March 9, 2008
Dining

Friendly Chatter in the Kitchen

By TAMMY LA GORCE

WESTFIELD

IT was a little tense before the Two Buck Chuck hit the table.

First there was the incident with the anchovy paste: the two squirts called for in the recipe were meant for the marinade, not the sauce. Then there was the issue of a certain team member being a little free with the Tabasco.

Once Jim and Drisana McFadden of North Plainfield broke out their $2.99 bottle of Charles Shaw cabernet sauvignon, though, the anxiety of the four-member appetizer crew melted. While the herb-dressed plum tomatoes roasted in a professional-grade oven across the room, the McFaddens, together with Amber Moore and Arlia Monroe, sisters from Westfield, bonded over their mutual appreciation of the wine selection at Trader Joe?s. Finger-pointing over the anchovy paste gave way to friendly chatter.

Yes, they had collectively botched the dipping sauce for the grilled shrimp they would soon consume with 16 fellow students at Classic Thyme, a cooking school here. But the reason they paid ($130 for two) to attend a three-hour class in mid-February was not to eat a Michelin-star-worthy meal. It was to have fun.

By the time the main-course slab of prime rib had been devoured and the dessert crew had presented its homemade German chocolate cake, it was clear the night had been a success.

It was even possible that under the tutelage of the guest chef, Steven Capodicasa of Scotch Plains, several of the 11 women and 9 men who tied on store-issued plastic aprons for the evening had become better cooks.

?Nobody here knows what they?re doing, but that?s why it?s fun,? Ms. Moore said. She used the bonus she recently received when retiring from her job as an administrative assistant to sign up for 28 classes, including knife skills and basic stocks and sauces, at Classic Thyme.

In the last several years, since TV personalities like Rachael Ray and Gordon Ramsay seared their names on the national consciousness, David Martone, the owner of Classic Thyme, has not been able to schedule enough lessons, he said; in fact, he is phasing out his retail business selling cookware and other products to focus on the school.

?People have become a lot more interested in learning,? he said.

?A lot of them watch the Food Network. They love the little tips ? the way to cut an onion, the way to peel something quickly, the way to slice an avocado or mango. And the beauty of what we do with the classes where you make a meal is that you put something in a pan and you can see it, smell it, taste it. You don?t get that with TV.?

Something else you don?t get with TV is the chance to socialize, which has become a major draw at kitchens across New Jersey that open their well-stocked cupboards to the public.

?We do something called the essential cooking series, where we do the essentials of braising or roasting,? said Kim Donahue, director of marketing at Carl Schaedel and Company, a Viking appliances showroom in Fairfield that also functions as a Viking Culinary Arts Center.

?But the bulk of our classes ? I?d say 80 percent ? are hands-on classes where guests can get together for a fun night, like our girls? night out in Vegas, where we do recipes from famous restaurants in Las Vegas, or date night, where we?ll do a similar menu,? she said. Date-night and girls?-night-out classes consistently sell out, she said.

Corporate team-building events are also big. The Mars food conglomerate is a regular client, and so are many financial and pharmaceutical companies across northern New Jersey, Ms. Donahue said.

Some people take their cooking lessons extremely seriously, such as those who go on to study at the Culinary Institute of America after their classes at Adventures in Cooking, a food and cookware shop and cooking studio in Wayne owned by Arlene Ward. The groups that Kathryn Budinich instructs in her Jersey City home are hoping to replicate meals they have eaten at her Italian restaurant, 15 Fox Place, also in Jersey City. ?They don?t want to do anybody else?s recipes,? Ms. Budinich said. ?They just want to know how I do my recipes.?

Others are looking to keep it light. Cooktique in Tenafly, which sells cookware, food products and tableware, used to schedule adult demonstrations but now offers only children?s classes, like Lunch 1, featuring ?tuna-fishy sandwiches.? (Other schools, including Viking, Classic Thyme and Adventures in Cooking also schedule children?s classes regularly.)

At-home demonstrations by cooks with credentials, like Giovanna Bellia La Marca of Cliffside Park, author of the 2003 cookbook ?Sicilian Feasts? (Hippocrene), are also gathering steam. ?It?s definitely a trend to go to private homes and cook ? the guests help and then serve a buffet dinner,? Ms. La Marca said. ?It can be very festive.?

Sometimes the lesson is in the chef?s home, like that of Phensri Francis, owner of the restaurant Thai Chili in Spotswood, who holds basic Thai classes in Old Bridge.

Whatever the setting, once the introductions are made and the prep work is done, a certain levity can take over.

?It becomes a social affair ? people are excited about the food, the idea that they can create these flavors at home,? Ms. Francis said. ?They stand side by side and get to know each other. And they take away a great sense of accomplishment.?

A Multicourse Menu

Following is a sampling of cooking classes in New Jersey.

FAIRFIELD Viking Cooking School, 4 Sperry Road; (973) 244-1311; vikingcookingschool.com. Classes include fish cookery on March 21 from 6 to 9 p.m., $109, and cake decorating on March 30 from 3 to 6 p.m., $125.

[b]JERSEY CITY 15 Fox Place, 15 Fox Place; (201) 413-1614 or (201) 333-1476;

http://womcatering.com/15_Fox_Place . Three-hour hands-on classes featuring southern Italian cooking, $65, January to April.

OLD BRIDGE Fantastic Thai, Old Bridge; (732) 416-9267; fantastic-thai.com. Three-hour class most weekends, $50 through mid-March.

PARAMUS Chef Central, 240 Route 17 North; (201) 576-0100; chefcentral.com. Culinary superstore with hands-on and demonstration classes for adults and children 3 and up. Classes include sushi making for adults on March 26 and 28 at 6:30 p.m., $45.

TENAFLY Cooktique, 9 West Railroad Avenue; (201) 568-7990; www.cooktique.com. Classes for children only. Lunch 1, one hour, March 12 at 3:30 p.m.; $25 for children 4 and 5 (or ?sophisticated 3-year-olds?).

WAYNE Adventures in Cooking, 12

Legion Place; (973) 305-1114; adventuresincooking.com. Three or more classes a week, including pressure cooking, wine and food pairing, Latin American cooking, grilling and cake decorating. Two and a half to three hours, about $70 to $95.

WESTFIELD Classic Thyme, 710 South Avenue West; (908) 232-5445; classicthyme.com. More than 200 classes a year for adults and children, ranging from knife skills and culinary basics to handling specific ingredients, like artichokes, and preparing a four- or five-course menu. A three-hour class runs about $65.

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