For my birthday this year, because I’ve occasionally mentioned I’d like to take cooking classes, Peter and his mom (thank you both!!) gave me two courses at the Calphalon Culinary Centre (which we heard of via friend Hyedie). Calphalon is a maker of high-end pans and cookware; they also have a Toronto cooking school where foodies (from novices to more experienced cooks) can learn about food and cooking techniques via demonstrations, lectures and hands-on classes. Along the way there is, of course, a bit of shilling for Calphalon ware, but it isn’t too intrusive, and the cooking techniques and tips are useful and not brand-specific.

Ooooh, stainless steel…pretty!

Cooktop for two students

The classroom/kitchen is a marvel of stainless steel and lovely cookware. There are a dozen student stations, each with the specific gear needed for the class laid out in cooking-show-worthy splendor. The instructor stands at a station at the front of the room, with mirrors (and flat-screen monitors) to let us see clearly what s/he’s doing. The chef/instructor serves nibblies that s/he creates before the class. You are welcome to buy a glass or more of wine prior (and during) class to relax, though I’m not sure a carafe would be such a great idea during a knife skills class…

Nibblies served before class

The first course, which I took last Saturday, was a three-hour class on knife skills, since I’ve always felt I could use some instruction on proper cutting techniques. I was relieved to learn that most of my knife handling chops (sorry) were sound (if slow), but I have a bad habit of laying my index finger along the spine of the knife while I cut—a big no-no!

I found some of the chopping methods a bit cumbersome, partly because I’m not very good at them yet, but also because the knives used in that course were Japanese-style chef’s knives, rather than European-style ones. Japanese-style knives have a slightly different shape and heft than European ones. The main knife we used in class, in fact, looked more like a cleaver than a traditional chef’s knife, with a flat front end. Odd, but effective.

The Fish 101 class tonight used an ordinary chef knife, which I found more familiar to work with (and I took great effort to start to break myself of my bad knife habit!). Over three hectic hours we made four fish dishes: Snapper Satays with Mango Dipping Sauce; Grilled Mahi Mahi with Soy-Sesame Sauce; Pan-seared Salmon with Pesto Crust; Tilapia en Papillotte. All were extremely tasty ways to cook fish, and all looked very attractive on a plate (with the exception, perhaps of the satay. For this project we learned to fillet and skin our own snappers; my end result looked very close to fish hash.)

Top to bottom: Salmon with pesto crust; Mahi-mahi with soy-sesame sauce (my plating skills left something to be desired); Tilapia en papillotte after the streetcar ride home. I did not bother to take a picture of the mangled snapper (but it tasted good!)

Hyedie had mentioned in her post that her Calphalon course was filled with pretentious, name-dropping snobs. In contrast, I found the knife class students to be friendly and humourous in a self-deprecating way. However, on taking the fish course tonight I could see where Hyedie was coming from. Not nearly the humour present (except from the instructor), and a lot more showing off their knowledge of food (the husband of the couple next to me made sure to always call the instructor “Chef!” like he was working at a fancy restaurant. Gag me.) I guess if you take a knife basics course you’re already admitting that you’re no food expert, and as a result can be more relaxed about it!