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Category Archives: Class News

The Justice League

I want to bring up an important subject.  I want to talk to you about a very important day in the lives of Americans across the United States.  It is a day of celebration, it is a day of drinking beer and indulging in finger foods, it is a day of very expensive commercial breaks.  I’m talking about Superbowl Sunday!
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Got Goat?

By now, we’ve definitely established a group of chefs that have been coming in the COOK doors more than others. Within that group, there is even a “subgroup” that I like to call the “Bad Boys” of the Philly industry. By “Bad Boys” I mean chefs that like to break the “norm” of your ordinary, culinary world with unusual creations that take it to the edge. To me, Jon Cichon of Lacroix is the leader of that group.

What started as an introductory class to his restaurant Lacroix quickly turned to a series of classes that pushes the limits of our imagination. After his December class on how to carve and cook a whole pig, Jon wanted to handle something bigger and more unusual, so by public demand during the pig class, the next class was picked… and it really got our goat.

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FedNuts Is in the House!

There are not a lot of good places in Philly to get dang good fried chicken. You have the Korean deliciousness of Soho Café in Cheltenham and then there’s the Thursday lunch special amazingness of David Katz at Meme. Most recently, when I am lucky and they’re in town, I can get my hands on one of ?uestlove’s drumsticks but that’s really about it for me*. And don’t even get me started on doughnuts! Well, that was until recently…

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Pre-Prohibition Era Cocktails with Erik Lombardo of TRYST

This past summer, I spent most of my free time watching one of the best shows on TV from the past 5 years: Mad Men. I couldn’t wait to come back home after a long day of “work” (my job is pretty sweet), sit down and relax with a drink in hand and Don Draper on the screen.

When you watch Mad Men, it’s really hard to miss the fact that every character on the show excessively smokes and drinks which kind of makes you want to do the same. The show has arguably been responsible in part for a recent resurgence in classic and old-timey cocktails.

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The Philly Flyer – In His Own Words

Recently, COOK hosted Philadelphia magazine and Foobooz’s first “Signature Cocktail Contest” – a true mixology grudge-match for the ages! The winner, Rick Fitzgerald, who does not tend bar for a living, brought his A-game with the winning drink: The Philly Flyer…

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Meat-Master Macri Returns to COOK

Last Monday night, COOK welcomed back meat-master Nick Macri of Southwark alongside sommelier Brian Kane of Zahav for a night of delicious, homemade charcuterie and wine pairings.

Nick, who last taught sausage-making at COOK, brought an incredible spread and wealth of knowledge by preparing and then serving a wide range of cured meats. He divvied his menu into categories and explained the processes and the flavors behind his meat magic. Here’s how Nick broke it down to create a highly memorable charcuterie 101.

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Drinking and Diving with Brian McManus and Tim McGinnis

Brian McManus, food and music editor at Philadelphia Weekly, is a man who will drink just about anywhere. To this end, he wrote a guidebook to dive bars in Philadelphia, appropriately called – Philadelphia’s Best Dive Bars: Drinking and Diving in the City of Brotherly Love (Buy it now!), and he brought the dive bar experience to COOK for one of our rowdiest classes yet (no surprise there).

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A Night in Catalonia with Michael McCaulley and Brett Naylor of Tria

At the end of last week, COOK could have changed its name to DRINK. Last Thursday and Friday, we had back-to-back classes that were primarily booze-focused and, no surprise here, they were two of our liveliest classes yet.

First up, on Thursday, Michael McCaulley, Tria’s Wine Director and Partner, alongside Executive Chef, Brett Naylor, brought the Catalonia region of Spain to COOK for a night of delicious wines and equally delicious food.

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Pickle Me This With Patrick Feury of Nectar

Going into this class, I had to release my mind of preconceived notions: that Patrick Feury only cooks Asian; that cooking risotto isn’t worth the trouble; that freakish mushrooms are best left in the ground; and that i don’t like pickled food.  Leaving this class, all of those notions were proved to be myths. A run-down…

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A Sausage Fest at COOK

Last Monday at COOK we had a literal sausage fest!

Nick Macri from Southwark was at COOK for a sausage-making basics class and needless to say, there were lots of sausages and lots of sausage jokes being served.

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