Do any of these thoughts cross your mind?

• I want to expand my pantry but I don’t want to buy a bunch of ingredients that I won’t really use. I bought berbere/preserved lemons/sumac and now I don’t know what to do with them beyond one or two recipes. Help!!! 

• So… fat is now good but only olive oil from Italy? Wait, Greece? Ahhh, I feel overwhelmed and will just keep using canola. 

• Why does restaurant food always taste so good? I try to recreate it at home but it’s never the same. 

• How do you make sauerkraut properly? I made it once but was too scared to eat it. 

• Are oats/eggs/lentils/etc. good or bad for me? It seems to change by the month.

• I followed the instructions (really I did!) but recipes seem to fall flat in my hands.

• I just wish I could open my fridge at the end of the day and put together a delicious meal without going to the store and without spending the afternoon scouring social media and Google for recipes and videos. 

What to do?

Yes, you could hire a personal chef or eat exclusively at your local salad bar but that’s not really what you want. You really want the knowledge of how to do these things on your own. In the right hands - yours- radishes are transformed into your kid’s favorite salad and navy beans into that soup your neighbors beg to have the recipe for. You will merely shrug and reply “Recipe? Oh, that was just a little something I put together”. I speak from experience when I say that this line never gets old. 

Why private classes?

There are many advantages to having a private class with me versus a public one.

• Have you ever gone on vacation, taken a local cooking class and then never touched that recipe packet again despite good intentions? Unlike public classes you are in your own home and your own kitchen. You have the muscle memory of making the dumplings, the kimchi or the sourdough pizza and this alone increases the likelihood that you will continue to make the recipe. 

• Do you have a lot of questions? Excellent. You happen to be my favorite kind of student. However, in a class of 10+ other people it can be challenging to provide you the attention that I would prefer to give. In a private class you have me all to yourself.  This is a creative collaboration. I want your big ideas to be realized and your curiosity to flow!

• For virtual classes we will be cooking the same recipe(s) in real time. I’ll be with you every step of the way and you’ll be able to see exactly what I am doing. I typically use two camera angles to better showcase the entire process. 

• Adaptability: if you have difficulty getting to the store or wish to use up certain ingredients in your house I can adapt our class plan. Improvisation is a terrific way to learn. Think of this as your own version of Iron Chef.

• This is also a terrific gift for a loved one who is learning to cook. Perhaps a family member wants to shift to a more plant based diet but feels overwhelmed? Maybe they worry that the healthy food they want to eat won’t be delicious? Let me come in and cut through the noise. 

So what happens, exactly? 

Well, at the end of the day it’s really up to you as to what we cover in your class. Here are some activities that previous clients have requested:

• Equipment audits and upgrades: Do you have questions regarding the safety of your pans? How to properly work with cast iron? Perhaps you need a demo on that sous-vide machine you got on a Black Friday salt 4 years ago?

• Recipe adaptations: Do you love baked goods but want to cut back on the sugar? Perhaps you adore cheese but recently discovered a sensitivity to dairy? Let’s re-imagine an equally delicious version of your favorite recipes and ingredients. 

• Pantry clean outs: Do you have too many spices rattling around in your cupboard? Worried that those oils are no longer safe to eat but you can’t bear to throw them out? 

• Knife skills and care: this is the most important tool in a cook’s arsenal so let's make sure you know how to use yours properly. 

• Specific recipes: Everything from in-depth fermented vegetables, to sourdough bread to that impressive (but intimidating) vegetable fritter recipe you saw on Tiktok. 

• Ingredient upgrades: are you unsure about the brand of yogurt that you are using? Do you want to use the same spice brands that professional chefs use? 

• Ingredient tastings: does the kind of salt, olive oil or vinegar really make that much of a difference? I’ll bring over a curated selection of a type of ingredient and you will learn more about the ingredient’s subtle nuances.

Check out past student testimonials HERE

Set up a complimentary call HERE