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  • Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

    Now that my mom has died and my dad needs to take care of himself, he's expressed interest in taking cooking lessons with me. Are there any particular places or teachers you would recommend?

    My dad would prefer private lessons, either on their premises or his home.

    Thanks in advance :_)
    "By concealing your desires, you may trick people into being cruel about the wrong thing." --Steven Aylett, Fain the Sorcerer
    "You gotta get me to the tall corn." --David Mamet, Spartan
    "
    Amateurs talk technology, professionals talk conditions." --(unknown)

  • #2
    Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

    Hmmm, the UH has Adult Education classes for all sorts of things. Maybe they have cooking classes (?).

    Sorry about your mom btw.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

      When you think about it, that's a very interesting question.

      There are many cooking schools in Hawai‘i, but I think just about all of them are geared for the professional cooks. I don't think that's what your father is looking for. Cezanne's suggestion is a good one (Adult Education classes).

      I remember watching a program on Soko ga Shiritai about a cooking school for men. In Japan, men usually don't cook at home, but when they get older and their wives die, they have to learn how to cook for themselves, so this cooking school was geared for men, most of them old, but there were also younger men who just wanted to learn how to cook.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

        Originally posted by MyopicJoe View Post
        Now that my mom has died and my dad needs to take care of himself, he's expressed interest in taking cooking lessons with me. Are there any particular places or teachers you would recommend?

        My dad would prefer private lessons, either on their premises or his home.

        Thanks in advance :_)
        This is so cool, MJ. I love seeing your posts about looking for draperies and cooking lessons. It sounds like your dad is dealing with the loss of your mom in a healthy way. Without using your user name, I'll post your request on Facebook as I have at least a couple of FB friends who are chefs and who might have contacts.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

          kcc's culinary arts program has some great weekend cooking classes. here's the link where you can pull the pdf: http://programs.kcc.hawaii.edu/~cont...ring/index.htm

          one year, eric's mom paid for an entire semester of those classes and her cooking repertoire really took off. according to eric, she went from a woman who often served canned vegetables & chewy steaks to someone who'd cook tender lamb chops sauced with a reduction from the pan juices and make chicken soup from scratch.

          we went to a couple ourselves and enjoyed them. you get fed at the classes, too. instructors are often working local chefs but they sometimes have guests (spring semester instructors include wanda adams from the advertiser? sb? & chef kevin of kevin two boots, kailua). granted, they're not cheap--$35-150 per class if i remember, depending on the subject matter, ingredients being used, and so on. i highly recommend them, and in fact, if we can wrangle it this semester, eric and i would like to take a couple more classes (knife skills & the sauce francaise one that will be taught by a le cordon bleu grad).
          superbia (pride), avaritia (greed), luxuria (lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath) & acedia (sloth)--the seven deadly sins.

          "when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people i deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly..."--meditations, marcus aurelius (make sure you read the rest of the passage, ya lazy wankers!)

          nothing humiliates like the truth.--me, in conversation w/mixedplatebroker re 3rd party, 2009-11-11, 1213

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

            Originally posted by cezanne View Post
            Hmmm, the UH has Adult Education classes for all sorts of things. Maybe they have cooking classes (?).

            Sorry about your mom btw.
            Yeah, UH and the community colleges are good places to start. The DoE also runs classes out of some of the high schools, though they don't have a very good web site.

            Thanks for the condolences, Cezanne.


            Originally posted by Honoruru View Post
            I remember watching a program on Soko ga Shiritai about a cooking school for men. In Japan, men usually don't cook at home, but when they get older and their wives die, they have to learn how to cook for themselves, so this cooking school was geared for men, most of them old, but there were also younger men who just wanted to learn how to cook.
            I love those Japanese culture shows. I hear a lot of Japanese women are divorcing their husbands, so they're also needing to learn to cook.


            Originally posted by tutusue View Post
            This is so cool, MJ. I love seeing your posts about looking for draperies and cooking lessons. It sounds like your dad is dealing with the loss of your mom in a healthy way.
            Yeah, my dad has been surprising me. I hope it lasts, though I know there will be ups and downs.

            Thanks for checking with your Facebook friends. By chance, is one of your friends Alton Brown? ;_D


            Originally posted by cynsaligia View Post
            kcc's culinary arts program has some great weekend cooking classes. here's the link where you can pull the pdf: http://programs.kcc.hawaii.edu/~continuinged/archive/spring/index.htm
            Thanks for the link and your personal endorsement of the classes, Cyn. I printed out the schedule of classes for my dad to look over. It might be pricey, but it'll be worth it for my dad.
            "By concealing your desires, you may trick people into being cruel about the wrong thing." --Steven Aylett, Fain the Sorcerer
            "You gotta get me to the tall corn." --David Mamet, Spartan
            "
            Amateurs talk technology, professionals talk conditions." --(unknown)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

              The Williams Sonoma store at Ala Moana has free cooking classes and some sound very basic...I signed up for a couple in Jan. and Feb. because I must admit that I have never really enjoyed cooking. They have an Italian cooking class that sounds like fun but it was already full. All of their classes are on Sundays.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                Castle Hospital offers classes on healthy cooking.
                http://www.castlemed.com/cgi-bin/class.cgi?3636
                For example, January's class ($15)
                Chef Paul Onishi will teach healthy methods for creating versatile noodle dishes that are packed with nutritious ingredients, good for any time of year
                .
                Maybe other hospitals or insurance companies sponsor classes, too?
                Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                  Originally posted by Amati View Post
                  [...]
                  Maybe other hospitals or insurance companies sponsor classes, too?
                  Hmmm...the Kapiolani Womens Center on Artesian and Beretania has, in the past, offered very reasonable priced healthy cooking classes. It might be worth a phone call. It's not at the hospital, rather at an office building with easy, free parking!

                  Alohacandy...I may have to look into the W-S classes. Sounds like fun.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                    I was a regular "student" at my favorite W-S store in So. California. The classes were very casual, informal but well taught. Plus, you got to eat what was cooked. The store at Ala Moana has a much better set-up and should be very interesting. I learned a lot of basic techinques at the classes. Over the years, I've been fortunate to have had private lessons with a friend who was a Cajun Chef, many demo/lessons at restaurants among other places. They are really fun!
                    "Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
                    – Sydney J. Harris

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                      I think the best place to learn how to cook is right here on HT. One can cook by the book and get predictable results. Or one can experiment and develop their own style suited for their particular tastes.

                      I've scoured cookbooks and watched those cooking shows on HGTV and realized these recipes are elaborate and more often built from scratch. Who in the real world has time to cook from scratch all the time?

                      10-minute meals that taste like a $25 entree at a decent restaurant can be done with little flair using off the shelf packaged mixes or sauces intended for other mundane prescribed dishes. Spaghetti sauce from the can makes an excellent marinade for Marinara Chicken. Single serve apple sauce adds that delicious taste to chili. Packets of chicken flavored powder from packaged saimin makes for an excellent replacement for Chicken Boullion. Not enough meaty taste in your beef stock? Use powdered beef gravy to intensify a more hearty stew, soup or anything requiring beef.

                      Being the cook in family of six heavy eating boys you tend to shop cheap but make every ingredient count for a hearty and satisfying meal to feed the troops. But you do it without reinventing the wheel.

                      If your dad wants to learn how to cook really tasty meals, I believe those of us here on HT can offer up some easy, fast and cheap meals that taste better than what you can get at a restaurant.

                      Case in point, my 5-minute miso salmon or butterfish dish: One raw salmon or butterfish steak or fillet buttered both sides with miso paste. Add Salt and/or pepper to tasted with or without a spritzing of lemon juice. One serving of frozen mixed veggies on the side.

                      Set everything on a microwavable safe plate, cover with saran wrap and microwave on high 4-5 minutes. Let stand for a minute, remove saran wrap, add rice and eat.

                      The saran wrap steams the fish allowing the miso to become infused with the meat. The frozen veggies defrost and while steaming adds flavor to the fish.

                      One plate, five minutes and you have a great dish complete with side veggies. If you're cooking for one this is an excellent recipe with little cleanup and great flavor that can be made quicker than a frozen TV Dinner and tastes wayyyy better.

                      You need tips on cooking better? Use corn starch instead of flour as a thickening agent for hearty stews. Corn starch allows for a silkier sauce than the more gritty texture of flour.

                      How to cut down on acidic tasting sauces using tomatoes? Add sugar to reduce the tartness of tomatoes without losing the taste of it.

                      Here's another favorite of mine: Thawed chicken on a roasting pan. Cover with the cheapest spaghetti sauce from the can. All your seasoning and spices are in these sauces. Sprinkle brown sugar over everything, add some raw veggies and even sliced potatoes around the chicken. Place in the center rack of your pre-heated oven (325-degrees) for 30-minutes. Remove and you have a great roast chicken marinara style.

                      Cooking is really easy, it's the prep that makes for a great tasting dish, so use off the shelf items like salad dressing made from Balsamic Vinegars and other spices to add some kick when cooking chicken. No need to make the marinades from scratch unless you're vying for a cooking trophy.
                      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                        Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                        I think the best place to learn how to cook is right here on HT.
                        Gee Craig you gave some yummy sounding recipies. You should start a thread of "10 minute prep recipies". Once ingredients are assembled, the dish can take no longer than 10 minutes to put together and pop in the oven or microwave.
                        Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                          Originally posted by Amati View Post
                          Gee Craig you gave some yummy sounding recipies. You should start a thread of "10 minute prep recipies". Once ingredients are assembled, the dish can take no longer than 10 minutes to put together and pop in the oven or microwave.
                          That long?!!! How 'bout a thread with a max of 4 ingredients that takes 5 min. to assemble?! That's my kinda cooking!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                            Originally posted by tutusue View Post
                            That long?!!! How 'bout a thread with a max of 4 ingredients that takes 5 min. to assemble?! That's my kinda cooking!
                            I allowed for 10 minutes so there was time to mix and stir and and heat before adding the splash of cooking wine.
                            Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Can you recommend cooking lessons / teacher?

                              Originally posted by Amati View Post
                              I allowed for 10 minutes so there was time to mix and stir and and heat before adding the splash of cooking wine.
                              Mix? Stir? Heat? Wine? 4 steps? I'll compromise with 7 1/2 minutes!

                              Comment

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