If you've noticed I've been quiet on the blogosphere lately, it's because I've got my learning cap on and have been busy with school (the cooking kind, as well as the more serious kind)! The Hubby had the brilliant idea to enroll me in the Institute of Culinary Education's
Techniques of Fine Cooking 1 as an Anniversary gift. Smart, isn't he? It's the gift that keeps on giving! He sure has been enjoying the new kitchen skills I've picked up lately.
The
Institute of Culinary Education ('ICE') is located on West 23rd Street and offers career training for real chefs-to-be, and also holds a lot of recreational classes for people like you and me. It's pretty fun walking by the real chefs in class and watching them in action. There are recreational classes which range from just a few hours, to others that span several days like the one I took. Check out their
website, it's hard
not to find one that doesn't pique your interest! You can sign up for classes online so the whole process is pretty easy.
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Photos from Techniques of Fine Cooking I |
Techniques in Fine Cooking is a program which focuses more on teaching technique rather than recipes. (Though admittedly, I've been loving practicing the recipes at home). It is a 5 day course, with 5 hours each day. ICE offers sessions which are either 5 days consecutively, or 1 day a week over 5 weeks.
I learned how to truss a chicken, poach eggs, make mousse (hello, arm workout), wet and dry braise and work with mussels. The list goes on and on!
The class introduced me to working with foods that I'm unfamiliar with, or had been intimidated of. The techniques taught are not actually that complex, but I think the class gives you the confidence that you can do it! There's also no better way to learn how to make something than to actually do it yourself.
Though class sizes vary, my session of Level 1 Techniques had 16 students, along with a Chef instructor and a kitchen assistant. Chef Anita was an energetic lady who sure kept us on our toes each day! She has been teaching at ICE for many years so she's a true veteran and knows how to keep the class moving.
We were in a nice sized kitchen and split into groups of 4. Each group works together to prepare dishes. I loved that Chef Anita structured the class so that for the most part, each group made everything in the curriculum - i.e., granted each group may make a different type of vegetable, we all learned how to blanch.
Here are a few pictures of my group's accomplishments: