For more than two decades, The French Culinary Institute has gradually expanded and grown, building an impressive facility in SoHo that now houses its core professional courses, multi-week programs for "serious amateurs," an Italian Culinary Academy, and now a Recreational Division. Under the umbrella of The International Culinary Center, the school now offers something for almost everyone who wants to cook either for a living or for life.
The new Recreational Division is a smart strategic response to the growing interest in serious home cooking and to grab some of the amateur culinary education market from places like the CIA, the Institute for Culinary Education, and The Astor Center.
But this program has an immediate advantage over the other cooking schools in that it shares the facility and faculty of the French Culinary Institute and that alone is a treat for any home cook who is accustomed to a more homey type of cooking class. Here you'll work in FCI's impressive kitchen classrooms, working with FCI faculty who are skilled not only in cooking but also in teaching.
All classes are single sessions and most are hands-on. Classes already on the fall schedule include:
- Food Technology for the Home Cook
- The Secrets of Spices
- Pizza 101 for Future Chefs
- The Ultimate Thanksgiving Dinner
- Christmas for Epicures
- Cooking 101 with Michael Colameco: Pasta
- Cooking 101 with Michael Colameco: Fish
- Cooking 101 with Michael Colameco: Chicken
- Choclate Treats & Truffles
- Classic Croissants
- The Perfect Baguette
- Wine Uncorked
Most of the classes are four hours each, held on either weekends or evenings, and cost between $150 - $195 per person, which includes the cost of materials. The exception are the three classes taught by PBS host Michael Colameco and these are $395 each; it's not clear why these four-hour classes are so much more expensive and hope it's not a mark-up due only to the instructor's TV resume since the regular FCI faculty is so stellar.
Classes start October 4 and the season continues through mid-December. For more information, click on the link below or call 1-888-90-TASTE.
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