 About three and a half hours into a cooking class at Chateau Chantal in Traverse City, Mich., I'm stirring mushroom risotto with my right hand and finally holding a glass of late-harvest Riesling with my left. "No wine before it's time," the 17 other students and I had been told when we sat down earlier for introductions at the winery's Winter in Tuscany course. And it's not time until all the dicing and slicing is done and the knives are put away. Probably wise.
The wine is a perk of learning to cook on Traverse City's Old Mission Peninsula, where grapevines dot the hilly landscape alongside the area's famed cherry trees. But I'm really here to pick up some pointers in a city that's been hailed one of the best foodie towns by media such as Bon Appetit and championed by its unofficial cheerleader, chef Mario Batali, who has a home here. During a January trip, he tweeted about Frenchies, a tiny yet character-heavy shop beloved by locals for its pastrami.
Class themes at Chateau Chantal change (Spanish techniques and handmade pastas are a couple to come), and mine comprises recipes mostly from chef-educator Nancy Krcek Allen's time in Tuscany. Before splitting us into three teams of six, she gives a quick lesson on the region's cuisine, calling it "less flamboyant than the rest of Italy."
Nervous that my elementary cooking skills will have me lost before we get started, I'm relieved when she shows us basic knife-sharpening and cutting techniques. Good thing, because I couldn't have told you what fennel looked like, let alone how to cut it.
Then, armed with recipes for three bruschetta, three salads, risotto, focaccia, stuffed pork loin and three biscotti, we get started with Krcek Allen and two other chefs there to give tips, answer questions and make sure we don't burn anything. Each team prepares variations of the same meal. On team one, for example, I start by zesting lemons to flavor biscotti while the other teams work on lemon-anise and almond flavors.
I spend the next four hours contributing small parts to my team's dishes, such as working on our mis en place for the pork's roasted vegetable sauce and, as mentioned, stirring the risotto, during which the vocal Krcek Allen pops up behind me to say, "That's kind of a girly way to stir it."
I never make a dish by myself from beginning to end, but I find the team setup more fun and less intimidating. We leave with all the recipes so I can put my sharpened stirring skills among others to the test at home.
In the end, we sit down to enjoy our efforts, made all the better by views to the east and west of Grand Traverse Bay, conversation with some new acquaintances, and of course, a couple more glasses of Chateau Chantal wine.
CHATEAU CHANTAL, 15900 Rue de Vin, Traverse City, Mich., 800-969-4009, chateauchantal.com; classes: $125, B&B rates: $155-$550
Sweet on Indiana
The byways and back roads of the Hoosier state offer confectionary aficionados dream destinations: artisan chocolatiers, generational family chocolate-makers and even a chocolate trail.
Chocolate-making is family tradition for Cathy Brand, who started at age 8 for her family's confectionary and then continued on the sweet path by studying chocolate-making in Europe. Now the owner of DeBrand in Fort Wayne, touted by The Wall Street Journal as having the best artisan vanilla and chocolate marshmallows, Brand also offers tours showcasing the creation of her handmade candies. 10105 Auburn Park Drive, Fort Wayne, Ind., 260-969-8335, debrand.com
Last year mischief-makers in Wayne County mapped a chocolate trail with stops at all the diet-defying candy shops in this pretty area of winding rivers and historic towns. Called the Wayne County Chocolate Trail, there are samples, discounts and even a winery. Must-stops include Ghyslain Bistro, a Richmond restaurant and confectionary housed in a restored 19th-century manufacturing plant, where Quebecois Ghyslain Maurais creates exquisite hand-painted and delicately sculpted chocolates almost — but not quite — too pretty to eat. Wayne County Chocolate Trail, visitrichmond.org
At Olympian Candies in downtown Richmond, sweets are still made using many of the recipes and techniques developed by founder James Chagares, a Greek immigrant who opened his store in 1909. Hand-dipped chocolates include dittles (think turtles), toffee and assorted nut clusters, but not to be overlooked are store specialties like nougats and caramels. 625 E. Main St., Richmond, Ind., 765-962-4989, olympiancandies.com |
