L'Academie de Cuisine: Teaching good food
Everyone should be able to cook at least five recipes by heart and prepare one entire meal from appetizer to dessert. If you're lacking those abilities, or want to just learn a new style of cooking, fear not. L'academie de Cuisine, or “Academy of Cooking” for non-francophiles, offers cooking classes for all levels with emphasis in French techniques, whether you're looking to pursue a degree and career, or just to master enough to impress some friends or a date.
Located in Bethesda and Gaithersburg, Md. just a half hour or so from D.C., the school holds courses nearly every day in various areas. Want to master some French pastry skills? There's a class for that. How about Thai foods? You can enroll in an evening of that. There's also New Orleans, Chinese, Italian, seafood, Spanish tapas, Mexican, the works. Some teach wine pairings as well. If you're a couple, you can sign up for date nights in the form of Date Night, Cooking for Two and In Love & Cooking.
If you already know what you're doing and want to just perfect some technical skills, there's a knife class that teaches you how to properly use all the cutlery in your butcher block. Within each cooking class, you'll pick up various new techniques, from neat onion-dicing tricks to creating garlic paste with a knife and salt (and garlic, of course). You'll also learn the chemical differences in “sweating” an onion versus caramelizing, and how to prevent doing one or the other, and other handy tips.
Classes are either participatory or observational. Participatory classes last longer and cost more, but are that much more fun. You'll tie on an apron, wield a knife, get greasy and attempt to follow the instructor and recipe to create a food masterpiece. Observational classes are shorter, cost less, and are better if you enjoy a lecture and learn better by watching. You'll get a glass of wine to enjoy as you sit back and watch the demonstration by the professional up front. Both allow you to eat afterwards, of course.
If you're interested in becoming a professional chef, the school offers a one-year culinary or pastry program, which includes an externship in a restaurant. The first half of the year teaches basic and advanced kitchen skills and the second half emphasizes the hands-on externship. After completion, you'll receive a diploma at graduation and many externships turn into full-time jobs.
Posted by Rin-rin Yu
