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MasterChef Classes

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  gilbertofarthi 
#1 ·
I was looking into taking some of the Le Cordon Bleu Masterchef classes.  Has anyone here taken them?  If so what was your experience?  If not, do you think they would be some classes that are worth the time and money?

Andy
 
#4 · (Edited)
MasterChef Classes? $500 to learn to cook like Whitney and up to Joe Bastianich's standards? No thank you very much.
  • See what's available at local community colleges, "Free" universities, and adult education;
  • Learn to choose and use your tools;
  • Develop "professional" habits (mise en place, orderly station, etc.) and a good base of "professional" techniques" (toss turning, touch temping, etc.)
  • Season, taste test, adjust for seasoning;
  • Butter is your friend;
  • Start simple, then cook your way through a couple of good cookbooks;
  • Develop a culinary viewpoint (Traditional American, Regional, Ingredient driven, New French, etc.);
  • Ask a lot of questions here.
Whitney? Really?

BDL

PS. Whitney was the cute but clueless winner of the first season of MasterChef, in which and whereby Ramsay lost ALL credibility.
 
#6 ·
MasterChef Classes? $500 to learn to cook like Whitney and up to Joe Bastianich's standards? No thank you very much.
  • See what's available at local community colleges, "Free" universities, and adult education;
  • Learn to choose and use your tools;
  • Develop "professional" habits (mise en place, orderly station, etc.) and a good base of "professional" techniques" (toss turning, touch temping, etc.)
  • Season, taste test, adjust for seasoning;
  • Butter is your friend;
  • Start simple, then cook your way through a couple of good cookbooks;
  • Develop a culinary viewpoint (Traditional American, Regional, Ingredient driven, New French, etc.);
  • Ask a lot of questions here.
Whitney? Really?

BDL

PS. Whitney was the cute but clueless winner of the first season of MasterChef, in which and whereby Ramsay lost ALL credibility.
I was looking into those classes because they are being taught through Le Cordon Bleu and there is one here in Seattle. I am just looking for some classes that will help me with some technique and figuring out how to pair foods and such. I will have to check the colleges, but when I have looked before everything seems to be part of the culinary program and for credit so in turn it costs a ton of money.
 
#7 ·
IMHO, Le Cordon Bleu does not mean today what it meant in the past, actually somewhat distant past.

Not sure what is actually involved, but at $99/class, this could run into real money fairly rapidly.

The Seattle classes, http://chefsseriesseattle.eventbrite.com/, appear to be three (3) hours in length, that's $33/hour for a group class, not particularly inexpensive in my book.
 
#8 ·
Try the Free University and adult education classes in the high-schools. Cooking supply stores also frequently offer classes.

I was venting about Whitney, but I hate to see you spend a lot of money for what's very basic, and what's available and endlessly repeated on the better televised cooking shows.

Ask a lot of questions here.

The most important techniques are continual cleanliness, organization, saute, sear, touch-temping, sharpening, taste-testing and seasoning. Beyond that, the most important things I can tell you are get a decent chef's knife, keep it sharp, learn to choose and use your tools, use your hands, keep a towel handy, throw out all your flimsy plastic spats, and cook from mise en place.

That's $90, right?

BDL
 
#10 ·
Though not the same as an in-person class, I've really learned a lot so far from watching the videos at rouxbe.com.  They have 70+ videos on techniques and then have many video recipes as well.  As a beginner I really appreciate the technique videos where I can see and hear what is being described.  I only wish they could add smell and taste :).  But the price is very affordable compared to in-person classes. 
 
#11 ·
Yeah, Exactly my point, KMSTL. I am using that video technique sometimes when cooking for family. Had used ROUXBE sometimes. Covers a range of topics and have multiple teaching formats: text, videos, and live video conferences. A discussion forum with staff and other users provided a classroom-like atmosphere, too. So I recommend it.
 
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