Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Keepin it Raw at The Chubby Cook

What a weekend!  Despite still recovering from the bubonic plague, or a sinus infection and bronchitis, I was able to get out of the house on Saturday to attend a cooking class at The Chubby Cook in Beachwood.  I'm a reformed microwave gourmet, and I love learning new cooking tips and techniques. 

Making raw food is fun

                                                                                           
Although I'm a vegetarian, I'd say that 75% of what I eat is vegan.  (I hope to make the switch someday)  I love raw foods, and when I saw that The Chubby Cook is offering multiple vegan and raw classes in the coming months, I immediately signed up for a raw foods class.  (and Mad About Mushrooms, but that's a vegetarian class and it's not until February)  My friend Lucia went along with me.  We're co-workers and travel together pretty often and always try to find vegan or raw restaurants. (our favorite raw restaurant to date is Cafe Manna in a Milwaukee suburb - you can find raw food in the darndest places these days)

I've taken plenty of cooking classes over the years, but I can't say that I've enjoyed them nearly as much as the class I took at The Chubby Cook.  Why?  Well, it was completely hands on.  When it comes to cooking, I feel like I need to actually practice something in order to "get" it.  Chef Lauren (formerly of Whole Foods and currently working at Trader Joe's), the main instructor, was extremely knowledgeable.  The Chubby Cook himself (Scott) was assisting her in the class, and they made a great team.  He was able to share all sorts of neat chef tips and tricks and was really knowledgeable about everything from how to chop garlic to dinosaur kale.  Another added bonus was that the class was held in The Chubby Cook's commercial kitchen.  Picture what you'd see on Top Chef but on a smaller scale.  I got to use an amazing ceramic knife (that I ended up buying - more on that in a future post) and "real" kitchen equipment. (considering how much I cook, it's embarrassing to see what I have in my kitchen - or rather, what I don't have)

Raw sushi that I rolled myself - look what I can do!
My favorite part of the class was making raw sushi.  No rice required here!  We made our own "rice" out of parsnips, garlic, and aminos.  And because this was a hands on process, I think that I could actually make raw sushi again at home. (I may give it a try this weekend.  I'll report back.)

In addition to the sushi, we made a whole bunch of other raw dishes - everything from zucchini pasta with a raw mushroom sauce, to mushroom "steaks", to kale salad, and mali kofta. 
A hodge podge of rawness

If one of your goals is to learn how to cook better, or eat better, or even if you're just looking for something fun to do with a friend, you should look into taking a class at The Chubby Cook.  They have classes that appeal to just about everyone - everything from wine tastings to cooking with beer to a class all about bacon. (clearly not my cup of tea, but...)

1 comment:

  1. That sushi sounds really good! I just recently discovered kale salad and LOVE it. My recipe is guest posted on Clue Into Cleveland (@adhicken) and on my blog if you are interested. I love the Chubby Cook and am hoping to attend a class there one of these days as well.

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