So maybe you have decided to stop making all those excuses and start eating healthier or you’re already on track and are lacking some inspiration in the kitchen. How do you get new ideas and new recipes without having to pay for expensive cooking classes? One of the best ways to do this is by attending cooking demos!
Many health food stores and even some restaurants offer free to low cost cooking demos on a frequent basis. These demos are great tool to utilize because they not only give you some recipes to take home, but show you step by step how to make the dish, give you some nifty kitchen skills (i.e. food prep skills that will make your cooking/baking more efficient and tastier), let you sample the goods (hello, free food!), and best of all is the price! Most of the time I haven’t seen them above $10 and usually, they are free.
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend Mike and I attended a cooking demo over at Native Foods in Culver City. It was a free event that focused on soups and stews and was hosted by the talented and lively owner, vegan Chef Tanya Petrovana. Chef Tanya really took care of the crowd, answering questions and really breaking down the how-to’s of each of the dishes. Did I mention that she fed us too!? We had a great time, met some really nice people that live in our community, and walked away with 3 recipes: Tomato Garlic Bread Soup, Chili Verde Vegan, and Choco Banana Bread Pudding. Yum. (Stay tuned for another post where I give one the above a whirl in my own kitchen!)
The great part of these demos is that by trying the dishes, you get to see which ones you really like and which ones just aren’t your style. This takes away the sometimes unhappy mystery that picking a recipe out of book or on the net can give you; you never know if what you see on print will translate to “Yum” in real life! An added bonus is that you can also turn the recipe from the demo into your own once you try it in your own kitchen. For example, Mike and I eat gluten free, so for the Tomato Garlic Bread Soup, we will use gluten-free bread instead of regular bread. We will definitely be coming back for more free demos at Native Foods, as Chef Tanya has them almost monthly.
If you can’t find any demos in your area, try connecting with like minded folks on websites like Meetup.com or GiveItToMeRaw.com. See if anyone is having a potluck or food related gathering in your area…or set one up yourself! I have personally used both and have been to awesome potlucks and dinners where I walked away from the event with not only some recipes, but new friends. (Side note: I met my boyfriend, Mike, on the above mentioned raw food website. You just never know where you might find the ultimate connection!)
I know you are ready to get started on amping up your kitchen know-how! Where are some places in your area where there are free to low cost food/cooking demos? If you have been saying you are going to attend one but haven’t, now is the time! What are some other places or events that you can connect with others and get some yummy recipes to try as well? After all, food is so awesome in part because of the people we connect with through it and while we are enjoying it!
You must log in to post a comment. Log in now.