Travel Channel 

For many, vacation is an escape from the daily drudgery of the kitchen. But for the growing foodie culture, the kitchen has actually become the destination as novice cooks and weekend chefs head to cooking schools around the world to sharpen their knives and their culinary skills.

Villa San Michele School of Cookery
Florence, Italy
Tuscany's Villa San Michele School of Cookery welcomes cooks of all levels to its luxury hotel property overlooking Florence. This upscale hotel, housed in a 15th-century monastery, hosts a rotating roster of well-decorated chefs who ladle up contemporary and essential dishes, including the revered Italian staple pasta.

Villa San Michele mixes things up for its guests with distinct culinary programs. Families will appreciate the "Children's Cookery School," where youngsters don pint-sized chef's hats to prepare regional dishes and still have time to play in the hotel's pool before dessert. Another program allows singles to master the art of cooking elegant and delicious meals for one without filling the fridge with unwanted leftovers.

Participants' downtime is just as important as the kitchen lessons on this gastronomic holiday. Attendees can explore nearby Florence with organized shopping trips, museum tours, wine tastings and excursions to nearby towns, including Chianti.

New Orleans Cooking Experience
New Orleans, Louisiana
Don't know a pot of gumbo from a batch of jambalaya? After a visit with the New Orleans Cooking Experience, you'll be well versed in Creole and Cajun cuisines. Half-day classes are like an amuse-bouche of cooking in the Big Easy, while immersion and vacation programs provide a more intense experience.

The cooking school is located in the House on Bayou Road, a restored plantation not far from the French Quarter. Guests keep busy peeling crawfish and slicing okra while preparing savory specialties like shrimp remoulade and etouffee and sweet treats, including bananas Foster. On special chef's nights, the school invites local chefs to share their techniques with students gathered around the teaching island. You don't have to be born on the bayou to cook like a true Southern belle, and after a getaway at the New Orleans Cooking Experience, you'll have the cooking chops to prove it.

On Rue Tatin
Louviers, Normandy
French food has a well-earned reputation for its mouth-watering decadence, but the downside is many of these dishes appear difficult to master. Expat Susan Loomis accomplishes the seemingly impossible - making French cooking accessible - at her cooking program On Rue Tatin in the town of Louviers in Normandy.

Classes are held in a former convent, a Francophile's dream with a warm cottage style and cozy gardens overlooking Notre Dame de Louviers cathedral. Classes are intimate (only eight participants) and use a hands-on approach, with field trips to local markets. All recipes are designed for the home cook, which makes it easier to re-create that essential French "je ne sais quoi" once back stateside.

For a metropolitan culinary immersion, budding chefs can head to Paris's famed Left Bank with Loomis and learn to perfect classic and modern French dishes in the kitchen of much-lauded French cookbook author Patricia Wells. They can then spend their downtime eating their way through the City of Light.

Cocinar Mexicano
Tepoztlán, Mexico
One of the best ways to learn about a new place is to get to know its food. Cocinar Mexicano, just an hour from Mexico City in Tepoztlán, embraces this philosophy in its cooking classes. Don't sign on if you're looking to rustle up the chips and salsa or overstuffed burritos characteristic of America's Mexican chain restaurants. Instead participants work in the school's gorgeous outdoor kitchen to prepare five distinct menus, including homemade tortillas, tamales, mole and guacamole.

As you indulge in the deep flavors of Mexican cuisine, you also take in the cultural nuances that make this place unique. Classes focus on the country's most important holidays, including the Day of the Dead and Christmas, and include tours around the region. After a long morning in the kitchen, there's plenty of time for fun with horseback riding, tours of Mexico City, hiking or just straight-up relaxing by the residence's pool with a perfectly crafted margarita.

Rhode School of Cuisine
Marrakech, Morocco
A remarkable culinary adventure awaits daring diners at the Rhode School of Cuisine Moroccan School. The Villa Dar Liqama, known as "the house of green mint," is nestled in a grove of palm trees outside the city of Marrakech, a perfectly romantic setting for exploring the exotic local cuisine.

These cooking classes are infused with history lessons as participants study the influence of China, India, Spain and, most importantly, France on this nation's identity. Moroccan cuisine is a melting pot of all these flavors, cooked up in the traditional dome-shaped tajine.

Over the course of 8 to 9 cooking classes, participants master recipes with traditional Moroccan ingredients, including lentils, chickpeas, lamb and couscous. Round out your vacation with a leisurely camel ride, shopping in the souk (market) in Marrakech's medina (old city) or a trek to the snow-capped Atlas mountains.