 Fairburn Farm Culinary Retreat & Guesthouse, Adrian Dorst photo
Learn More about Culinary Schools in the Vancouver Island Region Fairburn Farm Culinary Retreat and Guesthouse
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort
Cooper's Cove Guesthouse
Aerie Resort
 The Fairburn Culinary Retreat and Guesthouse is helmed by Mara Jernigan, a revered local chef, culinary "slow food" activist, and cooking instructor. Chef Jernigan's mantra is fresh, local, and organic. Join her from May through August for her enticing Farmers' Market Tour and Cooking Class. Tour the Downtown Duncan Farmers' Market, and then tie on an apron and chop, whisk and saute under the guidance of a master chef. Conclude the day with a proper feast. Fairburn Farm is found near Duncan, in the lush Cowichan Valley. It is home to vegetable and herb gardens, a fruit orchard, and Canada's only water buffalo dairy. For visitors staying in Victoria, classes are conveniently timed around the train schedule.  The Clayoquot Wilderness Resort combines five-star treatment with wilderness experience, featuring luxurious accommodations replete with gourmet dining and cooking classes focused on fresh local ingredients. The resort is located on Vancouver Island's rugged and remote west coast in Clayoquot Sound - one of the world's best examples of an intact temperate rainforest.
Book a gourmet weekend, where guests are invited to savour a glass of superb wine while watching chef Timothy May prepare a sumptuous meal, or join him behind the counter to gain some cooking pointers. Accommodations are available at the deluxe Bedwell River Outpost, a collection of white-canvas, eco-safari-style tents.
Cooper's Cove Guesthouse is a romantic, European-style B&B tucked into a craggy bluff overlooking a secluded harbour, and Galloping Goose Trail in the community of Sooke. Angelo's Cooking School, run by renowned chef Angelo Prosperi-Porta, operates as part of the guesthouse. Angelo's offers everything from informal Saturday classes, to three-day retreats, to interactive dinners where guests watch the chef in action before sitting down to a lavish five-course meal. Guests are invited to refine their technique and brush up on the art of presentation from Angelo, a published chef and former member of Culinary Team Canada.
 Aerie Resort sits high above the Saanich Inlet in Malahat, offering soaring views of Victoria and the Gulf Islands, as well as Washington State's San Juan Islands. From March to October, "Learn from a Pro" cooking classes are taught by award-winning executive chef Christophe Letard. Enjoy private instruction, demonstrations and tastings, or opt for a seven-course tasting menu dinner in the resort's dining room, rated Four Diamond by CAA/AAA. The Aerie is a member of the renowned Relais & Chateaux association. It was ranked "Top Hotel in the Continental US and Canada" in Travel Leisure magazine's 2006 "World's Best Awards."
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