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June 8, 2009
guest blogger: Kristen Finello
Yummy Lessons from the CIA
As a regular contributor to Bridal Guide—I write many of the reception feature stories—I get to chat with top wedding planners, event designers, chefs and other experts about everything that goes into a wedding celebration from food to flowers. I love hearing about trends and tricks of the trade from talented pros, so when I was invited to take a class at the famed Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York, I jumped at the chance. And since I can only stand to benefit from my hubby building on his already quite good cooking skills, I decided to bring him along. Thoughtful, I know!
Arriving at the beautiful CIA campus bright and early on a Saturday morning, my husband Matt and I had an opportunity to chat with Laura Pickover, a CIA grad who runs the food enthusiast programs. (Matt is seriously coveting her job!) Laura told us that cooking classes have become really popular with younger people and with pairs—in addition to mother/daughter duos and friends, they see lots of engaged couples, newlyweds and long-married couples. They even had a couple whose marriage therapist told them to take a class to brush up on their team work skills. I had to wonder if a class that involved sharp knives but the best choice but hey, whatever works!
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After speaking with Laura, it was off to class. Matt was dying to get into the kitchen. I admit I was a little nervous. Maybe it was all those episodes of Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen that I’ve watched but I had visions of a Gordon Ramsay-like chef barking orders at me. Boy was I relieved to meet our instructor, Chef Leo Jones. He immediately put everyone at ease with his humor and entertaining anecdotes (plus he’s English and has a great accent!). After an intro and kitchen tour, it was time to get “suited up.” We each got a toque (aka a tall white chef’s hat) and apron. I’ll be honest: It wasn’t the best look for me but I did feel more “official.” Here I am with Chef Jones.
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Once we were properly attired, it was time to get cooking! The sixteen students in the class were divided into four teams. Matt and I were grouped with a nice mother/daughter duo and tasked with whipping up three dishes: Chilled Cucumber Soup with Shrimp and Dill, Satay of Beef with Peanut Sauce, and Veal Scaloppine with Lemon and Capers. The four of us flipped open our sheath of recipes and got right to work on the first recipe—cucumber, tomato and feta salad. We thought we were off to a great start until we realized that we were making another team’s recipe. Oops!
As the morning went on, I learned that I’d have to speed up big time to cut it the high-speed hustle and bustle of a real restaurant kitchen. (If Chef Ramsay were there, he would surely have been screaming at me!) Taking on the job of slicing celery, cucumbers and onions, I was precise (A fellow student asked me if I was a surgeon—and he was serious.) but w-a-a-a-y too slow. Chef Jones intervened (kindly!) at one point to show me a better way to dice celery. The fact that my station was a disaster by the end didn’t exactly make me Top Chef material either. Oh well. At least I was learning a lot and enjoying myself!
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Besides cooking ourselves, we benefitted from Chef Jones demo-ing skills such as making lemon and caper sauce for the veal scaloppine. With the economy the way it is and take-out and eating out so expensive, it will definitely come in handy to know how to prepare some good eats at home.
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After two hours of cooking flew by, we admired all the scrumptious-looking dishes lined up on the counter and then it was time to chow down. We were all so proud of the food we made! For dessert, we had a little “prezzie” (his word!) from the Chef which was a delicious rhubarb dish.
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Since Chef Jones knew I would be reporting back to all of you brides, he took the time to create a gorgeous three-tier wedding cake centerpiece for our dining table. As you can see, his attention to detail is amazing. The flowers are completely edible (they’re made from sugar) but looked so real! My favorite touch was the tulle accented with icing scrollwork and tiny icing flowers. Gorgeous!
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So brides, I highly recommend a visit to The Culinary Institute. Besides the Hyde Park campus that I visited, classes are also available at their outposts in San Antonio, Texas and Napa Valley, California. A cooking class for two would make an awesome addition to your honeymoon (or a great mini-moon on its own) or an ideal getaway from the stress of wedding planning. And just think of all the fabulous dinner parties you can host as newlyweds with your new culinary skills. I also think it would be a blast to gather the girls for a cooking class instead of the usual bachelorette party at a restaurant or bar.
In addition to the “CIA Favorites” class that I took through the “Weekends at the CIA” program, there are dozens of other classes available from Cake Decorating (perfect for you DIY brides!!) to Breakfasts and Brunches (you know your fiancé will want to make his new bride breakfast in bed!) to The Italian Table (just plain yummy!).
And for the true foodies among us, a week-long CIA Boot Camp would be a great fit. You’ll get in-depth training in topics such as BBQ, Entertaining, Healthy Cooking, Asian Cuisine or Pastries. I’m told that the CIA is working on setting up a registry for the boot camps so in the not-too-distant future you can register and ask your wedding guests to chip in on the fun.
For more information about cooking classes and boot camps, visit the CIA’s website at ciachef.edu. Okay ladies, I don’t know about you but I’m off the raid the fridge now. Just reminiscing about my class at the CIA is making me hungry!
Posted by Kristen at 3:47 p.m.
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