Confessions of a Cooking Class junkie

photo courtesy of L'Academie de Cuisine

There are two unwavering facts about me: I love to learn and I enjoy cooking.

My mother frequently tells my friends that when I was in the first grade I cried because I couldn't go to school on Saturday. After reassurances that school was actually closed and I would be able to return to school when it reopened on Monday I reportedly stopped crying.  First grade is also about the time I received my e-z bake oven. After I outgrew the e-z bake oven I began perusing my mother's cookbooks and offered to help prepare dishes.

Today, I'm more inclined to sign up for a cooking class.

Friends and associates have asked me, 'why sign up for a cooking class, when you can just get the recipe on the internet?  Yes, I can get the recipe  the recipe from the internet, but it is the in person
guidance and feedback that draws me to class.  Recently my manicurist asked if I was planning to become a chef. The answer is 'no'. However, I would like to improve my cooking skills - whether that is how to hold a knife properly, how to cut an onion so that it can be diced or sliced as efficiently as possible, or how to cook with beer, so that I can be a  better cook.

I've attended cooking classes with friends, co-workers, direct reports, solo and as a date night. In many ways participating in a cooking class can tell you a lot about a person. Classes often have at least one participant who displays one of the following behaviors:

• Chatty: talks the entire time the instructor is talking and then ask others nearby to repeat what was said
• Competitive: rush into the classroom to secure the seat closest to the instructor and will rush through to prepare the food
• Contrarian: challenges the instructors directions and guidance to let the instructor and other participants  know they have cooking experience
• Dictatorial: very similar to the Contrarian, but attempts to instruct and correct fellow classmates on how to cook
• Sanitary challenged: constantly touching hair, face, nose, phone and other unclean items while cooking. In some classes the instructor takes on the task of reminding the Sanitary challenged to wash their hands. Other instructors tell the entire class that for the well being of all present, the instructor, volunteer teaching staff or classmates may ask students to wash their hands and not to be offended.

Most of the time the class flows smoothly and everyone leaves with a recipe packet and a tummy full of food.  Then there are the classes where something inexplicable happens - perhaps a personality clash, miscommunication, simple misunderstanding. More often than not the class participants just move on and focus on the task at hand because the class is only for a few hours.  Sometimes, the conflict seems unavoidable. One evening I was the last arrival at a setting for four participants. As the instructor reviewed the recipe packet with the class one  of the women at my table began talking to her friend and as the talking continued the instructor stopped and asked the woman if she had a question. The woman replied that she didn't have a question. When we commenced to making the dishes in the recipe packet the woman challenged the direction being taken on each dish. This behavior so infuriated another team member that she refused to work with the woman  the entire evening.  The woman and her friend made a hasty retreat shortly after eating the meal we had prepared.

 

Despite that tense group moment I still peruse course catalogs, emails, and booklets from organizations to learn a new technique or how to prepare a dish.  More friends have begun suggesting cooking classes or cooking organizations to me.

 

Where do you take cooking classes?

 

My name is Technicolor girl and I'm a cooking class junkie. I'll see you in class!

 

Be well,

 

Technicolor girl

 

 

 

Solo sojourns

I felt compelled to write  this post for those have wanted to dine solo, but are uncomfortable doing so and to share a  different perspective about an NPR feature about diners using their smartphone, kindle or other technology when dining.

Many of the entries you will read on my blog were a result of a solo sojourn. My first experience dining solo was when  I worked for a company that required frequent out of town travel. I sometimes would eat in the restaurant of  the hotel where I was staying. Sometimes male diners would try to send me drinks or try to invite themselves to my table. Savvy, protective servers would intercept these unwanted advances. Sometimes I just ordered room service. In cities where I knew someone in the area I would make arrangements to connect with the person while in the area or ask which restaurant they recommended.

One dining experience I will never forget  happened while I
was in Palm Springs California on a mini-vacation in the early 2000s. I had read on the internet about a restaurant and decided to visit. I made the reservation and showed up. The hostess showed me to my table and gave me a menu to read. A couple nearby spoke to me. It was soon apparent that the couple was inebriated. The husband declared, 'you are too pretty to eat alone'. He and his wife got up from their table;  he plopped in the seat across from me. The wife slid into the seat next to me at the adjacent two- top table.  Nearby diners looked on horrified that the couple had resettled and were now simultaneously grilling me about why I was dining alone and recommending what I should order. The restaurant manager arrived soon thereafter and helped the couple back to their table to collect their belongs and guided them out of the dining room. After a few minutes the manager returned apologizing profusely.

Fortunately, the experience didn't ruin the rest of my mini-vacation in Palm Springs or my desire to explore other dining venues.  

Here are my suggestions for making the most of solo dining  sojourns:

• Make a reservation for your desired dining time. Many restaurants will accept reservations for a party of 1 (I have list of  online booking tools on my blog). I am aware that some restaurants have setup  their booking systems not to accept reservations for a single party. If I really want to go the restaurant I will call the restaurant and see if I can make the reservation over the phone.
•  Know that the restaurants are generally busiest Friday and Saturday evenings and if that is the evening you want to dine consider going early or going late. When I dine early I often plan another activity afterward.
• Dine on Sunday thru Wednesday - the restaurant is quieter and the chances of getting that  special table. 
•  Consider dining a the bar if full service is available at the bar. I generally taking reading material with me. Sometimes another person at the bar will make small talk, and there's often another person at the bar dining. If you are uncomfortable for any reason let the bartender or restaurant manager know as soon as possible.
• Engage the server- ask questions about what's good on the menu and what they like. Most servers want to engage with their customer.  Smart, savvy servers know that a happy customer could turn into a repeat customer who refers friends and tells those friends to ask for that server. 
• Bring a newspaper, magazine or book with you to read while waiting for a beverage or meal to arrive. I often catch up on my reading and note writing while dining.

A  pal told me that a restaurant she visited told her they never accept reservations for a  single party because a single diner doesn't generate revenue for the restaurant. She was offended. While I don't agree with the comment about a single diner not generating revenue for a restaurant, my response is just to not visit the restaurant again. There are other venues more than happy to take any paying customer's cash or credit card.

If you do dine solo often, what has your experience been? Do you  have other suggestions?

I hope my suggestions have made you rethink taking a solo sojourn. 

Bon Appetit!
Technicolor girl