I’ve found that when most people learn that I’m in culinary school their first response is, “Oh that’s interesting….” With a sort of baffled look on their face. Don’t get me wrong, I think they really do find it interesting, but I think they’re mostly intrigued that I’m a nurse practitioner turned culinary student. Their follow up question is usually, “So, what are you going to do with that?”
Good question…
I’m interested in a few things. Personal chef, meal prepping, small scale catering, dinner parties. I recently decided I’m going to incorporate cooking parties into the mix. It’s okay if you’re thinking “WTF is a cooking party?!”—mainly because I’m not sure if it’s a widely used term, or perhaps I’ve just made it up.
I recently decided to get my start by throwing some friends of mine one of these cooking parties.
Now, I’m nothing if not prepared—so I’m not ashamed to tell you that I spent the whole day before the event prepping. I made note cards, bought extra knives, and spent the better part of the night talking to myself in my kitchen as if I had an audience.
I walked into the host’s apartment desperately trying to hide my jealousy of her beautiful space (I’m constantly hitting my head on pans hanging from the ceiling while simultaneously knocking over the trash can in my teeny tiny Manhattan nook I call a kitchen).
I started out by going over basic knife skills and cooking terminology. We then got to slicing and dicing. Everyone had their own station equipped with new cutting boards and knives (recently purchased from Amazon). The glasses of wine at each station led me to wonder if maybe I should have incorporated a liability clause, but I quickly pushed the thought away hopeful that none of my friends would be suing me.
I instructed the group on proper techniques of cutting vegetables and why it makes a difference. Prior to the class, I offered a selection of menu options to choose from. The dish they decided on was a truffle risotto. Each person took a turn cooking the vegetables and the risotto. And I think it’s safe to say that I wasn’t the only one with a look of appreciation at the end of the night with what we had created.
I passed out recipes and then after dinner the measly remnants of the leftover food that our stomachs couldn’t possibly hold were scraped into Tupperware bowls for everyone to take home.
The following day one of the guests (who shall remain nameless to protect the fact that she seldom cooks) contacted me regarding a few questions she had about the recipe. My heart swelled with pride when I learned she was making it for a family event the following night!
So, what am I going to do with my newfound culinary education?
I’ve got a few things in mind…
But, I’m now certain that “cooking parties” will be a part of the plan!
(Go to my “Book An Event” tab to plan your next cooking party!)
