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Cooking Class

August 3, 2014 by Ron Wen Leave a Comment

Media Event: Cooking It Up at Whisk in Cary with Chef Jeff!

Front of Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Front of Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

As much as I like to eat, I nearly like to cook just as much.  I’ve done cooking classes at Southern Season, La Farm Bakery, and more over the years.  So of course, I couldn’t resist when I got an invite from Whisk out in Cary to attend one of their cooking classes.  Whisk is a newer kitchen goods store out in Waverly Place and with a very nice demo kitchen in back, they’ve put together an excellent series of cooking classes over the past six months. Peering through the very long list of classes I spotted one being given by my friend, Chef Jeff.  Tuscan Trattoria meal?  Sounds good to me so I emailed Whisk and I’m scheduled for their July 25th class.

Demo kitchen area at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Demo kitchen area at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

Heading over to Waverly Place, it’s remarkable how much this plaza has changed over the past two years.  Outside of Whole Foods, there wasn’t a whole lot of reason to visit this place.  But in the hands of a new developer, it’s slowly turning into an upscale destination for local Cary families.  And with a CineBistro (movie theater/restaurant) scheduled for construction, I’m expecting bigger and better here. But going back to Whisk, it’s got a nice storefront on the western (far) side of the plaza.  Inside, the space is jam-packed with everything imaginable for the kitchen including an impressive display of kitchen steel.  Head on to the back if you’re doing a cooking class.

Owner Dan and Chef Jeff at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Owner Dan and Chef Jeff at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

The cooking demo area is already getting busy.  With 18 seats in two levels, everyone is pretty close to the action.  Chef Jeff is finishing up his prep work so we say hi and let him get back to business.  He’s got two assistants with him to help with the class prep and meal service.  And there’s a high-def panel to the right showing an overhead view of the kitchen action.  The menu tonight is pretty vegetarian friendly outside of the bistecca but it definitely feels Italian and healthy.  We all get a printed recipe list if we choose to re-create tonight’s meal.  Some wine and beer is served to get the class started and Chef Jeff has some delicious focaccia prepared to tide us over!

Summer salad for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Summer salad for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

Over the course of the next two hours, we’re prepared a very nice and colorful summer salad, some grilled flatbread with lemon ricotta and basil oil.  Two very colorful and fresh looking summer dishes that are perfect for the summer.  Chef Jeff provides some tips on making vinaigrette (adding mustard to help with emulsification), making dough wet to create steam and the desired bubbles in pizza crust along his favorite knives (Shun).  He definitely cooks with more professional techniques than most home cooks would use so it’s nice to see them demonstrated.  We get a short 10-minute break to poke around the store and of course my friend Amanda comes back with a kitchen goods purchase.

Tomato, ricotta flatbread for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Tomato, ricotta flatbread for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Grilled flank steak for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Grilled flank steak for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

As we’re eating our salad and flat bread, Dan the owner has gone to the side to prepare our steak.  Chef Jeff is going with flank steak, cut against the grain and Dan returns with a large plate of medium beef with nice sear marks!  The steak is paired with a garlic, parsley oil and some light salt and pepper and of course, it’s my favorite dish for the evening.  The meat is perfectly medium with a tender chew and plenty of flavor.  Like the two previous dishes, there’s a very light touch to this Italian cooking which is par for the course.  Chef Jeff reminds us that the overuse of garlic in Italian food is largely an American trait and not likely to happen over in Italy, touche!

Sliced flank steak for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Sliced flank steak for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

And finally we move on to dessert, we’ve got a zabaglione (custard) flavored with marsala and poured over berries.  This rich brown custard is spiked with some alcohol flavor and pairs nicely with the fruit.  Some crushed cookies on top give it a bit more crunch and sweetness to really make it a dessert, nice!  It’s a very simple preparation but very nicely done and different from what you’ll find in most Italian restaurants in the area.

Marsala zabaglione over fruit for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Marsala zabaglione over fruit for Tuscan cooking class at Whisk in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

As the class finishes up, we say thanks to Chef Jeff and head on into the night with full tummies.  The class was interesting and similar to what you might find at Southern Season but in a much more intimate setting.  Whisk is really doing a nice job trying to bring higher end cooking classes to Cary and I’m sure if you’re a foodie in the hood, you’d be interested in checking them out!  So mangia and buon appetito, thanks for having us for dinner Whisk!

Chef Jeff Grimm, Tuscan Trattoria – Dinner and Date Night Abundant summer salad with fresh mozzarella and sugar snap peas Grilled flatbread with heirloom tomatoes and basil oil Bistecca Tagliata: grilled steak with garlic and parsley Marsala zabaglione with seasonal fruit

 

Whisk Carolina

316 Colonades Way #214

Cary, NC 27518

919.322.2458

Location on Google maps

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Filed Under: Activities, Cooking-Recipes, Food, Media Tagged With: Cooking Class

July 28, 2013 by Ron Wen 4 Comments

The Beauty of a Rustic Pastry Lesson at La Farm Bakery, Cary

Apron from La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Apron from La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

As a long-time fan of La Farm Bakery in Cary I had designs to figure out what the secret is to their delicious goods.  So if you hadn’t heard, La Farm does baking classes from time to time.  And while they aren’t cheap ($75), they give you access and advice to their Master Baker, Lionel Vatinet over the course of a 2.5 hour lesson.  And I don’t know about you but I’ve always found baking to be a bit of a black art.  While I can cook pretty decently in the kitchen, mixing flour, water, eggs, butter and more doesn’t leave you a lot of lee-way to fix up any mistakes.  So it was finally time to take La Farm’s Rustic Pastries class and see what their secret is!

Starting the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Starting the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

La Farm’s classes start pretty early (5:30pm) so I had to rush a bit after work.  Check in at the counter and then hang out in the dining room to wait for class to start.  Thankfully things have slowed down in this very popular and busy cafe, I sip on a glass of vino in anticipation.  Eventually Lionel does pop his head out and starts directing people to the back room, kitchen and bakery.  We all wash our hands and then pull on spiffy, white La Farm Bakery aprons, we are now sort of official!  The class is a mixed group of young and old but perdominantly female.  Lionel gets things going with an introduction and he is definitely French given his accent.  We do some quick intro’s around the room and it’s time to start baking!

Lionel at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Lionel at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

The classes at La Farm are a nice mix of demonstration and hands-on.  On the schedule for tonight is a fruit tart, crepes, profiteroles and chocolate mousse, yum!  In some cases the recipes we’re making tonight (chocolate mousse, chilled pastry dough) would take more time than what we have allotted for the entire class. So we start the recipe and then Lionel already has the mostly finished version in back for us to enjoy. He’s definitely a passionate and engaging guy, I make the mistake of telling him I’m a food blogger so yes, I’m going to get some needling!  We start with the crepe batter and it’s always interesting to hear how these basic ingredients (flour, egg, butter, milk, water) can be used in so many different ways.  First tip, the batter must have the right consistency so cut in some alcohol to thin it out if necessary.  The batter goes in the fridge while we move on the to the next recipe.

Profiterole making at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Profiterole making at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

The profiteroles are next, Lionel mixes the batter, puts it into the pastry bags and the class goes about, squirting it on the aluminum trays for baking.  We add some rock sugar on top and it goes into the oven.  During all these demos, we learn a bit about Lionel’s childhood.  While his mother wasn’t a professional cook or baker, she encouraged their activity in the kitchen which resulted in one son becoming a chef, the other a baker.  And oh yes, a pinch of salt is 235 grains (inside joke).

Fruit tart from the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Fruit tart from the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

We move on to pastry dough which is flour, sugar and COLD butter.  Lionel demonstrates first but it’s a lot of manual labor.  Squeezing and “sanding” the butter into the flour so it’s blended into a soft, yellowish dough.  Our versions get wrapped up and placed in the fridge and then we have some pre-made chilled dough chunks brought out.  We roll them out, add some raspberries and blackberries and voila, fruit tart!  It’s funny to see all the different, odd shapes created by the students, mine looks some place in the middle.  Lionel calls these creations “rustic tarts” which allows for the various imperfections and uniquities of our tarts.  Into the oven they go and we move on to the mousse.

Snacking at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Snacking at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

Lionel pretty much demo’s the mousse on his own but it looks so simple.  Melted chocolate from a double boiler, butter, sugar and eggs.  He whips it into a lovely frothy mix and the chocolate bowl goes around so everyone gets a taste.  I’m not a huge sweets fan but I’m looking forward to this dessert!  About 2/3 of the way in, a basket of La Farm breads with some delicious spreads are brought out for us to munch on since it’s a long class.  We get some drinks and coffee and then continue on.

Crepe-making at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Crepe-making at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

The next step for our class is to take a hand at crepe making.  I’ve tried to do this at home and it’s always a mess for me.  We go into the kitchen by the stove and Lionel demo’s a couple for us.  Spoonful of batter swirled around, wait about a minute and then flip!  Brown the other side and out of the pan.  It all looks so simple but maybe he has some magical crepe pans!?  We all take a shot at it and mine comes out decently.  It’s tricky getting a nice even pan of crepe batter and the flip takes a bit of a skill but it mostly works for me.  We grab the plate of student-made crepes and it’s back to the prep area.

Dessert at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Dessert at the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

At the table, Lionel has the profiteroles, ice cream, chocolate sauce and almonds.  It’s now time to eat our hard-earned snacks!  We nosh family-style, I do a profiterole with ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce, dee-licious!  The pastry has some slight sweetness and airiness like an eclair.  A scoop of rich chocolate mousse and I’m done for the evening.  While I’m a little bit lactose intolerant, these sweets will be worth any future discomfort!  As things wrap up, Lionel passes around some cards for his upcoming book on bread-baking, we grab our baked fruit tarts, the chilled pastry dough and a mystery loaf of bread.  And on the way out, it’s bizarre to see the always-busy La Farm bakery empty and quiet.

Dining room after the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining
Dining room after the La Farm Bakery pastry class in Cary, NC Triangle Dining

All-in-all a fun and educational food experience!  And now that I’ve taken a class here, I can see why people come back for re-visits.  Baking is truly an art and requires a lot of repetition and experience.  So much of what makes good pastries awesome are minute details and the ability to see and feel when what you’re making is ready to go.  And that’s where somebody with the amazing amount of experience that Lionel has can be a huge help.   While I’ll probably never be a master baker like him, hopefully I’ll be just a little bit better after my class at La Farm Bakery, bon appetit!

 

La Farm Bakery- Baking Classes

4248 Northwest Cary Parkway

Cary, NC 27513

919.657.0657

Location on Google maps

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Filed Under: Cooking-Recipes, Food Tagged With: Cooking Class, Pastries

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