The first time I attended a cooking demonstration it was held in a mall a couple of towns away that I was not familiar with.
Since so many malls now seem to house the same stores and offer the same services, a cooking demo brings a uniqueness to the mall visit.
Instead of shopping and spending money, I was learning and having fun.
The subject on the day I attended was souffles.
This was something I always wanted to try my hand at and seeing the technique up close was better than any cookbook could possible be.
Tasting the results wasn't bad either! It is vital to attend a demo where you have a genuine interest in the dish or technique.
Unless you have a reason for learning all types of cooking following your own desire will ensure you pay attention and get the most out of the event.
Most hosting stores will ask you to register and space is usually limited.
A good chef keeps up an interesting dialogue and answers questions.
They also stop any cooking snobs who try to derail the event by looking down on everyone else.
I have only seen this happen once and a knowledgeable chef is well able to head off this sort of trouble.
They are well aware that the majority of their audience are not professional chefs.
For the first time I heard the French phrase mise-en-scene.
This refers to having the scene set before you begin cooking-in other words having all your ingredients and equipment lined up and ready to use.
This is not something I excel at, I usually think I have everything and then sometimes discover along the way that I am out of whatever.
This is not a good way to cook.
For the first time I saw in practice how a challengeing dish, like a souffle, depends on not only the cook but on the cook's preparation.
Employing some of the professionalism of a chef bumps up anyone's cooking to a higher level.
The tips alone that the chef shared as she cooked were worth jotting down while I was watching.
The calendar of demos was available and I keep it handy for that weekday or weekend day when I have free time.
There is no overt sales pitch at the end even though most of these events take place in a cooking store.
Forget the screaming chefs on tv and take advantage of a cooking demo near you.
The results will be delicious!
Since so many malls now seem to house the same stores and offer the same services, a cooking demo brings a uniqueness to the mall visit.
Instead of shopping and spending money, I was learning and having fun.
The subject on the day I attended was souffles.
This was something I always wanted to try my hand at and seeing the technique up close was better than any cookbook could possible be.
Tasting the results wasn't bad either! It is vital to attend a demo where you have a genuine interest in the dish or technique.
Unless you have a reason for learning all types of cooking following your own desire will ensure you pay attention and get the most out of the event.
Most hosting stores will ask you to register and space is usually limited.
A good chef keeps up an interesting dialogue and answers questions.
They also stop any cooking snobs who try to derail the event by looking down on everyone else.
I have only seen this happen once and a knowledgeable chef is well able to head off this sort of trouble.
They are well aware that the majority of their audience are not professional chefs.
For the first time I heard the French phrase mise-en-scene.
This refers to having the scene set before you begin cooking-in other words having all your ingredients and equipment lined up and ready to use.
This is not something I excel at, I usually think I have everything and then sometimes discover along the way that I am out of whatever.
This is not a good way to cook.
For the first time I saw in practice how a challengeing dish, like a souffle, depends on not only the cook but on the cook's preparation.
Employing some of the professionalism of a chef bumps up anyone's cooking to a higher level.
The tips alone that the chef shared as she cooked were worth jotting down while I was watching.
The calendar of demos was available and I keep it handy for that weekday or weekend day when I have free time.
There is no overt sales pitch at the end even though most of these events take place in a cooking store.
Forget the screaming chefs on tv and take advantage of a cooking demo near you.
The results will be delicious!