Cooking Class

Although I have taught others to cook and bake, I have always felt unqualified-as if I wasn't a "real" cook. I thought that maybe, one day, I would go to cooking school and learn all of the mysteries of cooking that surely I am lacking. Since I have too many kids (that one day need to go to college) to attend cooking school full time, I thought it would be fun to take a Pastries and Desserts class at the local community college.

Well, let's say, the class wasn't what I thought it would be. I think our chef is very knowledgeable and experienced. I think he is very creative. I can only assume that he is good at what he does in the restaurant world. I DO NOT think he is a good teacher! He handed us a packet of recipes that were horribly organized...some of the recipes had a title on one page, the rest on another and some others were HANDWRITTEN! One recipe was a Paula Deen (I have several of her cookbooks, thank you) and at least one other is from Gourmet magazine! I paid money for this!

When we started making an authentic French Fruit Tart, we had to half just two of the three components in his recipe. When I asked just how much the recipe yielded, he didn't know! At one point he handed me a pan and said, "Wash this". Excuse me? Where is the please...Wash this PLEASE? My children don't talk to me like that! I am paying $130 to learn, not to WASH DISHES! I could've stayed home to do that.

I think the "icing on the cake" was after we had made 2 fruit tarts, he said that we could split one as a class to taste, and he was taking the other home for his friends to share. Now, this didn't hit me until later, but we are paying for the class, he is being paid to teach it. Shouldn't that tart be ours to take home? Haven't we already paid for that tart? All in all, I felt as if, although I don't have the schooling nor experience he does, I am a MUCH better, more prepared teacher. It was interesting to see how a true French tart was made. And I now know how to make authentic French Cream Puffs from scratch. (Oh, he was not amused when I told then they were good, but would be better with chocolate on top!) It was interesting to see how the other people in the class responded to the chef. Jenny, my friend, felt a lot like I did, only she was grossed out that he was touching her food without washing his hands. The other lady seemed to hang on his every word, taking it as gospel. There is a teen aged boy that just seemed lost. It was funny.

Well, live and learn I guess. We'll see how next week's class goes. I think we make Paula's recipe, so at least the food will be good.