NEW YORK — Airbnb is launching a global search for 100 top home cooks and treating them to a trip to Italy to learn how to refine their recipes with teachers including David Chang and his mom.
The lucky chosen will travel to the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy, for a week’s worth of workshops and tastings to take their food “to the next level.” Their recipe will also feature in Airbnb’s first cookbook.
Applications open Monday. Airbnb users who are 18 and a resident of one of 30 or so eligible countries can nominate their favorite home cooks and complete an essay. Applications close Dec. 23.
Winners will be selected by judges from representatives from Airbnb, the Slow Food organization and the University of Gastronomic Sciences.
The contest is part of a larger push into food by Airbnb, which also is launching a new program, Cooking Experiences, which connects users with intimate workshops hosted by families, cooks and famers across more than 75 countries.
Local hosts will gather and describe how to use ingredients, welcome users to their home and show them how they put together traditional dishes, from making enchiladas in Ciudad de México, Mexico, to Uzbek dishes in New York City.
“Unlike typical cooking classes, which can feel intimidating or time-consuming, at the heart of every experience is human connection; people coming together to make and share a meal,” Airbnb said in a statement.
