My husband sent me to cooking school last weekend.
Okay, so I had been wanting to go to one of the Taste of Home Cooking Schools for probably a decade or more, but I was never able to get tickets and/or not be teaching on the same night as the school before we moved. After the move, none of them were in our area until last week.
How was it? Decent. My husband had bought me the VIP ticket ($25 dollars instead of the regular $10) for Valentine’s Day (I know, a big gift for him to give on Valentine’s Day) thus I had a good parking spot and a close view of the stage. However, you know how you look forward to a movie that you have heard so many people talk about how wonderful it is, and then you finally get to see it you are kind of disappointed, but you can’t even really say why? Well, that is my reaction to the evening.
I do know that having worked in media, with media, and taught media for years, I do not go gaga over local “celebrities,” writers, performers, hosts, etc. Apparently, my lack of a reaction may have tempered my experience.
Unlike some other attendees though, I was not surprised that it was a show more than a school. Several people seemed to think that they were going to be able to ask question and interact with the instructor during the demos, but with a minimum of 700 people, I was fairly certain that would not be the case.
Turns out, I was correct. Unfortunately, others did not find out until after the instructor halted any further exchanges after 3 or 4 questions were asked. I think upfront disclosure at the very beginning of the program would have avoided the rather strained relationship that lasted a while between the instructor and the audience.
Perhaps, changing the name of the Cooking School to something like Cooking Demonstrations or Cooking Show would be better for clearer expectations, but I have the feeling there may not be as many attendees.
The program was packed with ten demonstrations of delicious looking dishes from dips to desserts. The recipes were included in a nice magazine that made it easy to follow along. The dishes were all given away at the end of the evening in the actual dishes used on the set.
In fact, there were many giveaways all evening long. Not only did the Cooking School have a giveaway for every recipe (in addition to the actual food), the local media sponsor have tons of giveaways, as well as the many vendors at the event.
Would I recommend going to a Taste of Home Cooking School? Yes, especially if you do not cook much, are new to cooking, or find cooking a challenge. However, even a seasoned cook will like the benefits of free magazines, coupons, and the chance of giveaways. Plus, there is always more to learn:) Just make sure you have the right expectations.
What should you expect?
- As stated before, a cooking demonstration/performance rather than a Q & A session.
- Recipes using national and/or regional sponsor ingredients.
- To be entertained.
- A free magazine(s).
- An evening with people interested in food.
What did I get from cooking school? A new Taste Of Home Cookbook (discount), a new magazine subscription (free), some yummy recipes, and coupons. I was also reminded that strawberries are not “true” berries because their seeds are on the outside.
Check out my next post, for a recipe inspired by a recipe at the cooking school 🙂