Cooking Lessons Near Bethesda

[dartmouth05]

Hi all.

I was wondering where in the DC metro area, preferably closer to Bethesda, can I get cooking lessons, either having someone come to my apartment, or going somewhere... I know L'Academie de Cuisine is right here in Bethesda, and I do intend to take some classes, but the main problem for me is that I don't eat red meat, and so many of their series involve beef and the like. I also don't eat milk with meat, and I don't eat pig products, the few aspects of keeping kosher that I follow.

I guess what I'm looking for is something a little more customizable, but not $250 per class, either, since I'm a grad student. I have a lot of great cookbooks, and I watch the Food Network all of the time, but that's not really a subsitute for having an experienced person showing me/telling me when the chicken breast is done, when the fish is done, what settings on my electric oven I should use, etc.

Any suggestions?

[Anna Blume]

Grad school is an EXCELLENT place to learn how to cook through making new friends, holding pot luck parties, small intimate dinner parties with just one, two or three others...or bartering. Go to the farmers's markets together. Having really good, basic cookbooks will help you practice through trial and error after said events. Anthro dept. students usually can be counted on, Asian Studies...many departments, really, with international/cosmopolitan demographics would be a promisng source for informal lessons. Good way to relieve stress at the end of the term.

If you are in school for the long haul, sometimes mentors or professors are a surprisingly good source. I know at least one person who learned how to make a proper risotto from a faculty member who invited his seminar over to dinner at the end of the term and asked for kitchen help.

Something more formal? Check The Washington Post & City Paper for short workshops at Sur La Table, etc. They're not always cheap. At FRESHFARM markets, there's usually a chef demonstration once the growing season is fully underway. Recipes from past demonstrations are kept on hand until copies run out.

[hm212]

Try this link

http://www.stratford.edu/?page=culinaryworkshops

[JPW]

Welcome dartmouth.

My initial thought was to go check out the JCC. (www.jccgw.org). I didn't see any cooking classes, but it might be worth a call to see if they have any ideas.

[dartmouth05]

Thanks for the suggestions, all.

[ALB]

Hi Bethesda,

I am an assistant at L'cademie. You might want to look into the program. In exchange for doing the grunt work of prep and clean up- you get to watch the chefs and try the food. And you only sign up for classes you are interested in- so no one makes you handle pork or the like. As a recent grad- this has been a great, economical way for me to sharpen my skills.