A visit to New Mexico means experiencing a unique kind of cuisine that lets you know you’re someplace special. One of the best ways to explore southwestern cuisine is at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. In this podcast episode, meet Nicole Curtis Ammerman, the School’s Director.

Listen to our conversation with the Director of the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

In this episode of the Real Food Traveler Podcast, Nicole explains the intricacies of the cuisine of the region, including key ingredients and dishes. She also tells us about the various offerings of the Santa Fe School of Cooking, founded by her mother, that includes classes, demonstrations, food tours, shopping for goods and even evenings that combine food and jazz!

Nicole Curtis Ammerman, Director of the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Photo courtesy of the Santa Fe School of Cooking.

I met Nicole and recorded our conversation while sitting in her office adjacent to the Santa Fe School of Cooking’s facilities and market in the heart of downtown Santa Fe. There, I learned about the ingredients and foods that make up New Mexican cuisine.

Nicole explains that the school, opened in December of 1989, came to be because, honestly, her mom was having a midlife crisis. Faced with a variety of options for what her next chapter would be, creating a cooking school was among them.

We learn that several of the elements that make up the Santa Fe School of Cooking have come because Nicole simply said “yes, we can do that,” when approached by people with requests, even when she hadn’t done it before.

Nicole talks about the different kinds of classes they have, be they hands-on or demonstration classes, both of which result in attendees getting to feast on what was made!

Take one of the hands-on classes at the Santa Fe School of Cooking Class and learn a lot before eating what has been prepared. Photo courtesy of the Santa Fe School of Cooking.

Beyond classes, the school also does corporate culinary events, bridal showers and rehearsal dinners and Friday afternoon restaurant walking tours where people go around town, meeting different chefs in their restaurants, getting a behind-the-scenes look that one wouldn’t get just dining there.

We cover what ingredients and dishes are truly local including a huge variety of chiles. Nicole explains how the difficult growing conditions of New Mexico yield specific crops and why the climate is conducive to them, enhancing the flavors.

Hungry for more? Get Nicole’s recipe for Carne Adovada.

Use Nicole’s guidance to help you know what to order in restaurants and what goods to purchase to take back home (most of which are conveniently available in the Santa Fe School of Cooking’s market).

Shop for local and specialty goods including ingredients in the Santa Fe School of Cooking market. Photo by Courtney Drake-McDonough.

Learn more about the Santa Fe School of Cooking on their website. There, you’ll find information on classes, shopping and even food available to-go (48-hours in advance perfect for your rental). And check them out on social media on Facebook at SantaFeSchoolofCooking, on Instagram at santafeschoolofcooking and on TikTok at santafe.schoolofcooking.

-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, host of the Real Food Traveler Podcast and publisher of RealFoodTraveler.com