Tight Lines Café, based in Folsom, (Sacramento CA),offers two types of in-home cooking classes.
The first type of class, and very popular, is ‘menu specific’. Menu items are chosen and students choose that specific class if it interests them. Dishes include items such as Herb crusted rack of lamb (with panko); Chicken Picatta or Marsala; Risotto, Ravioli with Italian gravy and fish. Each menu specific class features a main dish accompanied by a starch such as root vegetable, pasta or rice, greens and salad. With these classes almost all of the prep work is done in advance for the students, but they cook and put the meal together.
After cooking and plating the food, everybody sits down with a glass of wine to eat and discuss what has been created. We talk about what we like, what we might change and how we might accomplish those changes. Students are encouraged to participate in the cooking but also have the option to step back if they would rather observe. Classes last approximately three hours. Menu specific classes are popular because they are less of a commitment for the student and include a social aspect to learning.
The second classes are series classes. These focus on knife skills, prep work, and some of the basics. From the basics we make stock, from the stock we make sauces etc. We cover aspects such as baking, grilling, braising and sautéing.
Some of the meals that require more preparation time than the class time allows, eg pot roast, roast chicken, will have been partially prepared in advance and are already in the oven. However, we still prepare the dish up to a certain point (the dish going into the oven). We take the dish in process, and finish it, make gravy, carve and cook a green vegetable before sitting down to eat.
After every class the students get the recipes and leftovers to take home and leave with basic skills and an understanding of how to prepare full meals.
The classes average $75 per person based on a class of four for a menu specific class. The kitchen is of optimal size for four students. Occasionally the cost will be a little more, if the ingredients of a dish are more expensive, for example rack of lamb is $85 per person. The series classes are $400 per person for a series of six classes.
For details of courses contact info@tightlinescafe.com
Why Tight Lines? Tight Lines means ‘best of luck’ to fisherman.