Food & Drink

Cooking classes for everyone

Want to brush up on your culinary skills? Cooking classes for all kitchen resolutions.

By Krista Eide /

Credit: Flickr / JoshBerglund19

Flickr / JoshBerglund19

New year, new recipe? Here’s where Vancouver gets schooled in the kitchen

A few kitchen-phobes have told me 2010 is their year to learn to cook, either to save money, get creative, or to eat more healthfully. Even those who think they know their way around the galley (right here) could learn something new (chocolate making) or brush up on technique (knife handling). Here’s just a sample of local cooking classes to help meet your cooking resolutions.

Classes at all cooking schools generally fill early, so book soon.


 

Start from scratch

If you can grill a burger, but wish you could braise osso bucco, look no further. Quince Studio offers its “Nine Day Basic: Intensive Techniques for the Serious Amateur.” The nine-week, two-part course will lead you through each step, from setting up your workspace, all the way to a finale three-course gourmet dinner prepared with the dozens of skills you’ll learn.

Quince, 1780 W. 3rd Ave. 604-731-4645.

Vegging in

 

Most local cooking schools offer vegetarian or vegan classes, but Radha Yoga and Eatery knows people don’t just want delicious meat-free recipes, they want an entire way of eating demystified. Their upcoming Saturday afternoon classes, beginning January 17, cover topics including how to incorporate whole grains into your diet, what to do with all those lentils and beans, and even how to make fermented beverages. Each class is taught by the restaurant’s chef Andrea Potter or sous-chef Robert Wilson-Smith, and is priced right at $40 a pop.

Radha Yoga and Eatery, 728 Main St. 604-605-0011.

 

 

Regional tastes

Looking to learn an ethnic cuisine while maintaining your waistline? The Dirty Apron Cooking School, the beautiful new facility from Chambar’s Karri and Nico Schuermans and chef David Robertson, launches its first Indian cooking class with guest chef Bal Arneson, author of Everyday Indian and our local master of low-fat, high-flavour Indian eats. She’ll show you how to prepare her famous no-butter chicken, fresh mango chutney, paneer pakoras, and much more, all without spending the entire day in the kitchen.

Tuesday, January 19 at The Dirty Apron Cooking School, 540 Beatty St. 604-879-8588.


 

Just looking

If your idea of a quiet night in involves the Food Network, then attending cooking demonstrations might be your best way to learn. Plus, unlike TV, you get to sample everything at the end. At Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks’  Sunday Suppers, you can watch demonstrations by chefs from Vancouver’s top restaurants. Come see Justin Ault and Masaaki Tsujimoto of Hapa Izakaya whip up their signature “pub-style” Japanese izakaya cuisine February 7.

Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, 1740 W. 2nd Ave. 604-688-6755.


 

No time for classes?


Learn to cook without even leaving your desk. Vancouver-based chef Eric Arrouze offers 911ChefEric.com, a monthly subscription that allows you unlimited access to his video demonstrations of hundreds of recipes. If you’re more serious about cooking, Chef Eric’s more intensive Onlineculinaryschool.net offers French cuisine courses a la carte.


 

Do you have any cooking goals for 2010? I’d love to hear about them.