Cooks Nation

I found this cool website where you can learn gourmet cooking from a woman who ran a couple of really good restaurants. Its called Kimistyle.com. It is pretty neat, but I’m not sure if I should pay for a subscription or wait until she has a cookbook. Its $50.00 for a year. Is this a good way to learn about cooking?

The only real way to learn to cook (gourmet or otherwise) is to actually cook. Watching and/or reading can only do so much. You need to have the knife in your hand and practice properly cutting. You need to feel the different ingredients to know how they respond to heat. You need to have a mentor there who will help guide you to do things the right way. Look into taking culinary classes at a local community college. It’s a great way to get exposure to a wide variety of cooking elements and styles.

I found this cool website where you can learn gourmet cooking from a woman who ran a couple of really good restaurants. Its called Kimistyle.com. It is pretty neat, but I’m not sure if I should pay for a subscription or wait until she has a cookbook. Its $50.00 for a year. Is this a good way to learn about cooking?

The only real way to learn to cook (gourmet or otherwise) is to actually cook. Watching and/or reading can only do so much. You need to have the knife in your hand and practice properly cutting. You need to feel the different ingredients to know how they respond to heat. You need to have a mentor there who will help guide you to do things the right way. Look into taking culinary classes at a local community college. It’s a great way to get exposure to a wide variety of cooking elements and styles.

I want to make a gourmet french meal with maybe 5, 6 courses. I want to think of the meals myself, but I was wondering if anyone could give me tips on french gourmet. Also tips on making a menu, like for example, course 1,2,3 etc. I want it to be like molecular gastronomy french. THANKS

I love to cook and really enjoy making a plan for coordinating several foods into a single meal. Remember to think about the colors and tastes of what you are making and how the whole meal will look and taste as a whole experience.

A few things to keep in mind:

The French prefer to eat a green salad at the end of the meal, not at the beginning like Americans do. If you are going to have a cheese plate, serve it last, not first.

If you really want to "think French" about this, go to the market and decide what to make while you are there, instead of making a menu and then hoping that the ingredients you need will be available and of a decent quality.

My plan would be to start with an appetizer, preferably some foie gras or a mousse. I would then serve a soup. I like a cream soup, like lobster bisque. Your entree can include either meat or fish or chicken, served with some vegetable (remember the color balance here). If you don’t get too "heavy" with it, a sauce could be nice on the protein. A bread could be available through the whole meal. Next, a simple salad, perhaps some buttercup lettuce with a light sesame viniagrette. My favorite dessert is a simple chocolate mousse. Have the cheese course available last, if you don’t think it would be overkill. Serve appropriate wines during the meal and offer coffee at the end.

When I do a meal like this, I actually write out a time-line plan of what order to do things in. Remember to plan well so that things are ready at the right times. Some things can be made ahead, perhaps even the day before. If you do this right, you can enjoy the meal with your guests instead of working hard after they arrive. Also, the mise en place concept really helps here – get your ingredients prepped and ready ahead of time if you can.

If you do it right, it can certainly be like molecular gastronomy French. Good luck, and enjoy the meal!

He is a creative cook. He not into home cooking! For thanksgiving he cook steaks in a Bavarian Brandy sauce!

Bailey

I have put together a list of my favourite cookbooks for you based on my experience. My wife is an Italian chef and we live in Italy so you can be sure these books are the best. This is my list
http://www.my-italy-piedmont-marche-and-more.com/italian-food-books.html

The cordon bleu school in France is a famous school that teaches how to make gourmet French food. Is there a similar school in China (or elsewhere) for Chinese food?

There are actually TONS of cooking schools in China, but to know how to cook real Chinese food, you must learn from the people. I spent 6 months in China after culinary school in America wandering around from town to town and asking people how they cooked things and you’d be amazed how much you can learn. The best cooking isn’t learned from a school, it’s learned from the people.

I have always wanted to learn how to cook but don’t know really how to do that! Where are some good places to look in order to take some good cooking classes? How much do they usually cost?

Try the Viking school. http://www.vikingcookingschool.com/hc-cgi-bin/hc?templ=new_vcs/home.html
I took a class there for $79. It was only a one night class, but it was a lot of fun and the food was great. They have locations around the country (US).

Did this years ago in California – want to buy for boyfriend – certain wineries and/or gourmet cooking schools will offer a 1/2 day class, wherein you are instructed in cooking techniques, then the chefs move in and finish an excellent meal. Wonderful gift!

The Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, 212-847-0700, has a bunch of different classes.
The Viking Culinary Arts Centers offer a bunch a different classes too. They have a few different locations.
Also the CIA in Napa, CA has demonstration classes, not sure about the one in NY.
Chef Jean Pierre in Newtown, PA has classes
Carlow Cookery in Doylestown, PA.
Some of the Sur La Table stores also offer cooking classes. Hope this was helpful.