Generations Riviera Maya Launches Little Eko Chefs

Karisma Hotels & Resorts is renowned for its Gourmet Inclusive® Experience – I’ve talked about this a lot on My Organized Chaos. Well, there’s great news for the little travelers in your group – the launch of Little Eko Chefs at the newly opened Generations Riviera Maya {my review, with video, at the link}! 

Little Eko Chefs offers foodie families a unique experience – with fun facts, interactive techniques, and easy to replicate recipes. 

Little Eko Chefs is an unprecedented experience for our youngest guests to truly immerse themselves in the cultures of other foods, gain cooking skills for the future, and learn easy and delicious recipes as part of many memories they’ll be taking home from their stays at Generations Riviera Maya,” said Jeroen Hanlo, Vice President of Food & Beverage for Karisma Hotels & Resorts and creator of the distinguished Gourmet Inclusive® Experience. 

A dining room table

To get in on this program: Little Eko Chefs is held every weekday in the resort’s Eko Kids Club. It’ll be a first-of-its-kind program, incorporating historical and cultural facts, eco-friendly food basics, and hands-on cooking opportunities. 

Classes will build upon Generations Riviera Maya’s existing commitment to delivering unforgettable culinary, environmental, and authentic experiences as a part of its Gourmet Inclusive® vacations for the entire family. Many of the ingredients used for Little Eko Chefs will be sourced locally, including from Karisma’s 75,000 square foot Greenhouse {my greenhouse tour at the link} located just a few steps away from the resort.

A group of fruit and vegetable stand

All Little Eko Chefs participants will be awarded a special certificate after completing the class – offering them a personal memento of their vacations and testament to their new gastronomic skills! 

A sampling of Little Eko Chefs classes includes:

  • The History of Chocolate – Kids will start with the cacao bean and convert it with artisanal equipment into chocolate mixing with all the corresponding ingredients. Finished chocolate will be molded it into bars with Eko Kids wrappers.
  • Tamale Making Class – In this fun class, kids will learn the process making both savory and sweet tamales in a corn husk or banana leaf before eating for lunch
  • Sushi Class – Kids will learn the history of sushi before being taught how to properly fill and roll sushi
  • Shaved Ice – This cool class (literally!) will teach kids how to shave ice themselves using natural fruit based toppings
  • Pasta Class –  Kids will learn how to make their own pasta dough and turn it into spaghetti and raviolis to share for dinner with your family
  • Mexican Tortilla Making – From start to finish, kids will learn the entire process of tortilla making, including how to grind corn by hand, turning it into tortilla dough, forming tortillas in the press and even learning additional side products to create like tortilla chips, empanadas and sopes. Ole!
  • Mexican Sweets (Dulces Mexicanos) – In this class, kids learn the history of and preparations in making these delectable unique Hispanic sweets
  • Greenhouse Harvest – Kids will visit the nearby Greenhouse to pick tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers and herbs before bringing them back to the Eko Kids kitchen for garden fresh soup and salad making
  • Artisanal Ice Cream Making – Kids will create their own mix of fruits to blend and mix before pouring into the ice container to be spun by hand until ice-cream is formed
  • A Taste of the Senses – What you see is not what you taste! This interactive activity teaches kids that what is seen with our eyes can vary dramatically from what’s expected

Little Eko Chefs will debut during an exclusive Little Eko ChefsWeekend hosted by MasterChefJunior’s Season 1 Winner, Alexander Weiss. Offered complimentary to guests staying August 15 – 17, 2014, Alexander will take guests on a three day culinary adventure for the entire family!

Alexander Weiss karisma hotels

The Little Eko ChefsWeekend will provide a select group of children (and parents) a sampling ofLittle Eko Chefs as well as exclusive opportunities to interact with Alexander, including a meet and greet with mocktails and photos, a live culinary performance, and a cooking class for kids to watch and learn from Alexander, personally. Guests of the Little Eko ChefsWeekend will also be invited to enjoy a Pasta Dinner on the Chef’s Market deck overlooking nothing but the azure sea and sky; a special turndown amenity for children before bedtime; and a goodbye afternoon ice-tea party.

Little Eko Chefs presents only a taste of what Generations Riviera Maya has to offer for kids and families. The resort’s popular Eko Kids Club features supervised activities for kids aged 4 to 12 years showcasing fun and educational activities with an environmentally-friendly twist. 

Eko Kids Club offers ball pits, indoor play structures, a movie area, craft station, library, gaming consoles, and more. For infants and toddlers, the Baby Beach Lounges provide a shady respite from the sun complete with toys and nanny service, so that adults can enjoy some quiet beach time. Families with small children are also able to travel carefree by taking advantage of the resort’s Gourmet Inclusive® baby amenities, including strollers, cribs, pack and plays, changing tables, monitors, bottle warmers, baby bathrobes, and more.

A group of people in a room

 The newly opened Generations Riviera Maya {my review at the link}, located on a secluded beach only steps from El Dorado Casitas Royale, by Karisma and facing the beautiful Mexican Caribbean, offers the highest level of customized service and features all-suite oceanfront accommodations – the largest in the Riviera Maya at 1,200 square feet – with unlimited butler service, and swim up infinity suites up from the first to fourth floors. 

generations maya at night

For reservations, please visit http://www.karismahotels.com

 

46 Comments

  1. My oldest son (almost 10) would LOVE this. He loves cooking and his go to shows are pretty much anything on The Food Network!

  2. I would love this for the kids and for myself. Looks and sounds very interesting and well who wouldn’t want to learn about and taste yummy foods.

  3. I think its a fabulous idea, learning to cook earlier is so much better then later.

  4. Thanks for this write up,its sure looks like an amazing place to visit…the photos are just wonderful

  5. How cool! It’s educational and fun. This is a great activity to teach your kids a skill and get them involved in something that they’ll remember forever.

  6. I love the Riviera Maya and cannot wait to visit again. We were planning to do some hotel comparisons so I will show this to my hubby.

  7. The chocolate making experience and pool stand out for me. I would really want to visit myself!!

  8. I was interested already, but I LOVE that the Masterchef winner is involved in the beginning. He is such a talented young man.

  9. What a fantastic program. I can’t believe the kids get to learn all that fun stuff. The shaved ice with fruit caught my attention 🙂

  10. The kids love to help around in the kitchen. They would definitely enjoy it here. Loving the photography, by the way.

  11. This program sounds really cool but I forgot what I was going to say about it when I saw that last picture! Balcony pools over the main pool?!?!! How cool is that?!!?

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