cooking classes

© Katrépices

Stéphanie and Joffrey, a young Swiss-French couple owns this hip cooking school in Geneva.

They call it the « Cozy Cooking Factory » and it is indeed a very stylish but at the same time cozy location. The moment you enter KATREPICES you will be stunned by its beautiful design and feel at home right away. The ideal place to meet with friends or make some new ones.

They offer 30 minute lunch courses where you prepare a main course or evening courses of about two hours duration where you prepare a full three course menu.

Specials: Once a month they offer 12 singles what they call « cook dating ». A great opportunity to meet new people and have fun in a relaxed environment while preparing some delicious menu and just maybe meeting the love of your life.

We would describe KATREPICES culinary offer as seasonal French cuisine with an Asian twist. Menus vary and you can book your spot online. Course size is limited to 12 people. For further details please check out their website and read through the mouthwatering program. Just to give you some sample menus: scallops with lemongrass and vanilla, lamb cooked in hey crust and passion fruit pudding. Sounds delicious?

Besides their cooking classes KATREPICES also offers some rare and unique products such as artisan vinegars or spices from the South of France and some useful but well designed kitchenware.

One thing is for sure: you will certainly have a great time and a unique cross cultural experience.

But go and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

share this:

© Petis Farcis

Rosa Jackson, a Canadian food critic and writer living in France for more than ten years owns this cool cooking school in beautiful Nice, South of France.

Because Rosa is fascinated by Nice’s food and history, she decided to establish her own cooking school which she named after a popular Niçois dish « petis farcis », stuffed vegetables.

At PETITS FARCIS Rosa offers you various sorts of culinary experiences around traditional Niçois cuisine. You can either sign up for a three or five day cooking class. Your cooking experience will start off with a market visit where Rosa will select the best ingredients for your choice of menu and you will also do a wine selection. Afterwards you will prepare and enjoy your authentic menu in Rosa’s beautifully renovated 17th century apartment in Nice. Just to give you some ideas regarding potential mouthwatering experiences check out the menus of her upcoming courses and book your spot online.

Specials: But even if you are not so much into cooking yourself but otherwise interested in food you may decide to join Rosa on a three hour market tour. This will be a cultural-culinary experience of its own. While learning more about Nice’s history you will have the opportunity to taste some typical Niçois street food delicacies such as « pissaladière » (caramelized onion tart), « socca » (chick pea pancake), « fougasse » (Provençal flatbread) and « tourte de blettes » (a sweet pie with a surprise ingredient) while experiencing the special market atmosphere in Southern France. You will definitely get a feeling for the way of life in the South of France!

But go and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

If you are a foodie you should read our entry on Rosa's second business, « EDIBLE PARIS » where she offers personalized gourmet schedules. So check it out if you are interested to discover the Parisian restaurants of your taste.

share this:

© Hiltl

HILTL, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Europe with a long family tradition (currently managed by the 4th generation!) in Zurich’s city center offers you some great vegetarian cooking experience in its own cooking studio.

HILTL is famous for its Indian buffet and mix of flavors and spices to make your meatless dinner a delicious experience.

HILTL named its courses after its cooking book « Virtuous Vegetarian », which serves as the source of inspiration. But you can also opt for a « Spice » cooking class to experiment with different spices and flavors.

Why not start cooking great vegetarian dishes with interesting flavors and learn how to build in bean curd or other healthy but delicious new ingredients into your everyday cooking routine?

Courses are held by two HILTL chefs and are deemed to accompany 15 to 20 people. If you choose a lunch course you may bring your kids along. If you sign up for an evening course you may invite your friends to enjoy what you have prepared.

Specials: HILTL cooking studio also offers cooking classes for kids. One idea we particularly like is the kids’ birthday parties where the party folk prepare its own finger food and cake. An inspiring idea to offer kids a fun party combined with a great cooking and learning experience in a cozy environment!

So, no matter if you are an experienced cook or a rookie, you will certainly improve your knowledge and enjoy your cooking class in a relaxed atmosphere.

But go and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

share this:

© Hip Cooks

Monika Reti founded her first cooking school Hip Cooks in LA in January 2004. After studying economics and a corporate job Monika decided to make her passion for cooking her business. She started catering but decided to teach cooking when she realized her gift to make food out of nothing in the fridge.

Why bother about one more cooking school? Monika’s cooking classes are truly unique and far from the usual cooking class set-up. At Hip Cooks there are no rules except that recipes and measuring are no goes!

Monika’s mission is to awaken your inner chef, to learn how to be creative and to have fun cooking. She believes that cooking is a relaxing, creative and most of all processes.

How did she come up with this stress-free concept? Friends often asked her to teach them her magic skill. But we believe her classes are so special because she focuses on you and your inner chef to get prepared for hosting dinner parties without being or getting stressed-out.

Getting ready for some hands on cooking in a relaxed atmosphere? Monika’s favorite is the « healthy, fresh and zingy» class, which comprises a knife-skills session, ying-yang roasted pepper soup, seared sesame-crusted Ahi tuna and a zingy lime and tequila sorbet. No matter what your preferences are you will certainly find a course that meets your taste.

But go and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

share this:

© The Proof of the Pudding

Italian Walter Guariento relocated to Switzerland in 2009 and started giving culinary classes at home in his own kitchen in January 2010. He summarizes his philosophy as follows: «Good food should be shared and not sold, within reach of everyone and not the private property of a few ».

Walter’s passion for food started while he was studying IT in High School, and he decided to change career as soon as he finished his Diploma in ‘92. He undertook various courses at the Chambers of Guilds and then went traveling through Australia and South America, which enlarged his culinary repertoire that he then professionally applied since ’95, leading the kitchens in restaurants in the USA, Ireland and UK before leaving professional catering in ’04.

Walter's holds his cooking classes for small groups of 3 to 6 people in English and covers Italian, French and English cuisine.
 
To get a better understanding of what it is like to cook at « The Proof of the Pudding» and to get a glimpse behind the scene we have asked Walter a couple of questions. Here is what he has told us.

What made you decide to establish your own cooking school?

After spending about 10 years in professional kitchens, I had become a bit disillusioned with them. Please do no misunderstand me. I’m not slagging off a honorable career that many chefs better than me have loved, but I had reached a point where I could see where the professional catering was going (at least in the UK where I was at the time), where cult of personality and self-importance were taking precedence on what being a chef is all about, which is producing good food for others to enjoy.

How would you describe your mission at « The Proof of the Pudding »?

« The Proof of the Pudding » is not here to show you how good I am with sauces, but to show you how good YOU can be with a little work… all I can do is show you the way, it is up to you to walk it or not.

How does it work – I assume it’s a hands-on experience?

It is very hands on, and everyone contributes according to their own skills. There are no minimum requirements but basic skills are appreciated. Everyone has the chance to try a bit of everything, with the aim to have an all-round knowledge of the techniques or the menu of the particular class by the end of it.

What is your favorite class?

My favorite class is the « Baker’s Dozen » bread-making course, which always marvels my students as flour, yeast and water turn into warm and beautiful baked bread.

What inspires you?

The quality of produces and the passion that fired up those before and around me. Going through markets I always think, «What could I do with this?» and «How can I bring out its true flavors?». Talking to producers who are proud of what they grow or raise will always make me want to showcase their produce in the best possible way, so to preserve through my skills what theirs have produced. And learning from Chefs who, like me, have pared-down their techniques and recipes to bring them within the reach of everyone.

Which are your favorite ingredients?

Hmmm… too many to mention, but if I have to pick it has to be salt and pepper for ingredients, with their almost magic quality to bring up the best in all flavors. It is not without reason that something dull is usually referred to as «insipid». Correctly seasoning your dishes should be «chapter one, page one» of every cookery book worth its salt (no pun intended).

Do you have a signature dish?

I do have a signature dish based on a very closely guarded recipes «Ossobuco agli agrumi e cipolle arrosto», braised veal shin in citrus fruits and baked onions. It took me over a year to finely tune the recipe, and in my «Italian connection» class is the first time I decided to share this recipes since its inception about ten years ago.

Do you have any role models?

Gary Rhodes, Anthony Bourdain, Keith Floyd, Rock Stein and all the great Chefs that have turned their back to over-complicated dishes to embrace a more natural way to cook.

Which one is your favorite cookbook?

«Keeping It Simple» by Gary Rhodes is the cookbook I always recommend.

Do you have a favorite quote?

«We all know that good food can be a pleasure. The question is, why isn’t it always?» - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, founder of the River Cottage

What has been the most exciting moment so far?

Getting the first class under way was a great relief. I am more familiar with the English attitude to these things, and I was really worried about the reception that my approach to cookery classes would have in Switzerland.

Any lessons learned that you want to share?

I would have calculated my margins and costs more carefully before starting, I think they are right now but I had to adjust them twice. Believe it or not, there seems to be a huge difference in prices between two shops next door to each other.

What is your vision for « The Proof of the Pudding's » future?

« The Proof of the Pudding » 's core values are to provide knowledgeable tuition in a cordial, social and safe environment. In order to achieve this, the school must remain relatively small and retain the personal touch that sometimes is lost in bigger establishments. This doesn’t mean that I intend to clip the wing of my business, but I rather keep it as a «boutique» business with a long waiting list than a sprawling mass of confusion just for the sake of pleasing everyone.

What does it take to be/become an entrepreneur in your opinion?

It takes drive and a dream that you believe in. It has to be something that you have at heart, not only something that will make you money, otherwise you will lose sight of the dream. And a lot of patience and resilience for the moments when you feel is just not going anywhere.

Fun hands-on chocolate making classes in Munich Germany

share this:

© Amai

The cooking classes at the lovely Chocolate and Wine Bar Amai (=Japanese for sweet) in Munich are a must for chocoholics. The so-called chocolate workshops for small groups are very popular due to their relaxed atmosphere and make a great gift for chocoholics.

Amai is located near Munich’s famous Viktualienmarkt right in the city center and is well worth a visit for its mouthwatering chocolate creations. They even offer Chocolate and Wine tastings, which sound like a great idea.

But go and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

share this:

© Greekalicious

Maria Benardis, an Australian-Greek woman runs this cool cooking school in Sydney.

Her philosophy is that « the secret to any successful meal is simplicity combined with fresh organic ingredients whenever possible, love and intuition ».

Maria offers lunch or evening classes as well as private tuition courses. Her objective is to introduce you to the secrets of Greek cuisine by giving it a modern touch. Menus vary and to read through them is a mouthwatering experience.

How does « Summer in the Cyclades Islands » sound? To give you some more inspiration: « Caramelized onion filo pies, cinnamon rubbed chicken stuffed with grapes, wild rice and pine nuts followed by seasonal fresh fruits poached in mavrodaphne ». But there are many more delicious menus to be discovered. So check out Maria’s upcoming courses. You will feel the good vibrations by simply looking at the pictures.

Specials: At GREEKALICIOUS you will not only learn how to prepare the dishes but also get some insights into secret ingredients as well as into the origin & history of the dishes to enjoy a « comprehensive cultural-culinary experience ».

By attending one of Maria’s cooking classes people routinely report that you will soon forget time and place and be led on a delicious culinary journey to Greece. The ideal opportunity to prepare and enjoy some great food, to meet others and have a great time!

But go and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

If you like Greek food and/or culture you should read more on Maria's culinary tours to Greece. 

Discover Maria's cookbook « My Greek Family Table», which won the « GOURMAND World Cookbook Awards 2009 - Best Mediterranean Cuisine Book » in Australia.

share this: