Monday, January 09, 2012

REVIEW: Cooking Classes at Gardner Village

Taste Culinary Boutique at Gardner Village
Photo courtesy of the Taste website

Over the weekend I attended the "Warm Winter Soups" class at Taste Culinary Boutique at Gardner Village, and it was fabulous! I learned many new recipes and cooking tips, such as "never add garlic and onions at the same time; they cancel each other out and create a bitter smell."

Laila Hardman was the instructor, and is also the owner of Taste. She traveled around Europe for six years and brings much of what she learned to her cooking classes.

Taste opened at Gardner Village on Monday January 2nd 2012. Not only do they offer cooking classes, but they have a wide variety of merchandise to help you with your cooking. You can also purchase hot chocolate, ice cream and other yummy treats in their store. I purchased a food chopper. All you do is pull on a string (kind of like a lawn mower), and it chops the vegetables without much effort! It's a lot more convenient than food choppers I currently have!

Upon arrival of the cooking class, I was impressed that there were tables and chairs set out for the attendees, and at each table a bowl of yummy salsa with chips. The assistant offered me a drink of coffee, tea, lemonade or water. Because each cooking class is limited to twenty guests, it provided a small and intimate group for learning and asking questions.

My only regret was that I ate dinner before attending the class. Laila made four different soup recipes, and each attendee got a bowl of each kind of soup to try. The goodies didn't stop there; each soup was served with rolls from Naborhood Bakery, pitas, garlic bread from Harmons, or oyster crackers. I left the class feeling stuffed and happy! The next class I attend, I will definitely be wearing stretch pants or elastic waist band pants :) . Make sure to come hungry, because they will make sure you are full before you leave! After eating dinner beforehand, there was no way I could finish all of the soups, so I was provided with a lid to take them home for later.

Make sure to bring a pen or pencil to take notes. The instructor offers many cooking tips during the class that you want to make sure you write down next to the recipe! 

The class that I attended was their first class since opening, and it was sold out. The next class is also sold out. I predict that as word gets around, these cooking classes will become more popular and harder to get into, so I suggest checking out the list of available classes and getting signed up right away before they are booked!

Thanks Laila with Taste for allowing me to come and check out a cooking class! I can't wait to make all of these delicious recipes! The Tomato Basil soup was the best I have ever tasted!

For more information:
I was provided with free admission to a class of my choosing, but the opinions expressed in this review are all my own, and I was not compensated financially for any specific opinion or review.

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