Join the culinary professionals that lead the kitchens of Westport restaurants Terrain Cafe and Amis at Stamford Museum & Nature Center as they show you the joys of sourcing and cooking with the best in seasonal and sustainable ingredients. From salads and appetizers to entrees, pastas and desserts, this six-part series (January 27 through March 9.) takes you through the methodology of creating show-stopping dishes as you also learn how to source the best ingredients right in your own backyard.
It’s a sweltering hot Sunday in July and a dozen of us are standing outside of Hoodoo Brown BBQ at quarter to eight in the morning. A father-daughter duo came in from the Upper East Side, one guy came from Queens, others made a 45-minute drive down from parts of the Hudson Valley or from various parts of Fairfield County, the rest sped over from up the street. At that time, Hoodoo Brown was still over three hours away from opening its doors to customers craving their Texas-inspired barbecue, so what the heck were we all doing there?
You’ve arranged to keep the kids busy all summer long with camps and lessons, sleepovers and maybe a bit of volunteer work here and there, but what about some fun for YOU? Those kids shouldn’t get all the fun. And because we are, eh-hem, adults, learning a few new things alongside that good time is always a welcome bonus. Cooking classes are a unique way to have a memorable evening. You can go solo, with a friend or a group. Choose the flavors or the skills you are interesting in knowing more about. Then walk away with a full belly, new information and probably a few laughs under your chef’s apron. What the heck are you waiting for? Remember too, these are great gift ideas as well. Friend with a birthday during the summer? Treat them! It’s like dinner out but so much better. Pencil in some time for yourself this summer and treat yourself..like a kid.
Here is our Guide To Adult Cooking Classes in Connecticut.
With successful locations in Old Saybrook, Mystic and Noank,Mystic Market traveled down the coast to Fairfield County and recently opened its doors in Westport on Charles Street, not too far from the train station. The spacious interior features reclaimed lumber, steel and white subway tile which give it an airy, modern urban vibe. The eatery specializes in gourmet, ready to go pre-prepared meals all which are made in-house. For those preferring not to eat on the road, a generously sized café space offers a welcoming environment to for friends to meet up for a cup of coffee and a delicious, warm, freshly baked sweet treat.
Hot summer days and you don’t feel like cooking. The stove, oven, even the grill…it’s all so hot. But hold on a minute there, maybe *you* don’t have to! With a little foresight (read: now), your kids can learn to cook this summer, get inspired and whoa-oh, looks who’s not in the kitchen anymore?! Beyond your parental joy, though, kids will enjoy learning cooking skills, whipping up some pretty cool menus from around the globe and even having a cooking competition or two just to test their mettle. Just be sure to sign up your aspiring chefs soon, these classes and camps fill up quicker than hot grease will jump out of a pan!
Have you heard this lovely little conversation often during the summer months? Kids young and old let that horrifying phrase fall from their lips at an astounding rate. Are you just cringing thinking about how you will derail these declarations for 10 weeks? Well, now you can consider yourself informed and prepared to battle the cries of blahs and beat the little buggers at their own game! We’ve got some tasty ideas so that you can wave goodbye to boredom, and say hello to a creative and fun summer (not to mention, delicious). Maybe your kids will even treat you to a meal or two along the way. Maybe you’ll get the last laugh this summer…
It’s not warm enough to totally be outdoors and you’ve got a wicked case of cabin fever after this roller coaster of a winter. What’s a food loving, experience-hungry, knowledge-loving person to do? Take a class! Specifically, a *food* class!From breads to butchery, cheeses to fondant, we’ve assembled a class list that will have you hungry to learn, so to speak. Using the skills offered in these classes, you (and your friends, if a group activity if something you are looking for) can learn a wide variety of culinary skills that will allow you to have fun in the moment but then take that fun back to your own kitchen and share it. Learn to cook for a crowd, perfect skills you’ve been thinking you need a smidge of help with, or just do something different for an evening. Break out of that bread box! Strike a new (knife) pose! Any way you slice it (see what I did there?), you are going to have a grand time…learning! Who knew?
In 2016, Forbes Magazine claimed to have discovered the “secret to happiness.” “Spend money on experiences, not things,” they told their readers. CNN took it one step further. “That's in part because the initial joy of acquiring a new object, such as a new car, fades over time as people become accustomed to seeing it every day…,” they reported. “Experiences, on the other hand, continue to provide happiness through memories long after the event occurred.”
Those looking to invest in a meaningful experience can find a solution tucked away in Wallingford, just off the highway, but hidden from view. Southern Connecticut Wine Company, located in an unassuming garage-like building behind the railroad tracks, affords people the unique opportunity to create their own wine over the course of a season. I had the chance to be an honorary co-op member for the day and witness a little bit of what they have to offer.
Wanna learn how to make your own wine? Wallingford’s Southern Connecticut Wine Company www.soconnwineco.com is Connecticut’s first micro winery and they have a few spots open in their fall SoConnWine CoOp. The CoOp kicks off on Saturday, September 16th with a full day of crushing grapes from 12pm - 4pm at SoConn. No barefeet required — the winery has machines for that Crushing will continue every Saturday through October 7th. CoOp members can come once, or come all four Saturdays. Lots of sips of wine are included at every CoOp event.
If you’re in the market for the market of markets, well - A & S Italian Fine Foods could be the market of your dreams. Owner and head chef, Albert Pizzirusso and his wife Patricia opened their latest, Italian, Fine Foods establishment late last summer and have been purveying first class fare ever since. Along with their business partner, Erik Cohen, the Pizzirussos are working their 3rd A & S market, located conveniently on the Westport/Norwalk border, very close to Whole Foods. (The other locations include a storefront in Stamford - run by Cohen and 2 out of 3 Carcomo brothers - and a previously owned A & S deli in Norwalk.) Why shop here? ‘Cuz the food is outstanding - ‘nuff said. But naturally, I’ll say more...
Summer is on its way!! In just a few weeks, the kids will be out of school and looking for their next adventures. Why not a culinary endeavor? These Connecticut caterers and venues are offering up kids cooking camps and classes throughout the summer months. Check their web site for complete details.
AMG Catering and Events, Wilton: This summer, youngsters can sign up for the Kids CIT (Chef In Training) Camp at AMG Catering. There are four weeks to choose from, but book quickly because they are already selling out!
Bishops Orchards, Guilford: New this year, Bishops Orchards in Guilford has announced Summer Camp Programs for kids! The summer is broken down into four two day long sessions where kids can explore a different farm theme.
Wakeman Town Farm, Westport: In addition to learning about life on a farm, participants in the Junior Chef Summer Camp get to work alongside local chefs and counselors to pick the freshest ingredients around from the farm, see how organic fruits and veggies grow, and learn to cook and create fun fare, from pickles to smoothies to stir-fries, in our brand-new farm kitchen classroom! It's seed-to-plate culinary fun with a homegrown spin.
In case you hadn't heard, SoNo Baking Company is giving up the keys to its downtown Westport location at 44 Church Lane, across from the new Bedford Square. Aux Delices will be taking over the space in the next few weeks. This will be Aux Delices' second location in Westport, and Aux Delices owner, Debra Ponzek, said "We had been eyeing this location for quite some time and were excited when the space became available."
Aux Delices, means “all the delicious food in life,” andculinary institute-trained Debra Ponzek, describes her cooking as “quality, healthy food for busy people.” If you have visited any of their other locations in Greenwich, Darien or Westport's Post Road, you will find quick and easy service, grab-n-go items, as well as a sit down cafe experience. For fans of Aux Delices, the menu at the new Westport location will be similar to you as well.
Experience a New England tradition: turning sap into syrup! Ambler Farm will host two Maple Syrup Open Houses. The history and process of making syrup is fascinating. Kids and families will have an opportunity to tap a tree, take the maple syrup taste test, learn about Native American, colonial, and modern methods of making syrup and, of course, taste Ambler Farm’s very own maple syrup over vanilla ice cream. DATES: On Saturday, March 4th and again on Saturday, March 11th (both from 1-2pm).
Bottles of Ambler Farm Maple Syrup will be available for sale. This event is free and open to the public.
About six years ago, I began teaching cooking classes out of my home in Westport. Long after culinary school, a couple of years catering at Abigail Kirsch and many years catering on my own, the classes became a perfect way for me to share my love of food and cooking. Initially it was mostly friends and acquaintances but word quickly spread and before I knew it I was booking 2-3 classes a week from people all over the tri-state area. Here is a behind the scenes look at Chop Shop Cooking.
A cooking class usually starts with an email: “I’m interested in a cooking class in December… “
Sometimes they have already done some homework and looked at my demonstration class schedule and it’s very straightforward: “I have 2 people and want to sign up for the Holiday Bites class on Thursday the 8th.” Easy! Great! Done!
But more often, people like to create their own, tailored experience.
Garelick & Herbs Southport have opened the doors at 3611 Post Road. After 23 years of happy success in the original flagship store in Westport, G&H opened their entirely unique space a few steps up the Post Road at the Westport/Southport border.
Owners, Jason and Paola, have always had the philosophy that good food creates a good mood, but now Garelick & Herbs is adding good space – Vaulted ceilings, and a light filled atrium designed to look like a barn made of glass, set the tone that the G&H Southport location will be THE destination for daily gourmet good food. The modern-industrial eclectic vibe lends itself to Fairfield County aesthetics.
It is almost 10,000 square feet on 2 levels, more than double the size of their former flagship store. The marketplace is accented with an exciting new juice and smoothie bar, an antipasto bars to graze in or take out and expanded breakfast and lunch options. Our noodle bar adds a wonderful spice and flavor. The in-house bakery will be downstairs at this location, so be prepared for the wonderful aroma of signature items like ruggalach and soft black & white cookies. “We are excited to have the bakery right under our noses”, said Paola Garelick.
Kids and Summer vacation: No homework! No school! No tests! The beach! Playing with friends! Sleeping in! More friends! Camp! Baseball games! Swimming! Fun! Fun! Fun!
Parents and Summer vacation: WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE KIDS?!
Rest easy. Chill. We have some ideas that you will benefit from in more ways than one. Day classes, culinary camps, learning about where food comes from and then what the heck to do with it-you’re little (or big) foodie will be in their element. With any luck, junior will be able to make *you* a back-to-school breakfast by the end of the Summer. Ohhhh, yeahhhhh.
Choose your week, choose your cuisine. Proceed to cook and eat your way around the world. Well, in an almost-Anthony-Bourdain kind of way. At AMG Catering in Wilton, traveling the world is the theme for the summer cooking sessions that will introduce your “Chefs in Training” (CITs for those in-the-know) to a wide array of dishes. These hands-on classes will have the CITs working in a professional kitchen and learning cooking skills that will have them creating “Street Food”, “Regional Dishes” from across the U. S, and a variety of “Small Plates”. The junior chefs (ages 10-15) will top it all off with a cooking competition on the last day. Watch out, Food Network. A word of note: these kitchens are not allergy-free kitchens. Everything and anything (nuts, shellfish, dairy) is cooked here. Cost is $475 per week, $900 for two weeks, or $1350 or three weeks.
The holiday season is coming fast. The search for the unique gift for that special person can be easier this year. Give them a memorable experience that is both fun & useful. Sign them up for a cooking class at The Schoolhouse at Cannondale Restaurant in Wilton CT. Chef Tim LaBant & his staff will be sharing their years of experience each Tuesday evening beginning in February, through March. You'll also savor the finished culinary delights with wine pairings after the class. Classes range in topic from Winter Braising to Fish Cookery to Knife Skills.
The schedule and focus for each evening is as follows:
The Garden of Ideas, the outdoor community center and garden sanctuary in Ridgefield, is hosting a series ofmonthly cooking demonstrations and workshops from May through November with Chef Susie Buckley.
Each class will focus on how to make the most of the seasonal produce, using the bounty of their CSA as a way to highlight the intersection of food, nature, art and science within each workshop. Classes welcome all ages (kids from 8 years and up, and adults) and will feature fresh farm produce, focusing on basic cooking techniques, "nibbles, tastes, and recipes, included." View the complete class schedule below:
Saugatuck Grain + Grape is going to be holding a series of wine education classes. Classes will be held every other week this spring. The series will cover everything from "Introduction to Wine Tasting, Lexicon, and Labels" to "The World Through Rosé Covered Glasses" as they dive into specific varietals. For those who don't know Mimi and her team, there will most definitely be fun, food and some bad wine jokes in every session.
Classes will be led by Mimi McLaughlin and Jon Carr, the newest member of the SG+G team. There will be nibbles prepared by Mark Hepperman, their in-house chef, so your tummy and taste buds will be happy in a multitude of ways.
Below is a break down of the syllabus, cost and dates. Please call the store to reserve your spot.
Who wouldn't love a culinary-themed weekend getaway that is about an hour away (maybe two for those of you up in Litchfield County)?! The Saybrook Point Inn & Spa is kicking off a series of weekend getaways focusing on different cuisines from around the world centered on the Inn's restaurant, Fresh Salt, and led by its Executive Chef Leslie Tripp. Kicking off this series of three events is Italian Winter Holiday from January 30 to February 1, followed by a Taste of New England on February 20 - 22 and a Tour de France on March 6 - March 8.
