A movable feast

 

By Jae-Ha Kim
New York Post
April 22, 2003 

If you’re like most people, you choose your destinations based on things like beaches, museums, shopping and night life. But why be like most people?

We’ve got one of the best reasons yet to hop on a plane: eclectic and fun cooking classes, where you can learn from the best and then splurge — go ahead, you’re on vacation — on your own creations.

Here are schools and classes close enough to keep the airfare reasonable, and in places where there’s lots to do when you’re not playing in the kitchen.

ALBUQUERQUE

Don’t know a pasilla from a poblano? Confused about tortillas and tamales? At the Jane Butel Cooking School, the prolific cookbook author and instructor demystifies the Southwest’s world-famous cuisine by sharing with students her encyclopedic knowledge of recipes, techniques, culture and history.

Full participation classes of fewer than 15 are broken into groups of three or four. They take place in state-of-the-art studio kitchens, comfortably housed in the historic La Posada Hotel in the rejuvenated downtown area.

Weekend and weeklong themed classes range from traditional and contemporary Southwestern cuisine to culinary techniques, smoking and grilling, and barbecue.

Info: Three-day courses cost $995 and include a reception, all prepared meals and two nights (double occupancy) at La Posada; weeklong courses are $1,995, including a reception, two dinners at a local restaurant, prepared meals and five nights (double occupancy) at La Posada ([800] 472-8229, www.janebutel.com ).

CHICAGO

After spending years doing publicity for celebrity chefs (including the Galloping Gourmet), Janine MacLachlan was tired of being just a mouthpiece. So she chucked her office and headed for the kitchen.

Fresh out of culinary school, the bubbly chef has opened the Rustic Kitchen in Chicago’s Lake-view neighborhood. Classes —which take place in her funky home (the kitchen has a cool chandelier and old-school gas stove) — range from “Dinner in France” to “Breakfast Bonanza.”

MacLachlan’s motto, “keep it simple,” helps even novices feel confident. A simple biscuit recipe can be tweaked as the base for a pot pie, for instance.

“Once people learn a basic recipe,” says MacLachlan, “it helps them understand the breadth of things that are available to them.”

Info: Classes from $55 per two-hour session ([773] 935-4239, www.rustickitchen.com ).

ITALY

In Italy’s verdant Tuscan countryside, Lorenza d’Medici, the high falutin’ descendant of the Medici princes and popes, founded a down-to-earth cooking school in 1985 in an 11th-century abbey.

Set in the village of the same name, the school — Badia a Coltibuono — is located on a gorgeous Tuscan estate that produces wine, vinegar, olive oil and other products.

Residential five-day vacation courses include cooking classes in a large teaching kitchen, plus visits to food producers, wineries, castles and, in July, the Palio horse race. Class size maxes out at 16. Don’t look for any garlic-and-tomato sauce dishes here, as the curriculum has been inspired by “the villa table” cuisine.

Info: Badia a Coltibuono is 20 miles north of Siena, 40 miles south of Florence. A five-day program including lodging costs $3,300 per person ([214] 739-2846, www.coltibuono.com ).

LOS ANGELES

Just one block from the ongoing Venice Beach “freak show,” a knife fight’s going down.

Don’t worry, it’s totally legal —just another student putting his best foot forward and attempting to create the perfect sushi roll.

The California Sushi Academy is the only school in the country that exists specifically to train sushi chefs. Happily, it’s also open to those whose aspirations are far more modest — any weekend warrior can sign up for one of the basic classes.

The art of sushi begins with the proper preparation of the rice, and that’s where the teaching begins. From there, the lesson moves on to rolls: California; rainbow; cucumber; and spicy tuna hand rolls (which, it is pointed out, you can teach guests to put together themselves, just in case your next dinner party needs a little jump start).

Students are encouraged to invite guests to drop in towards the end of the session to help gobble up their masterpieces.

Info: One-day basic classes (weekends only) cost $80 ([310] 581-0213; www.sushi-academy.com ).

SEATTLE (OR WHEREVER!)

“Barbeque is a religious experience,” intones the cheerfully almighty Doctor BBQ, a.k.a. Ray Lampe, who is, to say the least, highly mobile.

Lampe travels the country doing competitions and giving classes, usually with his mobile kitchen in tow. Currently, Seattle (July 13) is your best bet both to cook and to be in a cool city.

There, through the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association, Lampe is offering his renowned “Competiton” blow-out class, expected to be eight hours long.

You’ll learn everything there is to know about barbecue, including Lampe’s secrets, like what’s in his “Bonesmokers” seasoning.

If you’re intrigued but don’t feel like leaving home — and have a lot of friends, as you’ll need a minimum of 25 people —Lampe offers private classes on your patio or lawn. H

He’ll bring along his mobile kitchen, so no need to fret about a smoker.

Info: The Seattle Competition class costs $175; contact (206) 932-3815, www.pnwba.com . Private classes cost $60 per person ([863] 221-1885, www.drbbq.com ).

UNITED KINGDOM

This school is a gourmet’s high altar. Established in 1991 by flamboyant French chef Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, a manor house hotel in Oxfordshire, England, Le Manoir Ecole de Cuisine is the only cooking school offered at a two Michelin-starred restaurant.

But there’s nothing hoity-toity about the place; school director Steve Bulmer keeps it all very low key. Classes are no bigger than 10 students, and range from one- and two-day courses to a five-day residential program.

Meals are devised so that the base for each recipe could be used to make a plethora of other dishes, according to the season and circumstance.

Info: Le Manoir Ecole de Cuisine is an hour from London. One-day courses cost from $710, two-day from $1,560; the five-day residential program starts at $1,850, including tuition, accommodation and meals ([44] 184 478 881, www.manoir.com ).

Compiled by Sally Moore, Jae Ha-Kim, Irene Fischl, Ann Shepphird, Lorin Gaudin and Lucinda Labes