40 replies to this topic

[David Ross]

Did a test run tonight for my April 15 class. The recipes are an updated version of some dishes I did on MasterChef USA on PBS. I need to up the spice quotient for the rub on the lamb, maybe a bit of cayenne. Other than that, I think things are ready to go.

The menu will be Five-Spice Rack of Lamb, Steamed Rice, (yes, there are some people who don't know how to properly steam rice), and Braised Baby Bok Choy. The sauce for the Lamb is a Litchee-Plum Conserve. It has the beautiful fragrance of fresh rose petals.

My classes have been selling out at 16 students and the fee for this class will be $35.00. A bargain really, considering the menu and personalized instruction.

[gfweb]

Beautiful and definitely a steal!

[David Ross]

Unfortunately, the Rack of Lamb class won't happen. Got cancelled today due to only 5 students having signed-up. We need at least 12-16 to make it worth it for the store in terms of my time, the ingredients and post-class sales. That's one of the cold, hard, realities of those of us in the kitchen who teach--there has to be a break-even point and if you don't meet it, (regardless of how important it is to the students), you can't make a cooking class work.

[Dan Rose]

Any tips on where to go to learn artistic plating techniques?

[john mike mitchell]

cooking classes are good but it you daily got some new ideas about new delicious recipe..

[et alors]

If you are keen to travel, can I recommend Thailand?

I have taken many of the half-day market tour + learn a couple recipe Thai tourist classes, but never got my head around Thai cooking. Then I decided to take the intensive class at SITCA, and it just really built the Thai approach and way of thinking into my muscle memory. Truly amazing. Now, admittedly, it's expensive (especially in Thailand where everything is ridiculously cheap) but it's aimed at chefs and advanced amateurs, so there is no talking down to you and teach is a former five-star restaurant chef and knows her stuff. All her recipes are adaptations of family and friends.
http://www.sitca.net/

My last meal in Bangkok was at David Thompson's exquisite nahm http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/ , and I realize that my time at SITCA had not only made me a better cook but a better diner as well... I understood the food I was eating the way I understand French (the cuisine I know best). There is a definite philosophy to Thai cooking, and when a fellow referred to it as fusion Thai, I could correct him and speak to the classic principals Thompson's food so richly and tastily embodies.

I have silly amounts of photos from SITCA here http://www.flickr.co...ack/6946328146/ I hope to write up recipes with them upon my return.

A wonderful wonderful experience.. I recommend it highly.

A couple other small points; I got my knife skills at a Draeger's course, and it was very useful. Cheese making was valuable also. But most aren't... you just follow recipes together. bleah.

And check out Wild About Mushrooms... his mailing list hits on forays and he's extremely knowledgable.
http://www.wildaboutmushrooms.net/

Finally a question; anyone know of butchering classes in SF/bay area/peninsular? I'd like to understand how to take apart fish, chicken, pigs...


(edited for clarity and splling)

Edited by et alors, 24 April 2012 - 06:01 AM.

[Todd in Chicago]

Folks....

I'll be attending a bread making class ($85) at Kendall College in Chicago this weekend. I'll report back on the class, so far I've taken 3 classes there and they have been FANTASTIC! Well worth the $$ in my opinion. I also see that Le Cordon Bleu is offering "MasterChef" classes based on the TV show. Those also sound intriguing but haven't seen any that pique my interest yet.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

[rod rock]

Folks....

I'll be attending a bread making class ($85) at Kendall College in Chicago this weekend. I'll report back on the class, so far I've taken 3 classes there and they have been FANTASTIC! Well worth the $$ in my opinion. I also see that Le Cordon Bleu is offering "MasterChef" classes based on the TV show. Those also sound intriguing but haven't seen any that pique my interest yet.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

Congratulations, and good luck! I hope you will share your new experience and knowledge with us :)

[mskerr]

So almost a year has passed since I started this thread, and I have yet to take a cooking class nor find one that teaches what I'm looking for at an affordable price for me. Funny enough, I could take an entire yearlong non-degree program for aspiring culinary professionals at the City College San Fran for free ($500 for supplies) if I could handle living in the city for a year (not gonna happen), but the three- or five- day classes that interest me run $600-$2000 - usually $1000+ for three days, without accommodation. I have found plenty of three-hour classes that I'd take if traveling (on knife skills, for ex) but as far as just getting a bit of basic instruction on proper roasting, braising, sauté etc, or baking artisanal bread, the multiple-day courses I've looked at (Zingerman's Bake-cations, CIA bootcamp, Santa Fe Cooking School bootcamp, San Fran Baking Institute, to name a few) are just shockingly expensive to me.

(As an aside, I sometimes wonder if these classes are geared toward the sort of home cook who has a Viking Range and copper pans and a primo stand mixer with all the attachments, but hardly cooks, to paraphrase another thread on here... you know, someone with money to burn who would be thrilled to spend $85 on a class to learn what Harissa is).

I could take some community college classes, but for one thing, I'm not sure how good the local school is. Also, my schedule and my partner's are both totally erratic and we share a vehicle and the school is an hour away, and we are hoping to take off for a few months, etc, etc, so I can't really commit to regular attendance for a 4 month class.

Any more leads for me?
Or can someone lend me their Italian grand mom for some cooking lessons? :)

In the meanwhile, I have just used my latest paycheck to order some James Peterson's books (Sauces, Soups, and Cooking), the Zwilling (sp?) knife skills book, Taste What You're Missing, Ideas in Food: Why Great Recipes Work, and some new kitchen equipment, so that should keep my self-education truckin' for a while, plus the constant stacks of cookbooks from the library, America's Test Kitchen and Ripert videos, McGee books, not to mention eG.

[Todd in Chicago]

So almost a year has passed since I started this thread, and I have yet to take a cooking class nor find one that teaches what I'm looking for at an affordable price for me. Funny enough, I could take an entire yearlong non-degree program for aspiring culinary professionals at the City College San Fran for free ($500 for supplies) if I could handle living in the city for a year (not gonna happen), but the three- or five- day classes that interest me run $600-$2000 - usually $1000+ for three days, without accommodation. I have found plenty of three-hour classes that I'd take if traveling (on knife skills, for ex) but as far as just getting a bit of basic instruction on proper roasting, braising, sauté etc, or baking artisanal bread, the multiple-day courses I've looked at (Zingerman's Bake-cations, CIA bootcamp, Santa Fe Cooking School bootcamp, San Fran Baking Institute, to name a few) are just shockingly expensive to me.

(As an aside, I sometimes wonder if these classes are geared toward the sort of home cook who has a Viking Range and copper pans and a primo stand mixer with all the attachments, but hardly cooks, to paraphrase another thread on here... you know, someone with money to burn who would be thrilled to spend $85 on a class to learn what Harissa is).

I could take some community college classes, but for one thing, I'm not sure how good the local school is. Also, my schedule and my partner's are both totally erratic and we share a vehicle and the school is an hour away, and we are hoping to take off for a few months, etc, etc, so I can't really commit to regular attendance for a 4 month class.

Any more leads for me?
Or can someone lend me their Italian grand mom for some cooking lessons? :)

In the meanwhile, I have just used my latest paycheck to order some James Peterson's books (Sauces, Soups, and Cooking), the Zwilling (sp?) knife skills book, Taste What You're Missing, Ideas in Food: Why Great Recipes Work, and some new kitchen equipment, so that should keep my self-education truckin' for a while, plus the constant stacks of cookbooks from the library, America's Test Kitchen and Ripert videos, McGee books, not to mention eG.

There is so much "free" good stuff out there in terms of audio and video on the web. Something I stumbled across which I thought was awesome was The Stella Culinary School podcast. I have a somewhat longish commute (about an hour each way) and listened to this whole series. Look it up on the web....I think it's amazing that we have these great people who put this content out there for "free". Unbelieveable that I can listen to "How to make stock" on my ride home!

Todd in Chicago

[mskerr]

Nice! I happen to have tons of time to listen to stuff as well, so that works great. will check it out.