Arenas Del Mar Launches Culinary Adventures This Fall With Guest Chef Program

Challenging travelers to look beyond the sun, sand, beach, and rainforests teaming with wildlife, Costa Rica's Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort ( the first five star, five leaf resort in the country), is launching its guest chef program to lure culinary travelers to explore the brave new world of Costa Rican cuisine.

"We know the best way to build Costa Rica's culinary reputation is to introduce top chefs from other parts of the world to our local ingredients and dishes and then invite them to create with us and help spread the word about the great food we have here," said Hans Pfister, CEO and principle of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality, a company that manages a number of luxury eco-resorts, hotels and lodges in Central America, including Arenas Del Mar. "It just seems to make sense that a country as bio-diverse as Costa Rica can also grow and produce incredible food as well. Now is the time we should start to celebrate our traditional foods and challenge the rest of the tourism industry to help us raise Costa Rica's profile among culinary visitors."

To celebrate /include guests in this Guest Chef Program, Arenas del Mar is offering a unique cooking and dining experience package:
The Arenas del Mar Culinary Adventure Package includes five nights of accommodation in superior rooms or premium suites, local Quepos Airport Transfers, two cooking classes, three special dinners prepared by the guest chef, coffee, rum and organic wine tasting sessions with local experts, a guided wildlife tour to Manuel Antonio National Park as well as a visit to the local fishing cooperative combined with a crocodile river tour.

Culinary Adventure Package pricing:
Single Occupancy: Superior room: $1,545 USD; Premium Suite: $2,225 USD
Double Occupancy: Superior room: $1,970 USD; Premium Suite: $2,650 USD

Lined up to launch the program and take the Costa Rican challenge are:
Chef Carrie Bogar from the Caribbean Island of Anguilla - offered Sept. 10-15, 2012

A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Chef Carrie Bogar and partner/husband, Jerry Bogar opened Empire Restaurant in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1994. In 2006, the Bogars sold their restaurant and made the big move to Anguilla. On this tiny Caribbean Island the Bogars made big waves with their new restaurant, Veya. Together they garnered rave reviews from The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and The London Times. Frommer's wrote that, "on an island blessed with top-caliber chefs and the Caribbean's best dining scene, this Sandy Ground 'tree house' is one of the best - and it's only been around since 2007." For more information, visit www.veya-axa.com.

Chef Chip Roman from Mica, ELA and Blackfish Restaurants in Philadelphia - offered Oct. 21 - 26, 2012
Some say Chef Chip Roman is the food scene in Philadelphia. He is the owner and executive chef at Mica, the owner and executive chef of Blackfish and co-owner of ELA in Philadelphia's Queen's Village neighborhood. In addition to his three restaurants, Chef Roman is the owner and proprietor of Charles Roman Catering. Blackfish is the gracious BYOB in Conshohocken that was named "Best Restaurant" in Philadelphia Magazine's 2011 "50 Best Restaurants" issue. Chef Roman's work at Mica has also been lauded: "It takes a sure hand to make small details stand out so vividly (Mica is) more about refinement than swagger." And The Philadelphia Inquirer has called his cooking ,"deft and original (he) embellishes bistro inspirations with pristine techniques, great ingredients, and personal flourishes that are often surprising." For more information, visit: http://www.blackfishrestaurant.com/
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