Western Reserve School of Cooking: Basic Tech 1 Series

The Basic Tech series at the Western Reserve School of Cooking is an overview of a lot of the skills and techniques needed to maneuver your way through a kitchen. For example, if you are not sure how to properly peel and dice an onion, you will walk away with that knowledge, not to mention other skills like learning the basics of the pressure cooker. Basic knife skills are covered as well as very base foundation for techniques that can be used time and again in the kitchen as you gain knowledge. This is an excellent format to ask as many questions as possible, particularly if you are not comfortable in the kitchen.

This series is taught by Catherine St. John and I think that she does a pretty good job of it. Throughout the class, she is typically cooking at least three or four different components at any given time and is being peppered by questions as she works through the material. I like that she will intentionally foul up a recipe (always telling us she is going to do it beforehand) and then show the technique used to salvage the meal. On occasion, something may actually go wrong with a dish and she walks through all the steps to bring it back. I learned quite a bit through these demonstrations.

Keep in mind that these are demonstration classes. This means that the food is being prepared for you, not by you. Most of the techniques and skills are reviewed in depth during the Foundations classes. If you have taken those classes, this is a great opportunity to review in a less frenetic environment. If you haven’t taken those classes, you can learn a lot by watching. I’m more of a hands on person, but this allows me to think about what can be done to a recipe to change it to my style or taste preference. I enjoy the time in class and the people I have met.

Taking notes in a demonstration class. Photo by Scott Groth

The first class in the series is certainly the most ambitious. In this class you will learn how to butterfly a chicken and roast it over root vegetables with lemon. I never knew how to butterfly a chicken and now can do it whenever- it’s pretty easy to do. You learn how to make an easy bruschetta and how to properly dress a salad. The basics of emulsification are covered when the vinaigrette is made. Finally, you get a good demonstration on a bain marie and how to brulee a creme brulee. Throughout the class I picked up about ten or fifteen quick tips and tricks to make kitchen life easier. Most of these I have added to my daily skill set through practice and review of the material.

I will have to make up the second class as it was our anniversary that night. We hit up XO Steakhouse (which is great if you haven’t been there- be sure to get the fish taco’s… awesome) and headed to the Crosby, Stills and Nash concert. Although it would have been good to go to class, we had one hell of an evening on the town.

Back to reality. Class three is all about soups. This was the one class that if you have been in the Foundations classes previously feels just a bit too close to home for me. Throughout the Foundations class, we made at least one soup per day. In this class you bust through five different soups. They are all different than what was covered in Foundations, but some were pretty close. If you haven’t been through the week long class or it has been a while, there is some great technique covered in this class. My favorite for the night was the butternut squash soup with apples. The close second was the Spicy Sausage Soup with Fresh Veggies. They were all pretty good though.

Slow roasted tomatoes simmering in a sauce. Photo by Scott Groth

The final class is all about pasta. Although no homemade pasta is reviewed in this class, it works out really well without. After this class I have changed up how I cook my store bought pasta and have updated my pantry to include the staples for a quick and delicious marinara sauce. Each dish that was made and served was really quite good. The method for creating them was all pretty straightforward and I think that everyone walked away with a new recipe they want to try out on family and friends. The funny thing to me is that my favorite dish didn’t have any pasta in it at all. The Classic Caesar Salad was far and away my favorite of the night. It was worth the price of admission just to watch and learn how that dressing was made. With everything that I have learned here, I put this recipe in my top 5 from the Western Reserve School of Cooking. Kinda funny that I thought that after the class it would be a bolognese burning a hole through my head with ideas when instead it was a salad dressing. Really tasty.

Catherine St. John demonstrating spaghetti bolognaise. Photo by Scott Groth

If all four classes are attended, you get a certificate of completion. As you know, I didn’t get mine because I missed one class that will be made up in February 2011. I like that you get something to take home to show progress to the family. Alas, mine will simply have to wait until next year. Sigh. All told, after you complete the series you have so much more than a certificate. You should leave with a basic understanding of the principles and techniques needed to move cooking to the next level. That and a huge stack of recipes that are really tasty.