Has anyone taken a cooking class?

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I've been in a number (20 or more) of classes. Definitely go for the ones that you participate in. I found that there were a couple of instructors I liked and whose expertise and experience I respected. I always took their classes, and I came away with as much from their offhand comments on prep and process as I did from the course material.
 
Does home economics class in high school count? :chef: Honestly that is the only hands on cooking I was ever taught formally, and other than that I learned mostly from working in the catering industry. Like most have mentioned though, if you have a good instructor and the class is hands-on, I say go for it.
 
I'm very selective. I'll enroll only if I will learn something new skills-wise or learn a coveted recipe. Preferrably if it's hands-on too.

I've taken a few, including a crash classical course for chefs (150 hours + 100 hours internship) and several special multiple-day programs. Oh, and I also attended a half-day program at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris but we only got to watch the chef make everything.

I recently finshed a 5-day traditional Thai cooking course where we learned 15 different curry dishes from scratch. I also completed a 7-day Thai contemporary cooking course that included fruit and vegetable carving. I learned about strange new ingredients for the first time and discovered something about Thai food philosophy.

My advice is: Study the course description and dishes offered carefully. If you don't think you'll learn new skills and that they will simply show you how to follow recipe instructions, then maybe you're better off buying a book on the topic.

Of course if the cost does not matter, it's always preferrable that one is shown how to do things first, so at the very least, if you don't learn any new skill, what you gain is the confidence to make the dish yourself.
 
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Mr_Dove said:
Has anyone taken a real cooking class? Is it worth the cost? Is there a better way to learn? I'm thinking more about learning techniques rather than just recipes.

My wife sent me this link. A friend of hers is doing a "date night" cooking class for her anniversary.

http://www.cookstreet.com/cooking-wine-classes/cooking-classes

Classes there are about $80 for a session. Several of them look interesting but I'm unsure if they are worth the cost.
I've taken the Classic Techniques: Essentials class at Cook Street. I loved the class, it is defintely hands on. It gives you a lot of good basic information as well as getting work as a class to cook a full meal and eat it at each class session. Each of the 4 sessions focuses on a particular topic. Chef Dale Eiden taught the class when I took it, and he makes it alot of fun. I've also been to one of their Taste 5 wine parties... makes for a good fun evening.:chef:

I'm retiring the first of the year, and I plan to take some more classes then.
 
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If taught by someone who teaches you actual techniques they can be invaluable. I searched around for one, and could only find home-ec type courses teaching a few "recipes" rather than focusing on the techniques which would open up thousands of recipes to that person. Ended up experimenting by myself with the CIA's textbooks and blowing through a few grand worth of merchandise to develop my basic skills.

I'd love to take a Thai course though! I hear a lot of places in Bangkok run cooking-school "Vacations" where you spend five days shopping at local markets and cooking. I'd also love to do this somewhere in the Sichuan province of China.
 
When I lived in Dallas one of our favorite restaurants would give a month worth of classes on Monday night, when the restaurant was closed. A small group of people sat in the kitchen and the chef prepared different dishes each night. He talked about technique, ingredients, etc. The wine was flowing from all directions. After the meal was complete, we all went to the dining area and it was presented to us as if we had reservations. We left with copies of all the recipes with our notes scribbled all over it. It was alot of fun and very informative.
 
Cook Street has a very fine reputation among Cooking teachers and in the culinary community, in general. Perhaps I am a tad prejudiced, as I am a Cuiinary Educator, but I think there is no better way to learn the techniques than by taking classes from qualified instructors. You can definitely ask the school to see the credentials of the teachers whose classes you are considering.

Even tho I teach cooking, I also take cooking classes. There is always something new to learn!

Have a ball. You're gonna love it! :chef:
 
I searched around for one, and could only find home-ec type courses teaching a few "recipes" rather than focusing on the techniques
Nick, where in MA are you? If you're in or near Boston, there are plenty of places to learn from qualified instructors.

Just because a course is billed as "Northern Italian" does not mean that techniques are not going to be taught. In fact, I have yet to take a course anywhere that did not emphasize the techniques needed to make the dishes in the class.

Not sure what you were looking for.
 
Mr_Dove said:
Has anyone taken a real cooking class? Is it worth the cost? Is there a better way to learn? I'm thinking more about learning techniques rather than just recipes.

My wife sent me this link. A friend of hers is doing a "date night" cooking class for her anniversary.

http://www.cookstreet.com/cooking-wine-classes/cooking-classes

Classes there are about $80 for a session. Several of them look interesting but I'm unsure if they are worth the cost.

Cook Street is a fine cooking school. I have taken 2 at our local Johnson and Wales and absolutely loved them. Most recent was Indian cooking--just excellent.
She would love to do it. It is fun to meet people taking the class and the chefs that do these are really great folks too.
And for learning techniques that you are unfamiliar with or cuisine that requires more understanding of spices, it is just terrific.
That is a very standard price I think. OUrs are more and some of the "boutique" classes are MUCH much more!!
 
Nicholas Mosher said:
I'd love to take a Thai course though! I hear a lot of places in Bangkok run cooking-school "Vacations" where you spend five days shopping at local markets and cooking.

I've taken one of these before at a fancy hotel along the Chao Praya river. (This was long before I moved to Thailand.) We rode a nice re-outfitted rice barge to the wet market across the river, where our guide showed us local produce and spices being sold, and then we went back the same way to the hotel where the chef showed us how to cook a 5 course meal at an outdoor kitchen surrounded by lush gardens. We were even given a nice hotel-branded apron and toque. The course was overpriced of course. And what I learned I could have read off the recipes.

Now I shy away from touristy stuff like this. Nicholas, when you do, make sure it's not some tourist rip-off. Many hotels and schools offer cooking courses as it is very popular with tourists. My advice: Do your research on the school and program first.
 
Caine said:
Yeah, there's a lot of that going around. That's why I can't figure out the surge in cook book sales the last few years.
Lots of folks read 'em instead of mysteries or whatever, and never intend to cook from them at all! Go figure! :ermm:
 
It does depend on the instructor. I once attended a set of classes where the instructor (a woman, by the way) said, in a very haughty tone, that no great cooking was ever done by mothers cooking for their families. I happened to be a young mother at the time, and I shot back, "I guess that depends on your definition of great cooking." She was distinctly unhappy with me from that moment onwards...
 
TexanFrench said:
It does depend on the instructor. I once attended a set of classes where the instructor (a woman, by the way) said, in a very haughty tone, that no great cooking was ever done by mothers cooking for their families. I happened to be a young mother at the time, and I shot back, "I guess that depends on your definition of great cooking." She was distinctly unhappy with me from that moment onwards...
...Sounds like someone who was pretty unhappy with herself, as well... :dry:
 
Chopstix said:
I've taken one of these before at a fancy hotel along the Chao Praya river. (This was long before I moved to Thailand.)
Hey! I lived in Bangkok once upon a time! :) I was a kid, 9 years old, so obviously I wasn't taking a cooking course. Sorry to sort of hijack the thread but I definitely had fun shopping at the Pratunam market and (can't remember what they call it) the "Sunday Market" in the company of our cook, Alum, or her daughter, Dook. We were military, so obviously we were the rich "falangs" :LOL: If you get a chance, maybe tell me if the house we rented is still there. Bon Nung, Soi Ekamai (soi hok sip sam). Across the street from the lumber yard and the Imperial bowling alley.

The great thing about this experience was it taught me (and in fact they taught me so in Thai language class at school, the International School of Bangkok) the value of the barter system. I wish I could go into a supermarket in the U.S. or even a farmer's market and not pay "sticker price". 5 baht? No, 2 baht! and settle on 3 baht. All's fair in food and cooking!

Fraidy
 
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FraidKnot said:
... the "Sunday Market" in the company of our cook, Alum, or her daughter, Dook. We were military, so obviously we were the rich "falangs" :LOL: If you get a chance, maybe tell me if the house we rented is still there. Bon Nung, Soi Ekamai (soi hok sip sam). Across the street from the lumber yard and the Imperial bowling alley.
Fraidy

Fraidy, by "Sunday Market" do you mean the 'Weekend market"? If so that would be the Chatuchak or Jatujak Market: A huge sprawling spread of stalls selling anything and everything under the sun -- antiques, amulets, furniture, souvenirs, fashion, fake flowers, ceramics, dried food to marine aquarium fish, pure-bred puppies, pet fashion, the list goes on forever.

Ekamai is not too far from where I am. I'm on Sukhumvit (Soi Yi Sip Si). I'll try to remember your address just in case I'm in that area...:)
 
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