Well Fed On the Town

One thing that local kitchen stores often offer is the ability to learn bits from chefs that are in the area. Instead of long-term classes at a culinary school, customers can take a 3 hour class at a very reasonable price.

The variety is part of what makes this fun. One of the local stores in SW Ohio is Cooks’ Wares, and they offer a pretty extensive list of classes at two different stores. The classes range from theme recipes to how to use particular ingredients to skills classes.

These classes are great for a variety of reasons:

• You learn new stuff, either recipes, techniques or tools
• You usually get food with it, made by chefs
• You get a discount in the store while you’re there

All those things are good!I recently taught a barbecue class with my competition barbecue teammate. Here’s the blurb from the Cooks’ Wares website:

Competition Grade BBQ
Curt McAdams and Mark Peebles
“Bucky McOinkum’s Barbecue”

Mon. Sep 10 Settlers’ Walk 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Curt McAdams & Mark Peebles compete in Kansas City Barbecue Society competitions as Bucky McOinkum’s Barbecue. Their love of cooking using traditional methods of low temperature barbecue for long periods of time has resulted in several awards. They not only compete on the professional level, they also enjoy cooking for others in their own backyards—and they are not afraid to grill anything. Curt & Mark use wood to create authentic barbecue. Learn how to fix ribs, brisket, pork and chicken the way the pros do it! You will receive information on different methods of barbecue to achieve great results at home. Curt and Mark will talk about techniques, tools, and traditions, and share what teams and judges do at competition. Join the team for their outdoor cooking demonstration.

• Smoked Beer Can Chicken
• St. Louis Ribs
• Pulled Pork
• Brisket
• Tomato Pie & Cole Slaw
• Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Maker’s Mark sauce

The classes are fun; some are hands on, others aren’t. I know Mark and I make sure that the class attendees get plenty of food to sample, too!

And it supports not only your local kitchen store but also local cooks and chefs.