Back and looking for opinions

[HubUK]

After a complete computer wipe out and a house move to the otherside of the country I have finally found my way back to Chef Talk. More impressive still, I managed to get my user name right on the second attempt and the password!!!

Some of you might remember me from the last time I was on the boards - I was (and still am) resposible for running Hub-UK (www.hub-uk.com) one of the UK's biggest recipe and cooking sites. Since I was last here a lot has changed in my life.

As a result of my efforts with Hub-UK I was approached by a UK travel company to organise cooking holidays in France and Italy as well as create the content for their web site. After many months of research and writing the web site is starting to become quite effective - and I hope a little better than your average travel web site. (Have a look at the cooking section - http://www.bluediamondtravel.co.uk/s...est.asp?siid=1 )

I would be interested in opinions - some people say I should display the price of each holiday whilst others say I should not. The problem with pricing is that there are so many variables for each holiday that if you say "price starting from" it is almost certain that most people will end up being quoted more for their particcular requirement. I think that would make people feel that they were being conned. What does anyone else think?

I have to say that I would not consider cooking holidays to be cheap but at the end of the day they have limited numbers, often as small as 6, which means that costs will inevitably be higher because they can only be shared between a few people and at the end of the day the chef tutor has to earn a living as well. One or two I have managed to get below £1,000 whilst many of them range from £1,200 to £1,500. Comments?

I have arranged something a little different for October 2003 - a week's cooking cruise around the Med starting at £899 per person (based on 2 people sharing). I might even get to go on one of these as we will be escorting and looking after our guests for the whole week. Do any of you find the idea of a cruise with cooking demonstrations, a day out and lunch on Sicily, a special dinner evening and a final night cocktail party appealing?

These holidays are primarily aimed at the UK market although modern communications mean that theoretically we could arrange these holidays for anyone wherever they might live.

Anyway I was really pleased to land this job as it allowed me to make my living with two of my favourite pastimes - cooking and web design. And next Wednesday we have a stand for five days at the BBC Good Food Show - will I get to meet any of the famous chefs?

David

[Suzanne]

Welcome back, David! You have been missed.

The new website looks really good to me. As do the trips. Since you asked, yes, I think you should give some idea of the cost. It's terrible to get one's heart set on something and then find out too late it was way beyond reach. That's happened to me -- too late to do anything but empty my pocketbook -- at group dinners, and it takes all the pleasure away. Of course there could be people who see the "Prices starting at ..." and take it to mean "Priced at ... " -- but one would hope that they're not in your target market.

As a point of comparison on prices: I just received notice of a trip to La Varenne, self-paid to/from Paris. About 5 very intensive days, with all meals including a dinner each at a 1-, 2-, and 3-star restaurant, market and vineyard tours, cooking demos. US $3,245 or $3,345 (includes a $200 donation to the sponsoring organization).

As for your question about the cruise: Does that sound good? YOU BET! Of course, it might depend on who's doing the demos, but still, the idea is good. I think there may be some big fancy Caribbean cruises that offer that, but on a much less intimate basis.

Best of luck with the new venture!

[Jim]

I was wondering where you had been lurking. Best of luck with your new endevor and please keep us posted!!

[chrose]

Wondered what happened to that smiley face. Congrats on the job and best of luck to you.