room along side their own restaurant kitchen where they will teach you their art. They have gone for simple family recipes as each family in Goa jealously guards their own special ingredients. It is in fact quite uncomplicated once you follow the procedure that they will patiently explain to you. Curries, dals, rice.bread-making; it is all there. After three hours in the kitchen you get to eat your own creation and then stagger to the beach.
What a holiday!
Michael Howroyd of Hastings UK
