Chaa Creek’s Open Hearth

At Chaa Creek, we offer a hands-on culinary experience that is not just about food, but about discovery and fun. This unique blend of cultural exploration and food discovery is designed to engage even the most discerning appetites. It’s a journey that broadens the mind and actively involves you in the world around you.

Learning about Belizean cuisine is not just a culinary journey, but a healthy one too. It involves some exercise and focuses on using fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Picture yourself strolling through a traditional Maya organic farm, harvesting fresh herbs and produce, and learning to prepare nutritious, ethnocentric meals under the guidance of experienced cooks in a working Belizean village-style kitchen.

How did it start?

Bryony Fleming Bradley, the daughter of Lucy and Mick, is the brainchild of Chaa Creek’s Open Hearth learning adventure. Her parents established Chaa Creek as a farm, and Belize became an independent nation. The Flemings, including Bryony, quickly became fascinated with Belize’s colorful multiculturalism.

The Flemings quickly became fascinated with Belize’s colorful multiculturalism. Lucy, first feeding her young family, then visitors, and then more visitors, and then paying guests, found herself immersed in a wealth of new ingredients and ways of preparing them.

Proving that the apple does not fall far from the tree, Bryony developed her interests in culture, cuisine, nutrition, and health. Eventually, she created the internationally recognized Hilltop Spa and is now the property’s director.

As a child, traveling around Belize with her parents and younger brother Piers, Bryony showed an interest in cultures and cooking, learning how to make tortillas in Mestizo kitchens, Creole style rice and beans, Maya hot chocolate and Kack-ick soup, and in Garifuna villages on the Caribbean coast, Hudut, Sere, and other traditional dishes.

“Whenever we visited local villages and homes, I was always drawn to kitchens. Like everywhere else, Belizean kitchens are the beating hearts of households and communities, where you can learn new ways of cooking and looking at the world,” she remembers.

Focusing on Culinary and Authentic Travel Experiences

More visitors started showing an interest in Belizean cooking; we thought, instead of traveling to various ethnic communities, why not build a traditional Belizean village kitchen here and invite cooks from different cultural backgrounds to come and prepare their favorite meals?

“It would be a fun, hands-on way for our guests to learn about Belize’s different cultures and cooking styles.” Director Bryony Brandley stated. And Lucy ran the idea by Mick, who – as any visitor to Chaa Creek can see – loves building things. And, Voila! The Open Hearth concept, a program that invites cooks from different cultural backgrounds to come and prepare their favorite meals in a traditional Belizean village kitchen, was born.

The Experience

Hands-on classes will be offered each day of the week in a purpose-built, thatch-roofed Belizean kitchen.

These classes will not only teach participants how to cook traditional dishes but also provide a deeper understanding of the culture behind the cuisine, including its history and development in Belize. The classes are also taught by culinary professionals who love cooking and Belizeans who have a passion for sharing all about Belize’s diverse foodie scene.

On Mestizo Mondays, for example, participants will receive a brief introduction to how Spanish and Indigenous cultures blended to form the vibrant Mestizo culture of the New World. Items on the menu include Salbutes & Chirmole.

Tuesdays may focus on Belizean East Indian cooking items enriched with the signature curry seasoning.

Wednesdays will introduce visitors to Belize’s Creole culture and cuisine. The menu includes the wildly known Rice and Beans with Stew Chicken, fried plantain, and a healthy salad.

Thursdays are slated for one of Belize’s, and indeed the world’s, most distinctive cultures—the Garifuna. Proclaimed by UNESCO as “A Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity,” Garifuna culture has produced a cuisine that creatively incorporates coconuts, seafood, cassava, and plantains. Delicaicies prepared include Sere complete with fish and plantains.

Maya Friday will bring another fascinating culture and one of the world’s most advanced ancient civilizations alive. The people who gave the world chocolate and tamales also enjoyed rich stews and soups. For example, the Kakik Soup is paired with bollitos and delicious Pibil Tacos, complimented with handmade Corn tortillas.

Each session starts at 9 a.m. and ends after lunch when you have tasted and enjoyed your delicious, hard-earned meal.

When guests say, I wish I could take that meal home with me, they’ll actually be able to!

The Lodge at Chaa Creek’s Open Hearth learning adventure can be arranged on a weekly or day-by-day basis or as part of an all-inclusive Belize vacation package. Contact your favorite travel agent or Chaa Creek directly to learn more and to make bookings.