‘Cooking !’ Airbnb’s ‘social eating’ arrives

Airbnb has launched a new ‘social eating’ experience called: ‘Cooking’. Its focus is on ‘conviviality and family traditions’.

Brian Chesky’s November 25 tweet which announced the launch of ‘Cooking’ will certainly not pass unnoticed. It is a new ‘Experience category’ from Airbnb.

There are 3000 Airbnb ‘Experiences’ available in 75 countries around the world. There are very many differing eating experiences including how to prepare and cook pasta with an Italian grandmother, preparing Portuguese dishes with a Portuguese drag queen, mole-sauce, (a highly-spiced Mexican sauce), with a native Mexican and sushi-and-sakè with a Japanese artist.
But be careful not to confuse these experiences with normal cooking classes. The intention of ‘Cooking ’ in the Airbnb Experiences category is quite different. They want to recreate the original intimate family settings where people can enjoy the pleasure of cooking and sharing a meal together, thus preserving the heritage and traditions of family recipes.

Family recipes, celebrities and ‘Slow Food’

When Airbnb creates and offers new Experiences, it seems that they are also having fun and indulging themselves along the way with a wide-ranging, rich and variegated cuisine on offer.
You don’t only become involved with picturesque, folkloristic personalities, you often find expert chefs who are willing to accompany you around the local markets to look for and taste the best raw ingredients before cooking together and learning the ropes.

Not only this, it’s also possible to cook with local celebrities. You can cook with the TV stars or the famous singers of your own country. In Italy, there is a famous music and social commentator, in Spain an actress and in Mexico a famous cook.

For some ‘Cooking Experiences’, Airbnb collaborate with Slow Food. This category has been designated as ‘special’. In the Slow Food case, ‘Cooking’ is made up of Slow Food members and adheres to their standards of: ‘good, clean and right’.

In the end, for all home cooks, namely those people who host and cook for their guests, Airbnb holds a competition where the one with the most votes can win a stay and a course at the Università del Gusto in Pollenzo – Italy in order to be able to refine their culinary techniques.

The emphasis is on experience

The lowest common denominator of ‘experiences ‘ always seems to be the host. Whether it is a person with a traditional recipe, a famous personality, a cook or a Slow Food ambassador, everyone brings with them an element of specialty that makes them unique. Consequently, the experience will also be unique.
Once again, Airbnb puts the user at the center by building around them a package of experiences that are unique and memorable.