​Clases de cocina, vino y café en Ciudad de Panamá

​Charlie's Home: Wine & Kitchen ofrece clases prácticas de vino y cocina, así como instrucción en línea sobre vino y café. Disfrute de una tarde inolvidable en nuestra cocina privada en el barrio de San Francisco de la ciudad de Panamá, o inscríbase en una clase en línea para explorar el mundo de los vinos y cafés finos desde la comodidad de su hogar. ¡Esta escuela de cocina única en Panamá tentará tus sentidos! Instrucción disponible en inglés o español. Las clases se pueden programar o personalizar. Si tiene una idea para una clase, o fechas u horas específicas, comuníquese con Charlie para discutir. ¡Charlie cocinará como chef privado o también te ayudará a elegir vinos para tu próximo evento!

Wine, Culinary, & Coffee Classes in Panama City

Charlie's Home: Wine & Kitchen offers engaging in-person wine and culinary classes as well as online wine & coffee instruction. Enjoy a memorable afternoon in a private apartment in the San Francisco neighbourhood of Panama City, or sign up for an online class to explore the world of fine wines and coffees from the comfort of your home. This unique Panama wine school will tantalize your senses! Instruction availabe in English or Spanish. Classes can either be scheduled or customized. If you have an idea for a class, or specific dates and/or hours, please contact Charlie to discuss. Charlie will cook as a private chef or help you choose wines for your next event too! Consulting for wine collections and investment is also offered. 

Your Instructor

Charlie Leary

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I moved to Panama in 2020, and from here I share my broad knowledge of worldwide food & wine culture through both hands-on and internet classes.

I opened my first restaurant in Uptown New Orleans in 1996 and went on to cook for two decades in Nova Scotia, Costa Rica, and southwest France. I authored a cookbook on Creole cuisine published by Random House; the Five Star Alliance named my Canadian restaurant among the World’s Best Restaurant Hotels in both 2014 and 2016. I have taught cooking classes since 2000 in Canada, Costa Rica, and Spain. In fact, Conde Nast named my Relais & Chateaux hotel as the second-best place in the world to go for a cookery vacation. (First place went to the Giuliano Hazan cooking school just outside Verona, Italy.) Food & Wine magazine described my food as “inspired by the fresh ingredients" locally, and the Montreal Gazette lauded my “delectable, locally inspired cuisine”.

My wine list at Trout Point Lodge won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for multiple consecutive years. I also designed a wine class for the tourism & gastronomy department of Metropolitan International University. I have studied wine formally through classes with the University of California (Davis), Adelaide University, & Fairleigh Dickinson University, and owned an IGP vineyard in Spain. I am a certified Cava Educator, Specialist in Sherry Wine, and Argentina Wine Specialist. I received the Certified Hospitality Beverage Specialist designation from the Society of Wine Educators in 2020, a Certificate from the Curso Online de Viticultura, Enología y Cata: Práctico at Euroinnova Business School in 2018, and the Rioja Wine Diploma for Trade & Distribution in 2020. I also have a PhD in history from Cornell University and have been a member of the French Guilde Internationale des Fromagers since 1994.

My book Leary's Global Wineology was published in 2022. I also work as a wine education consultant for the wine metaverse, Second Winery.

In my life as an expat and traveller I have lived in Bordeaux, New York's Finger Lakes, China, Oregon, California, Andalusia, Nova Scotia, and Rome, and sojourned through Chile, Argentina, & South Africa.

A VARIETY OF WINE & CULINARY CLASSES

My current Panama City class offerings, both hands-on as well as online, appear below. There is a limit of 8 participants for in-person wine classes, so please reserve ahead! I am also available as a private chef for special events in Panama City, Panama. I'm a member of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, the Wine Scholar Guild, and the Society of Wine Educators.

Introduction to Wine

Learn the basics of wine appreciation. We will taste two red wines, two whites, and a rose as well as learning about wine service and wine glasses!
$45 per person (minimum 2). 20% discount for a group of 3 or 4 persons.  2 hours.

Wines of Latin America (online or in person)

Want to host a Latin wine dinner, for example pairing Argentine-style beef with a sumptuous red wine made from Malbec?
Or do you want to find out what distinguishes Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from its California counterparts? We introduce the geography and major wine regions of Latin America, followed by a guided tasting of at least four wines (follow along with your own bottles at home). We will also discuss the history and unqiue characteristics of Chilean and Argeninean wines, the popular grape varietals (do you know Carmenere and Torrontes?) and conclude with food & wine pairing suggestions.
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$22 per person (minimum 2) online. 20% discount for a group of 5 to 8 persons. One hour ONLINE CLASS using Zoom.
$49 per person in person (including wine tastings, maximum 8). 20% discount for a group of 4-8 persons.

Desserts with a Dash of History

In this hands-on class, learn to make desserts with a connection to Central America and Panama! You will not only master basic techniques for home dessert making, you will also learn about the food culture of Latin America by using ingredients tied to local history, agriculture, and geography.
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$39 per person (minimum 2). 20% discount for a group of 3 or 4 persons. 2 hours.

Wine for Beginners

Learn the basics of wine appreciation in this presential class. Wines included. 1 1/2 hours.
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$39 per person (minimum 2). 20% discount for a group of 3 or 4 persons.
Additional classes including Specialty Coffee for Beginners and How to Design a Cheese Course with Wine are also available. Check the reservations page for information and online reservations!

RESERVE

RESERVE A CLASS TODAY!

Charlie's Home: Wine & Kitchen offers classes both online and in Charlie's private kitchen in Panama City. For a complete list and schedule of cooking classes and wine classes, please click the link below.
You will be redirected to a seperate web site to reserve.

​LOCAL

FARMED FRESH : FOCUS ON LOCAL

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I will not only teach you techniques for cooking or appreciation of wines, I also provide the cultural, historical, and geographical context behind what you are learning. As a trained historian who also extensively studied cultural anthropology, the story behind the ingredients, the cooking techniques, and/or the wines always fascinates me. And that means focusing on what is local and distinctive of place. This is why the National Geographic Society honoured me by selecting me as a Delegate to the Geotourism Summit in Washington, DC, after having chosen the hotel I founded as among “ten of the most innovative, sustainable travel programs around the world.” Ashoka Changemakers praised my creation of "a unique venture that captures the essence of geotourism: sustain and enhancing the character of a place, including its environment, culture. aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents."

PRIVATE CHEF

CHARLIE WILL COOK OR SELECT WINES FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT!

Chef Charlie is available as a private chef and wine expert whether you're planning a special dinner at home, or need assistance with an event in central Panama City. Want assistance with which wines to choose for your next get-together with friends or as corporate gifts? Contact Charlie today!