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How To Become A Better Cook

June 20, 2013   11 Comments

One of the main principles of healthy eating is that you are going to have to stop eating fast food and prepared processed food.

Cooking Classes

Unfortunately, if you aren’t buying prepared food, you are going to have to cook. What if you don’t like cooking? aren’t a foodie? or like to watch the Food Network just for fun?

What if the Food Network came to you LIVE and you could taste the finished product? You could get up close to examine techniques and ask questions of the chef. He would even answer them!

Sound too good to be true? Snack Girl recently attended a cooking class at a local cooking school - Different Drummer’s Kitchen - and I could sample the vittles and ask all my pressing cooking questions.

Now, since I write recipes, you are probably wondering why I might need to go to class to learn more. Your healthy cooking guru has A LOT to learn about food and I am always looking to expand my horizons.

Why go to a cooking class?

  1. You will be surrounded by people enthusiastic about cooking. Some of that enthusiasm can rub off.
  2. The chef will teach you a few techniques that will save you time in the kitchen.
  3. You don’t have to cook for an evening (a class and a meal).

I had to make dinner for my family (a bit sad, isn’t it?) and then cruise out to make it to this class on time. What did I learn? I learned about using a fish spatula (who knew there was such a thing) and that it is better to layer the spices as you cook then to add them all at the end.

I also had a nice evening off from the nighttime fight to “not brush my teeth” and the common “I’m not tired!!!....zzzzz”

Next time, I hope to bring a pal so we can learn together.

Have you gone to cooking classes? What have you learned?

Other posts you might like:

The Painful Truth About Vegetables (And What To Do About It)

Hey, Snack Girl - that isn’t even a photo of a vegetable! Are you asleep or something?....

Zen Cooking & Coconut Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

My friend Nikki is a food writer and photographer. She produces a beautiful website: art & lemons.

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11 Comments:

I have gone to cooking classes from time to time, and I really recommend them! They are a lot of fun, and give me motivation to cook. In fact, this reminds me I should go to one soon :)

I learned how to clarify butter and how to efficiently cut an onion. And had lots of fun and some tasty food as well!

I love going to cooking classes, though it's been a while. I need to look some up so I can go.

I love cooking classes! You learn a little bit more each time. And they're fun, too.

I'm really enjoying the book 'Cooked'. Highly recommend! It inspired me to try a new Thai recipe last night (and hit the grocery store) instead of getting takeout. :) It also inspired me to try baking bread in my new oven (and to seek out local sourdough bread--that I was successful with this week). :)

Great post! Even as someone who has taught cooking classes, there is still so much to learn. You have to eat everyday, so I consider cooking a life journey.

Encouraged and enthused by Top Chef competitions on TV, I signed up for a 24 week French cooking class and graduated in April 2011. In French cooking, you don't learn much about calories but the portions are always just a bite less than you think you need. Everything was fresh. The French chef who taught the class (and yes, with a lovely accent) said "read the labels and if you do not know even one ingredient, don't eat it - would you eat blindfolded and put anything in your mouth?" I learned SO much especially to love and cook with unsalted butter!! I got rid of all my "coated" cookware except for a skillet! I rarely buy anything from the frozen foods section or in a can. I never freeze beef now - buy it fresh and use it. Highly recommend cooking classes!!

I love cooking classes and have been taking them for years, though not so much recently. You are so right, it's a great way to learn how to be more efficient in the kitchen which helps to make cooking more fun. Victoria, Your 24-week French Cooking class sounds incredible. I love the French approach to cooking, eating and living. Just got back from an incredible food-filled week in Paris that was worth every single calorie!

I'm in the lucky position that I love everything that has to do with food and I'm able to cook everything from scratch. Here in Canada at the big supermarkets they have cooking classes for roughly $ 10.00 and after attending you get a $ 10.00 giftcard. You not only get the knowledge but it's also free. I believe costs of cooking classes is a big issue these days for people. See if big American supermarkets offer something similar. It's worth it. And I love your emails because you deal with real ingredients and you don't just look at calories.

Oh my goodness, where do I begin. Many years ago more than 20, before the food net work there used to be a tv show called "Great Chefs of the 'fill in a major city'" and any day I would be sick I would watch these shows. My ex husband at the time said that is all you watch, really, I didn't even know I was even doing this. After our divorce, I went to a baking class for fun and really enjoyed it. Then I took all of the classes they had to offer. I learned a lot I even have been to the south of France and studied with a chef their. I am so thankful I took all of these classes, I have celiac and the knowledge I now have has been a blessing. I would still like to make breads that would not cost a person an arm or a leg. For those that would like to try cooking with a chef, I would recommend asking how to hold the knife properly. Master this and you will go far. I enjoy this site and everyone's comments. Thank-you.

Struggling to find a great gift idea for that Mom/Mother-In-Law/Aunt/Grandmother? I highly recommend the cooking classes as a gift. Many of the class themes are now focusing on cooking for two (Two People/One Pan) with particular attention on "easy to fix" and buying ingredients that most people would deem "normal". I recently attended with a group and we were encouraged to bring our own bottle of wine while we watched, learned and tasted. So fun!

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