I’ve always loved to eat, but I didn’t become a foodie until after I got married. I delighted in surprising Ken with unexpected flavors in the meals I cooked. Not that that was difficult. He grew up in a household where garlic salt was the only seasoning, then went on to prep school and college cafeteria type food. Our bookshelves became crammed with cookbooks. When we ate out, because we were on a tight budget, we frequented inexpensive ethnic restaurants, so I bought cookbooks featuring those cuisines. Probably if we had spent the cookbook money on restaurants, we could have had steak more often, but then we would have missed out on all the adventure of trying new foods.
I should have gone to culinary school after I finished college and we moved to New York. But at that time, in the early 70’s there were no local programs and very few women chefs - and, to be honest, the thought never entered my mind. So I went on to do a number of other things, some fun, some not. None of them lucrative. But I continued to cook, collect cookbooks, and with the advent of the internet, spent hours looking at recipes online.
A short time ago, Thomas, the 17 year old son of friends of ours, developed a serious interest in cooking and decided to attend a culinary program in Phoenix. I realized I was jealous and decided to do something about that. Since I’m too old and unfit to ever work in the profession, an expensive and demanding (both fiscally and physically) school was out of the question. I happened across an online ad for Top Chef University, a $200 online program featuring past contestants of the show as instructors. The course has just begun, so there was no student feedback, but many bloggers felt that it would essentially be a vehicle to sell Top Chef products and promote the teachers. I watched the snippet of course instruction video that was available, and indeed the camera spent more time focused on the instructor than on close-ups of the food-making process. I looked at the other online courses (there are surprisingly few) and settled on Rouxbe, which provided many free videos to peruse. Except for the hands the instructor is seldom seen - the technique is what’s important. There are follow up exercises and a quiz for each segment. The price is a more reasonable $99. I decided to sign up.
So, can an already adequate cook become better by following an online culinary school curriculum? Take a look at the Rouxbe.com website, keep reading, and we’ll find out together.
Good basic stocks and broths are the foundation of cooking, whether it is French, continental, or Asian influenced. In a commercial kitchen oftimes the person in charge of the sauces and soups is also responsible for the stocks. Many years ago while working in a gourmet grocery store, I took it upon myself to create fresh stocks and even went so far as to make real demiglace (very reduced veal and/or beef stock used in almost all French veal, chicken, and pork dishes.) You have to be somewhat of a sadist because it involves a great deal of lifting, straining, and restraining. I believe that if you want a good quality result, it is a necessary step. It is amazing what we throw away in this country, would go right into the stockpot anywhere else.
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