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Monthly Archives:

January 2014

COOK Masters Program Guest Blogger: Nancy Lowell

The COOK Masters Program is a free, instructional cooking series taught by some of the city’s and country’s biggest culinary names, for students who are truly passionate about pursuing a professional career in the restaurant industry.

The third semester of the COOK Masters Program began earlier this month. COOK has once again secured an impressive roster of professional chefs as instructors. Upcoming and past instructors include Michael Solomonov (Zahav, Percy Street Barbecue, Federal Donuts), Jean-Marie Lacroix (Lacroix, Brûlée Catering), Pierre Calmels (Bibou), Nick Elmi (Laurel), Jon Cichon (Lacroix), Georges Perrier, Peter Woolsey (Bistrot La Minette), James Barrett (Metropolitan Bakery), Brian Freedman (Drink Me Magazine), Aimee Olexy (Talula’s Table, Talula’s Garden, Talula’s Daily), Joe Cicala (Le Virtu), Jason Cichonski (Ela), Katie Cavuto (Healthy Bites) David Katz (Creekstone Farms) and many more.

And this semester, we’ve made a change. While, in the past, the program has been open only to cooks, this time we’re held a couple of spots open for food writers–and already held a special class taught by Rick Nichols and Drew Lazor which focused completely on the business of writing about dinner rather than cooking it.

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Seats Still Available for February Classes

First things first…Our March classes will go on sale Wednesday, February 5 at 2pm, so mark your calendars and be on the lookout for a preview of the schedule on Foobooz.

In the meantime, we have some open seats for select February classes. Below are the details and direct links to purchase seats.

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An Afternoon with Ferran Adria

Philadelphia has its share of celebrity chefs, from Jose Garces and Marc Vetri to Jen Carroll and Morimoto. They all deserve a ton of respect and they were all on my list of “chefs I would like to meet” when I came here. But I often wonder is who it is that they consider to be a “celebrity chef”? Who would have Jose Garces saying “wow! I can’t believe I just met _____”.

Well, there is one Chef that I’m sure is on every chef in Philadelphia’s list – and his name is Ferran Adria and if his name or his now closed, Spanish restaurant elBulli doesn’t ring any bells, we are talking about one of the most important figures in the culinary world today!

Recently, your reporter from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy (that’s me) had the pleasure to spend an afternoon following celebrity chef Ferran Adria during his time here at the university.

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Photo Recap: A Champagne Dinner with Olivier Desaintmartin of Caribou Café and Zinc

While this post is primarily a photo recap of our recent Champagne Dinner with Olivier Desaintmartin of Caribou Café and Zinc, we would be remiss to not mention three things we ourselves learned from Monsieur Desaintmartin. One of those is most certainly not that Team COOK loves Champagne–it’s no secret that I, along with Michelle and Lily, love  bubbles, so no surprise there…But among the many lessons learned last Friday are the following:

1. Champagne is not a grape, but rather a blend of three grapes–Pinot Noir (which gives body), Chardonnay (which gives strength), and Pinot Meunier (which gives fruitiness).

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The COOK Book Nook: Volume 3

Short Stack

Did you know that we sell cookbooks at COOK? I can proudly say that we’ve got one of the most exciting food-text collections in all of Philly. We stock hundreds of titles both contemporary and classic, covering just about every subject you can imagine: meat, fish, baking, cocktails, vegan/vegetarian, gluten-free, Filipino, Israeli, French…I could go on all day. I love all our picks, but there are always a few selections I’m particularly fond of in any given week. Peek after the jump to see what I’m digging currently. And come by COOK daily between the hours of noon and 5 p.m. to browse and buy!

There’s a new kid on the culinary book block that I am quite excited about: Short Stack Editions.  What sets the small-format hand-bound series apart is that each volume is a tribute to one basic ingredient, written by one person, with fun and colorful design to accompany the witty and interesting text.  The authors involved in Short Stack, which are released in sets of three, are some of the most talented and qualified food people on the scene. For example, for the first edition, they got award-winning writer and TV host Ian Knauer, a Pennsylvania native, to write all about eggs, a true love letter to the versatile and powerful refrigerator staple. For the second series release, Short Stack’s going Southern, highlighting buttermilk, sweet potatoes and grits.

Check out after the jump a recipe from the Buttermilk edition by author Angie Mosier.

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Say Cheese…You’re Invited to a Cave Raising!

While Kraft is warning of an impending “cheese” shortage, fear not…On Saturday, January 18 from 7:30 to midnight, cheese lovers will unite at Ruba Hall (414 Green Street) for Cheese Ball II, hosted by Tenaya Darlington, aka Madame Fromage. In addition to a $10 admission, guests are requested to bring a cheese for inclusion in what is sure to be the planet’s largest cheese board.

This year’s proceeds will help local cheese maker Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm build a cheese aging cave. If you’re not familiar with Birchrun, Sue’s local raw-milk cheeses are sold at Di Bruno Bros, Metropolitan Bakery, Fair Food Farmstand, and Headhouse Farmers Market. So why a cave now?

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