9-Week Professional Culinary Arts Series: Progressive Culinary Techniques

9-Week Professional Culinary Arts Series: Progressive Culinary Techniques
Beginning: Monday 10/07/2024
Ending: Monday 12/02/2024
Hands-On | Tastings | Recipes & Handouts | Limited Class Size
6:30pm - 9:30pm for all dates
Series Fee: $1,345
Executive Chef Richard McPeake
Adults 18+

Series Dates:
Day 1: Monday 10/07/2024 – Knife Skills
Day 2: Monday 10/14/2024 – The Art of Small Plates & Mezze
Day 3: Monday 10/21/2024 – Infused Oils & Vinegars
Day 4: Monday 10/28/2024 – Pasta-Making Old-World Style
Day 5: Monday 11/04/2024 – Side Dishes (including Grains, Rice & Beans)
Day 6: Monday 11/11/2024 – Beyond Poultry
Day 7: Monday 11/18/2024 – Soups & Stocks
Day 8: Monday 11/25/2024 – Desserts
Day 9: Monday 12/02/2024 – Final Dinner Competition

Full Series Description:
This 9-week series was designed to enhance your culinary skills and provide you with more in-depth, hands-on expertise in core areas of the culinary arts. This series is different than the "Fundamentals For The Serious Cook" class also being offered, and you do not need to take a pre-requisite to take this series. This series is designed after a typical first year of chef training and taught by Culinary Institute of America graduate and renowned culinary professional, Executive Chef Richard McPeake. This high hands-on, limited enrollment course will help you build essential culinary skills and teach you the proper way to prepare a variety of multi-course menus through successive weeks of practical instruction. We’ll focus on a variety of topics – all designed to help you build essential culinary skills, teach you the proper way to cook, and raise your confidence in the kitchen through the roof. If you’re serious about learning to cook – either taking your home culinary skills to the next level or you are considering a career in the culinary arts – then join us for this professional chef series.
 
Note:
· There are no pre-requisite course(s) needed to enroll in this series. Students don’t need to have taken the separate "Fundamentals For The Serious Cook" course with Chef McPeake in order to enroll.
· For students who have already taken our Pro Series I with Chef McPeake, this series will cover other facets of the culinary arts. The curriculum in this course is distinct and different from that of the Pro Series 1 course, and is complementary to the skills and techniques taught in Pro Series I.
· Students must be age 18+ to attend our Pro Series. Students ages 16-17 may register if attending with a paying adult.
· Students are required to wear a chef’s jacket to each class, available for purchase in our Kitchen Shop if desired.
· Please note that we offer payment plans for the course tuition. If you would like to discuss a payment plan, please call The Culinary Center at (913) 341-4455.

Class 1: Advanced Knife Skills
In this first important class, you’ll learn how to identify and purchase knives, the anatomy of a knife, knife maintenance, knife shapes, how to hold and feel for balance and proper weight, storage principles, how to hone and sharpen, how to hold a knife properly, rocking and chopping, and the chef’s claw technique. You won’t just be introduced to your knives. You’ll receive serious hands-on experience, as well as learn the basic cuts and advance culinary cuts that professional chefs use. This class will teach fundamentals that we will use as the foundation for more advanced culinary techniques over the next eight classes.

Class 2: The Art of Small Plates & Mezze
Learn the art of creating smaller, highly flavorful dishes that prepare the appetite for the remainder of the dining experience. Discover the importance of layering flavors, essentials of proper portions, and the secrets to bursting flavors as we explore such techniques as caramelizing, sautéing, preserving, marinating, and emulsifying. We’ll learn how to make Charcuterie Board for Two, Shrimp & Chorizo Tapas, Gazpacho Blanco, Seared Scallops Quesadilla with Avocado Corn Relish, and Grilled Fennel & Fresh Grapefruit Supreme’s with Arugula. The tried-and-true recipes we’ll learn tonight are a compilation of the best dishes from the many restaurant menus Chef Richard has developed nationwide.

Class 3: Infused Oils & Vinegars
There is so much more to making a good salad than cutting up some lettuce and drizzling on some dressing. We’ll learn about the variety of lettuce options – what’s best to use for each type of salad – and the seasonality of each. We’ll explore the proper ways to handle, clean, cut, prepare, and store salad ingredients. Seasoning is of the utmost importance when making salads, so we’ll need to learn about the different kinds of salt, how to use fresh herbs and spices, and the impact a bit of pepper can make. And we can’t explore salads without learning about dressings and marinades. We’ll learn some of Chef Richard’s favorite dressings as we discover emulsifications (quick and long-term) and how to use special kitchen tools, including immersion blenders to make an Infused Oil and Vinegar dressing.

Class 4: Pasta-Making Old-World Style
Both handmade pasta and the sauces that pair with them are culinary gems steeped in tradition. Tonight, we’ll learn how to make both under the expert guidance of Chef Richard. By hand and from scratch, we’ll create fresh pasta dough. And we will learn how to fashion that dough into various shapes, some of which will be made by hand, and some of which will utilize a pasta machine. We’ll explore braising techniques for cooking pasta and learn the important differences in the flours used to make pasta. Tonight’s menu includes Classic Fettuccine al a Burro (The Original Alfredo!) Parmesan Orzo Pilaf, Stuffed Cannelloni Piedmontese, and Chef’s 300-year-old homemade The “LaRocca” Family: Marinara. Can’t beat that lineup!

Class 5: Side Dishes (including Grains, Rice & Beans)
This evening, we’ll explore the fundamentals of preparing and cooking grains, rice and beans as we learn to make fabulous side dishes alongside Chef Richard. He’ll teach us proper Risotto techniques and how to make a perfect Rice Pilaf. We’ll learn how to select, soak, cook, prepare, and season beans as we create some hearty bean dishes. And we’ll learn to make Chef Richard’s favorite Southern Salad as we grill and de-cob corn!

Class 6: Beyond Poultry
Class is going to the birds tonight as we learn everything there is to know about poultry – what to look for when purchasing poultry; how to handle it safely; plus washing, seasoning and prepping poultry. Chef Richard shares his secrets to the best poultry cooking methods, including pan searing, dry roasting, and braising. We’ll learn all the proper techniques as we make Chicken Confit, Duck Breast with Black Berry Gastriques, and Mediterranean 40 Clove of Chicken.

Class 7: Soups & Stocks
Tonight we’ll take on the challenge of classic soup and stock techniques as we learn the essentials of how to make various type of stock. We’ll learn how to create and use thickeners, as well as the cooking methods of braising and stewing as we work together to make Chef Richard’s Poor Man's Cassoulet, Classic French Beef Bourguignon, Soup with Homemade Dumplings, and a Classic Cream Soup.

Class 8: Desserts
Speaking of well-rounded, a meal isn’t complete without dessert. Nothing to be afraid of here – Chef Richard says if he can do it, so can we! He’ll take us step-by-step through the proper techniques to create the Classic Soufflé, including Chef’s fail-proof secrets on how to temper eggs correctly. We’ll learn how to temper chocolate as we make French Sabayon: Cooked Egg Dessert Sauce. We’ll also learn classic Homemade Fudge Sauce, a versatile sauce we’ll use to go with the Homemade Profiteroles we’ll make right in class. Finally, we’ll make Chef Richard's 1-2-3 Sweet Strawberry Biscuit Short Cake.

Class 9: Final Dinner Competition
It’s the grand finale! Tonight we’ll practice what we’ve learned throughout the eight weeks we’ve cooked together. The class will be divided into groups with each team challenged to create a dish that uses what we’ve learned. As always, Chef Richard will be walking the room to give advice and assist. When we’ve placed our dish on the Grand Buffet, we’ll have an opportunity to explain our cooking processes and get feedback from our colleagues and from Chef Richard himself. We will also have the opportunity to invite guests – significant others, family members, and friends – so that we can all dine together. What a rewarding experience! Chef Richard will award Professional Culinary Arts Program Diplomas.

Notes:   
Please click here for a full description of our policies and FAQ’s. Finalization of your registration tells us that you have read and understand them. Below is a summary of some of the key information, but it is not all-inclusive. 

• Please enjoy a 10% discount on all items in our retail store during the full calendar day/night of your class. Our retail store will be open for browsing prior to class, during any breaks, and after class. 
• For multi-session classes and series: We will gladly give you a full refund if you need to cancel more than three weeks prior to the start of a multi-session class. Within three weeks of the start of a series, no refunds or credits will be given. Please note that once the series has begun, no substitutions will be allowed since the series is designed for the classes to build upon each other. In the event you miss a class in the series, no refunds will be given and it is not possible to make up the class(es) in a future similar series.
• Please note that any refund issued for classes purchased using a Gift Certificate or Account Credit will result in reinstatement of the original Gift Card or Account Credit and will bear the same expiration date. Account Credits issued for cancelations within three weeks of a class will expire one year from the date of issuance. We reserve the right to cancel a class for any reason, at any time, in which case you will receive a full refund.
• If (a) you’d like to sit with another registered guest, or (b) have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, please let us know in the Comments section of your registration after reading our full description of policies and information about classes. If you've registered with other people on the same order, you will automatically be seated together.
• This series is for adults 18+. You must be at least 18 years old as of the class date (or as of the first date of the first class of a series). 
• Your registration tells us that you have read through the class description including the age requirements for that particular class.
• Alcoholic beverages will not be available during any Pro Series class.