Jacques Torres posing with his class. [Photographs: Tressa Eaton] With colored balloons, heavy cream, and chocolate galore, it was pretty clear that the participants in Jacques Torres' "Chocolate Creations" class at the New York Culinary Experience last weekend were having way more fun than the other classes. Yes, those are balloons. Torres is very encouraging to those who want to try difficult pastry recipes at home. He tells would-be pastry chefs who mess up a project the first time to just do it again until they get it right. He took a minute away from cracking jokes and teaching the class how to make his whimsical creations to share the top fives tools you need when you want to...
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Jane Black of the Washington Post talks to cooking school owners who are now pitching classes as a restaurant alternative: "If you eat three courses at a restaurant with wine, you'd be lucky to escape with tax and tip for $85. Here you get the meal, wine and instruction," said Susan Holt, co-owner of CulinAerie in Washington, D.C....
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Photograph by Su-Lin on Flickr London-based food blogger and Serious Eats community member Su-Lin shares her experience at last weekend's L'Aterlier de Chefs' macaron class on her blog, Tamarind and Thyme. Considering how prefect the macarons came out, it seems like a good class. She includes some macaron-making tips, such as banging the trays with the piped-out batter to get rid of the air bubbles and letting the batter dry out before putting the trays into the oven. I did neither of these things when I made my first batch of slightly malformed macarons, which explains a lot. Learn how to make your own macarons with our macaron recipe. And if you don't know what this "macaron" thing is,...
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Those of you interested in starting a food blog of your own—or current bloggers who just want to learn more—might be interested in class taught by Matt Armendariz (mattbites.com; that's him at right). Taking place July 15 (1:30 to 3:30 p.m.) at the Whole Foods Bowery location in New York City, Armendariz's lecture and demo "will discuss what food blogging is and how it has changed the landscape of food writing and accessibility. He'll also discuss what to blog about, how to take better food photos, and the basics of food styling." (Sign up here.) I'm particularly interested in Armendariz's tips on photography and food styling, since he's adept at creating beautiful shots. [via Matt Bites]...
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Friend of Serious Eats Shuna Fish Lydon is bringing her knife skills class to New York City. The class costs $68 and will be held Thursday June 21, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at an Upper West Side location. Sign up now to secure a spot. Still undecided? Check out Shuna's description of the class....
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