B I R M I N G H A M 71

How to spendyour money ,time, ideas andinspirations.

72. smart living guide cooking classes

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For many people, the kitchen issimply a means to an end. Becausehumans must eat, we must cook.Food gets put on the table, and lifeis sustained.

But thanks to a tradition thatextends back far beyond RachelRay and Paula Deen, Americansalso see cooking as an art form andan end in itself. And in contempo-rary American culture, celebritychefs and Food Network havemade the artistic side of foodaccessible to anyone with cable—haute cuisine for the masses. Fromthe notoriously high salads at NewYork’s Gotham Bar and Grill to the

southern Creole of Emeril’s, finedining is no longer confined toexpensive restaurants but hasentered the kitchen of the averagecook.

Birmingham, too, has no short-age of fine cooking. For the averagecooks who would like a little moreauthenticity than the bright lightsand flashy editing of Food Network,our city also has an array of cook-ing classes available, some withaccess to our well-known chefs.Each offers a distinct method, adistinct style and a distinct flavor.Ultimately though, each offers adeeper understanding of the beau-

ty of good food and the ability tobring that beauty out through theutilitarian process of cooking.

Cooking is a manual art—it isfunctional and practical, like know-ing how to fix a car. One must workwith knives, measure, keep track oftime. But CChheeff FFrraannkklliinn BBiiggggss ooffHHoommeewwoooodd GGoouurrmmeett says thatgood teaching is accomplished withall six senses, and likewise onecooks with all six senses. The sixthsense, of course, is intuition, andhere is where cooking becomesmore of an art form, where precisemeasurements are not as impor-tant as knowing the food. Biggs

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CCooookkiinngg CCllaasssseessCCooookkiinngg CCllaasssseessLearn the beauty of good food.By Chris Copeland

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says, “You have to put your hands onthe dough, you have to feel it, andanybody who’s ever been taught tocook their grandma’s biscuits, that’show grandma taught you.”

Cooking is not as precise asrecipes would have us believe either.Biggs says, “You have to adjust to theingredients that are available. If theingredient changes, say the strawber-ries are sweeter or tarter, you have tomake an allowance for that.” He adds,“Food is not a static, constant thing. Apeach from Chilton County tastes dif-ferent than a peach from California.Now, I live here, so I love ChiltonCounty peaches, but don’t mess withmy California peaches.” Biggs begancooking while earning a degree inpolitical science from Berkeley, whichexplains his affinity for the WestCoast.

Students at Biggs’ classes are privyto these bits of knowledge as theywatch him demonstrate both the prac-tical and artistic side of cooking. Heteaches on Tuesdays, and thoughclasses began in January, anyone canjoin any one class or set of classesprovided there is space.

In his upstairs kitchen at therestaurant, Biggs takes 20 students ata time at a cost of $50. They aredemonstration classes, meaning stu-dents will not actually cook their ownfood but will watch as Biggs guidesthem through the basics. The classesrange from fundamentals, startingwith soups and stocks and moving onto sauces, to a 12-part course on bak-ing. Biggs says the fundamental classis good for beginners or people whowant to complete their repertoire.

Biggs also teaches specialty classesintroducing students to a specific typeof item or a specific style of cuisine,including seafood, Spanish, Frenchand California styles. He is availablefor private classes, too. For furtherinformation, contact HomewoodGourmet at 871-1620.

Those whose interests in cookingsprung from Food Network may besurprised to know that celebrity chefculture has a history that long pre-dates television. The person whomost historians agree put fine cuisineon the map was the Frenchman MMaarriieeAAnnttooiinnee CCaarrêêmmee. Carême began as apastry chef who rose to prominenceat the dawn of the 1800s. His elabo-rate confection centerpieces eventual-ly landed in the service of the influen-tial diplomat Charles Talleyrand, oneof Napoleon’s chief officers. Legendhas it that Talleyrand once challengedCarême to create a year’s worth ofmenus without repeating a dish.Carême did so successfully, and manyof the recipes ended up in his famouscookbooks including the five-volumeL’Art de la Cuisine Française of 1833.Carême went on to cook for CzarAlexander of Russia (for whom he cre-ated the now famous dessertStrawberries Romanoff) and the pow-erful banker James Rothschild, fromthe family of the same name thatdominated international finance dur-ing the period.

But Carême’s biggest influencelikely came from his service toTalleyrand; his food would have beentasted by members of the Congress ofVienna in 1815 (of which Talleyrandplayed a key role) who drasticallyshaped the future of European poli-tics. He was sought after by men ofinternational distinction and sobecame one of the first celebritychefs. Part of Talleyrand’s year-of-menus challenge was to use only sea-sonal ingredients, which Carêmeaccomplished, highlighting the needto consider the means of cooking, notjust the end.

To follow in the tradition ofCarême’s influence, one need onlylook to the cooking courses taught byCClliiff HHoolltt aatt LLiittttllee SSaavvaannnnaahh restau-rant in Forest Park. Like Biggs, Holtsees cooking as both an art and a

practical skill. Part of the art, he says,is to select the freshest ingredients,which requires knowledge of the sea-sonal changes that affect the qualityof produce, something Carême wouldhave mastered in answeringTalleyrand’s challenge.

Holt’s earliest memories of cook-ing take place in his grandmother’skitchen, where he surely learned intu-ition, or as Biggs puts it, to “feel thedough.” Now, Holt’s classes are simi-larly a hands-on experience where sixto eight people gather to cook theirown meals under his teaching.Students have full use of the kitchenand at the end of the course sit downto enjoy the product of the lesson.Often, Holt has his wine reps comple-ment the courses, so the price rangesfrom $75-100 depending on whetheror not wine is included. In addition tolearning how to cook a meal, studentsreceive instruction in basic skills likeknife work and cooking utensils, andhe has devoted a class before to fishfabrication, which is simply filleting.

Holt is a genial personality whoseems to enjoy the social experienceof food more than anything. Hedescribes the bond that often arisesamong people in his classes, portray-ing cooking as creating community aswell as a meal. His classes are not asmuch teacher teaching students as agroup of friends with a common inter-est in cooking.

In addition to food as social expe-rience, food satisfies human desire forpleasurable experience. Holt recountsa story of cooking a private meal for aman’s date once. Tucked away in thekitchen so as not to spoil the illusion,he overheard the woman’s delightedresponse to one of his courses: “Igot that reaction out of a personwho had never seen me.” Abond had formed unseen, demon-strating that cooking is much morethan just a utility.

Holt volunteers a secret to good

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In addition to food as social experience, food satisfies human desire for pleasurable experience.

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cooking that average people can usein their own kitchens: Sauces go along way. They are not complicatedto make; they just require a lot ofattention. Yet a sauce can immeasur-ably enhance the taste of a goodmeal.

Sauces are taught in Holt’s classestoo, which take place on Wednesdaynights at the restaurant three times amonth (the first Wednesday of themonth is skipped). Students can signup for one or a series of classes bycontacting Little Savannah at591-1119.

When asked about his ownfavorite foods, Holt says he is favor-ing simplicity of late and uses barbe-cue as an example: “You can put bar-becue sauce on just about anythingand it will taste good.” Holt, howev-er, says he is more interested in thecooking of the pork itself and looksto find flavor without the sauce. Holtalso says he is always on the questfor the perfect burger. That’s aboutas simple as it gets.

After Carême, two chefs broughtcelebrity cooking into the twentiethcentury. CChhaarrlleess RRaannhhooffeerr becamechef de cuisine (head chef) in 1861 atNew York’s Delmonico’s, a restau-rant dating back to before the CivilWar. Although French born,Ranhofer established himself as thefinest chef America had to offer andhumbly dropped the “de cuisine”from his title, going simply by Chef.He died in 1899, but his impact last-ed right up to the turn of the century.Ranhofer introduced the avocado toAmerica in 1895, when it was diffi-cult to obtain food from SouthAmerica. In New York, everyoneknew Ranhofer’s name during his34-year tenure at Delmonico’s.

Meanwhile, in France, AAuugguusstteeEEssccooffffiieerr had picked up where

Carême left off, continuing to rein-vent the haute cuisine Carême hadmade so prominent. Escoffier, how-ever, tended towards simplicity andefficiency. He designed the set up ofthe modern restaurant kitchen withits army-like brigade system of sta-tions staffed by a separate team ledby the station chef, or as the Frenchsay, the chef de partie.

Escoffier opened the famed Ritzhotel in Paris in 1898 with CésarRitz, and they followed with theCarlton Hotel in London, whereEscoffier introduced the à la carteconcept. While there, he is rumoredto have taught eventual VietnamesePresident Ho Chi Minh, who was apastry chef. Escoffier, who publisheda still-used cookbook with over 5,000recipes, took celebrity status to newheights by being the first chef award-ed the French Legion of Honor. Thisdistinction was bestowed in 1928,when America was in the process ofcultivating its own national celebritychef, then 16-year-old JJuulliiaa CChhiilldd.

Child began her career as a cheflater in life, graduating from theCordon Bleu in Paris at age 38. EveryAmerican celebrity chef that has fol-lowed owes her a debt as a popular-izer of the culinary arts. Child’s 1961cookbook, Mastering the Art ofFrench Cooking, brought haute cui-sine to the American housewife’skitchen and with it the French sensi-bility towards food to America’syoung, unrefined palettes. She pio-neered the television cooking show,paving the way for Martha Stewartand others.

Since then, we have witnessedthe rise and fall and then return ofStewart, Emeril’s BAM!, “Iron Chef,”“30 Minute Meals,” “$40 a Day,” anda cameo by Paula Deen in CameronCrowe’s star-studded film

Elizabethtown. A rare day goes bywithout a cooking segment on “TheToday Show” or “Good MorningAmerica.” Food Network has madecooking more about rock-star statusthan food. But a positive effect is thatmore and more people in Americaare beginning to care about cookingbeyond just putting a meal on thetable.

At a recent dinner party, I listenedto guests at the other end of the tablediscuss what I thought was a soapopera but turned out to be SandraLee’s show on Food Network.Americans are definitely watchingthese shows for more than cooking,yet the obsession reveals an underly-ing connection to the communalpower of food. We are finding inthese shows, flashy as they may be,something that speaks to the humanstory, something that is accom-plished through food.

This unifying experience foodcreates is illustrated even in architec-ture: many homes in Birminghambuilt before World War II have tinybedrooms and almost no closetspace but massive dining rooms. Ishould know. My 1932 Crestwoodbungalow could seat 12 for dinnerbut barely sleeps two in the masterbedroom. And so humans in general,the French in particular andAmericans by extension, have a tra-dition based in sharing meals andcooking. In Birmingham, cookingclasses are one way to take an activerole in this pastime.

In addition to HomewoodGourmet and Little Savannah,CCuulliinnaarrdd provides an opportunity fornon-students to learn skills taught inthe regular culinary school.Weekends at Culinard are Fridaynight (5-10 p.m.) classes andSaturday (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) classes

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This unifying experience food creates is illustrated even inarchitecture: many homes in Birmingham built before

World War II have tiny bedrooms and almost no closet space but massive dining rooms.

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where students work hands-on in theCulinard kitchen. Tuition, whichvaries by course, includes ingredi-ents, equipment, chef’s apparel,recipes and a meal (light dinner onFridays and lunch on Saturdays).Upcoming classes include SugarShow Pieces, Taste of Tuscany, Aprilin Paris, Sushi Basics and KitchenBasics. For a full schedule and regis-tration form, look under the coursesmenu at culinard.com.

In Cahaba Heights, VViivvaa tthhee CChheeffis another cooking school with class-es that can be taken one at a time orin a series. The cost is typically $55,and Viva the Chef hosts corporateevents, private parties and birthdayparties for kids. The school also mar-kets to kids with a class calledMommy and Me (a lunch class formothers and kids to interact whilecooking) and Viva the Chef onWheels, which takes culinary educa-tion to schools for 45-minute demon-strations encouraging healthy eating.Class schedules are updated regularlyon vivathechef.com.

Mountain Brook author SShheerrrroonnGGoollddsstteeiinn opened her home for culi-nary classes in the early ‘90s whenthe current cooking fad was just ignit-ing. Goldstein says she personallyfavors Mediterranean food because itis clean, healthy, flavorful anduncomplicated. Her classes, though,are custom-designed around the stu-dent. Prior to the class, Goldsteinconsults with the student to discussfundamentals and to choose themenu. Students of all levels cook inher teaching kitchen in whatGoldstein says is very businesslikeduring cooking time: “After the cook-ing, though, it becomes a very socialaffair,” as students sit down to enjoya full meal.

Goldstein says her thing is usingfresh ingredients in an uncomplicatedway, hence the title of her book, FreshFields: Entertaining With SouthernFolk, available on Amazon.com. Sheteaches on a three-month cycle withclasses resuming in March and con-tinuing through May on Tuesday andThursday evenings. Goldstein will also

take her classes (which begin at $55and increase in price based on theingredients) into other people’shomes and to corporate and charita-ble events. The number for moreinformation is 967-6106.

Finally, just as writers will free-lance and teachers will tutor for extramoney, chefs are likely to teach pri-vate cooking lessons for the samereason: to make a little extra cashdoing something they love for thebenefit of others. So if you are willingto pay extra for the added conve-nience of in-home lessons, it can’thurt to try contacting the chef at yourfavorite restaurant. It may not beadvertised, but as I learned research-ing this article, nothing is “official”

about cooking. When I asked FranklinBiggs if he considers himself a “by-the-book” chef, he simply responded,“Whose book?” He adds with a laugh,“In my class I do give printed recipes,but I reserve the right to change themwhen I want because I wrote them.”And Clif Holt said a benefit of hisclasses for himself is they force himto write down recipes whereas heusually likes to experiment. It seemsthat cooking is what you make of it.Sure, there are professionals. That’swhy you call Biggs, or Holt orGoldstein. But with a few basics andsome knowledge of food, cookingreally comes down to the personalityyou add to it. Isn’t that, after all, theessence of an art?

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