A gourmet’s guide to what’s happening with food and wine in the city.
Chef Corbin Evans demonstrating the fundamentals of cooking at the Savvy Gourmet.
Cooking 101
If you love food but suffer anxiety when faced with actually having to cook it, then you are not alone. Most of us feel a little insecure in the kitchen, but the good news is that New Orleans plays host to a number of cooking schools for home chefs looking to take it to the next level. After all, there is only so much you can learn from a cookbook, so classes might be the logical next step for people wanting to learn a little more.
Basic Training
The Savvy Gourmet (4915 Magazine St., 895-COOK) offers a wide range of instruction, but its core offering is its four-part “Fundamentals of Cooking” class, designed to install in home cooks many of the basic techniques that professionals use in the kitchen. For people looking to learn practical skills, this is the class for them, since students can put on an apron and get their hands dirty. I fit in to this category, so I crashed a recent class to see if I could learn a thing or two.
Upon arrival, we assembled in the dining room to receive out marching orders from executive chef Corbin Evans. A popular teacher, many of his students are repeat customers. These regulars came equipped with custom aprons featuring a lady chef with the caption, “Don’t Make Me Put Poison in Your Food,” along with serious amounts of homemade desserts. They were here not just to learn, but to have a good time doing it.
Once Evans went over the menu, we filed into the kitchen to get started. We each had our own prep station and knives. For the first course, Evans walked us through a shrimp and sausage stir-fry dish. As he read out the ingredients, students prepared their mise en place. Skill sets ranged from people who really knew their stuff to people with very little experience, and Evans took time as necessary with whoever needed a little extra help. Like me.
For the Gulf fish with creamy oyster pan roast, Evans showed us how to properly season and batter flounder filets, then fry them crisply in a sauté pan using just a little oil. Next, we took turns cooking the oysters. Having already prepped my shallots, wine and oysters, I poured them into the pan to poach. Once the oysters plumped up, I added some cream, brought it up to a boil then swirled in Dijon mustard and butter to finish. Reducing it slightly, I poured it from the pan over my fish and voilà! I had something that looked like it could actually be served in a restaurant.
The main dish—a ruby-red slab of braised tuna the size of a pot roast—was brought to the dining room, where we sat down to unwind and talk about food, among other things. I was asked, more than once, not to write any of it down. So suffice to say it was an interesting conversation.
Back to School
Different schools offer different levels of immersion. For people interested in more of a traditional, lecture-driven approach, the New Orleans Cooking Experience (2275 Bayou Rd., 945-0992) offers classes taught by local chefs, including Frank Brigtsen, Poppy Tooker and Chiqui Collier. The beautiful, 1790s-era West Indies-style plantation home on Bayou Road serves as the classroom, and founder Judy Jurisich welcomes her visiting students as guests.
Lessons take place in the large kitchen in the rear of the home. At one recent class, drinks were served and guests gathered around the cooktop-equip island as chef Brigtsen began on a tasty note with some inside information about seafood and an amuse-bouche of scallops in a brie sauce.
“I’m using ‘dry’ scallops from New Bedford, Massachusetts,” he said as he placed a few of the delicate shellfish in a sizzling-hot sauté pan. “Most scallops are treated with preservatives, which ruins their flavor. ‘Dry’ scallops, however, have not been treated and therefore taste much better. Buy them if you can find them.”
As Brigtsen personally prepared the meal, he explained the history and culture behind the provenance of each dish, elucidating upon the menu by drawing on his wealth of history and personal experience in the famous kitchens of New Orleans. As he worked his way through a seafood jambalaya, he explained the reasoning behind each step. “If you asked me to describe Louisiana food, I would say ‘complex,’ not ‘hot and spicy,’” he explained. “The way we achieve flavoring is through depth of seasoning and techniques, not heat. Therefore, we caramelize the first batch of vegetables in the jambalaya. The second batch is added later and doesn’t cook down as much, thereby adding texture and depth to the flavor profile.”
After the lessons, guests were taken on a tour of the historic house and grounds. The House on Bayou Road also functions as a bed and breakfast, and overnight stays there can be coordinated with the cooking classes, making for a perfect getaway trip. After the tour, guests sat down to enjoy the meal in a cozy dining room set with fine china. For dessert, guests returned to the kitchen where Brigtsen prepared bananas Foster to be served over his signature banana bread pudding. When it came time to ignite the rum, the lights were turned off and the soft flames of the flambé illuminated the walls of the 200-year-old kitchen. All in all, it made for a relaxing and memorable experience.
Along with these schools, Delgado Community College (614 City Park Ave., 483-4410) offers two options: cooking classes through its School of Continuing Education and its professional culinary program, which is very well regarded and
has served to train many local chefs. Its Continuing Education classes are aimed more at people looking to promote personal development rather than professionals, and include classes in “Cake Decorating,” “Wine Appreciation,” and traditional Chinese and Italian cooking. Additionally, one entry-level class teaches the
fundamentals of the kitchen.
Taking a class is a great way to gain a different perspective on the art of cooking. Whether you want to watch in an intimate setting or actively participate in the process, you’ll be able to find a school that suits your needs here in New Orleans.
Try This
Skewered on stalks of its namesake herb, the lemongrass shrimp appetizer at Cafe Minh (4139 Canal St.) is a flavorful and aromatic way to begin your meal.
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