Personalized cooking lessons

I offer private lessons for 1–6 people at a time, in the comfort of your own home.

What we cover

All of my lessons are a combination of demonstration and participation. Since many of the classes I teach need to cover more minutes of process than can reasonably fit into a single session, I do a lot of advance prep work. Then when I supply a little "TV magic"—say, when it would be time to wait for bread dough to rise—you get to experience a little leap forward in time when the pre-prepared next stage is magically ready for you to proceed. Thus we are able to follow the entire experience, from measuring and combining ingredients all the way through to sampling the finished products.

I spend only about 25% of my time on recipes, and about 75% on techniques. I find that recipes are rarely generalizable, but that understanding the underlying techniques allows you to apply your new skills in other contexts. Often you'll find that gaining a specific few skills brings "eureka moments" and allows you make quantum leaps forward in your level of comfort and enjoyment with cooking.

Camaraderie

Cooking together with a small group can create many kinds of fun occasions.

• cooking camp — I've taught for a group of 4 teenage girls, whose customized lesson plan included one day each on knife skills, baking, and cooking with chocolate
• family groups — a great setting for mother/daughter or father/son bonding, or to help reconstruct old family favorite recipes
• co-workers — schedule a cooking class instead of your next office party to build team skills and share sumptuous food
• friends — customize a party, anywhere from fun-and-simple to elegant-and-extravagant

Gift certificates

I am happy to offer gift certificates as well—though please do check first with your intended recipients, lest they take insult at a perceived commentary on their cooking!