Culinary Boot Camp Level I: For Beginner Cooks

This comprehensive, hands-on, skills-based series covers all the fundamental cooking skills and techniques you'll need to feel comfortable, confident, and capable when creating delicious meals in the kitchen. Each week over the course of six carefully structured weeks, we'll focus intently on different cooking techniques and use multiple complementary ingredients to reinforce and systematically build your foundational culinary skills. By the end of this comprehensive program, you'll leave feeling genuinely confident and fully prepared to cook virtually any meal in your own home kitchen with ease and creativity. This intensive program meets every week for a total of 6 weeks.

What You'll Learn Throughout the Program

• Week 1: Knife Skills and Vegetable Techniques: Master essential knife skills and comprehensive vegetable preparation techniques, including blanching, roasting, and sautéing vegetables to perfection. You'll also learn the fundamental principle of balancing salt, fat, and acid in seasoning your dishes for maximum flavor impact. You'll prepare delicious meals like sautéed Swiss chard with roasted garlic, roasted seasonal vegetables with herbs, and blanched string beans with bright lemon gremolata.
• Week 2: Poultry Butchering and Preparation: Learn professional poultry butchering techniques, including confidently deboning chicken breasts and breaking down a whole chicken into parts. Understand different cuts of poultry and various cooking methods, including sautéing for quick meals and pan-roasting for deeper flavor development. You'll also master the essential skill of making rich chicken stock from scratch and prepare basic vinaigrette for salads, with delicious recipes like chicken breast with silky white wine pan sauce and pan-roasted lemon chicken.
• Week 3: Braising for Maximum Flavor: Dive deep and thoroughly into braising techniques for both tender meats and flavorful vegetables. You'll learn exactly how to properly sear meat to develop a flavorful crust, create rich and savory pan sauces, and prepare classic comfort food dishes like hearty beef stew, elegant steak with red wine pan sauce, braised collard greens with aromatics, and creamy mashed potatoes with roasted garlic.
• Week 4: Fish and Shellfish Mastery: Focus extensively on fish and shellfish preparation, including learning how to choose fresh, quality fish at the market, master reliable sautéing techniques for delicate proteins, and make delicious fish pan sauces with acid and butter. You'll also learn to clean shrimp properly and create elegant dishes like crispy fish with lemon-caper butter sauce and aromatic garlic shrimp with tomato-garlic toasts.
• Week 5: Eggs and Grains: Explore versatile egg and grain cooking techniques, from creating perfectly cooked eggs in various styles to working confidently with whole grains and planning satisfying and creative vegetarian meals. Recipes include rustic frittata with roasted tomatoes, smoky black bean soup for cold days, and elegant baked fruit clafoutis for dessert.
• Week 6: Fresh Pasta Making: Learn how to make fresh pasta from scratch using traditional techniques, understand the important key differences between fresh and dried pasta and when to use each, and master the essential art of sauce building and proper pasta cooking and seasoning techniques. You'll also make delicate gnocchi with brown butter sauce, preparing dishes like pasta puttanesca with chickpeas and delicate ricotta gnocchi with sage browned butter.

Supplies and Materials Included

• All fresh ingredients and cooking materials needed will be provided for each class session at no extra charge.

Additional Notes and Important Information

• Please reach out to CourseHorse in advance to discuss and arrange for any dietary restrictions, food allergies, or special nutritional needs you may have.
• Make sure to ring the outside buzzer when you arrive for class, even if the front door is open, so we know you are arriving and can welcome you promptly.