Rock Like a Foodie at Tom Douglas's Culinary Summer Camp
Where do you get to cook a three-course meal in a restaurant kitchen, sample some of the most talked-about dishes from around town, learn from Seattle culinary royalty, groove to disco, and drink mimosas all day? Tom Douglas's Culinary Summer Camp, of course. I had the unbelievable good fortune to attend one day of summer camp last week, and let me tell you--it left me hungry for more!
This year's week of foodie heaven included five full days of cooking demonstrations, technique instruction, taste tests, hands-on cooking, "friendly" competition, and lots and lots of eating. The week started off with the group of 30+ campers forming two teams. Each team designed, planned, shopped for, cooked, and served a three-course meal for the other team and the esteemed chef judges. Teams bought supplies at Pike Place Market and cooked their meals at the Palace Kitchen. The day I attended was the second day of the restaurant adventure and I was treated to chilled cucumber, garlic, and almond soup, a cool salad of grilled asparagus and onions with fresh ricotta, heirloom tomatoes, and crostini, a main course of pan-seared Alaskan halibut cheeks with a delicious sweet summer corn relish, and a fresh-fruit crêpe finale. Oh, and all with paired wines. Of course.
While Team A slaved over our lunch, Team B and I embarked on an action-packed morning of culinary variety. First, Molly McCarter of the Dahlia Bakery gave us all a primer on cake decorating. Then, as if we were on the Price Is Right, the music came on and the curtains were pulled back to reveal...tables full of unadorned mini wedding cakes! One per person, plus four colors of buttercream already in their piping bags and ready to go. We had almost an hour to create our own pastry masterpieces. An added bonus? At the end of the day we got to take home (and show off to friends and family) the cake we'd decorated!
After the cake walk, we settled down to do some earnest olive-oil tasting. We tasted three oils with bread, and then commenced to taste five different recipes, each made twice--once with a cheaper olive oil, and once with a more expensive one. Tom and Co. demonstrated each recipe and servers brought campers tastes of each recipe made with the two brands of oil. Recipes included a classic Caesar salad, an olive-oil cake, and goat-cheese turnovers deep-fried in olive oil.
In case anyone was still hungry, we next embarked on lessons on and tastes of sizzle platters, hot pots, and tagines. Wine and beer tastes appeared occasionally, and of course, we were always welcome to help ourself to anything we liked at the open bar. Soon, we shuffled off to the Palace Kitchen for our three-course lunch. Did I mention it was only noon by this time?
After lunch we returned to the Palace Ballroom to the sounds of classic disco. A glittering disco ball gave the room extra sparkle and everyone seemed revived to start eating again! Thierry Rautureau (otherwise known as the Chef in the Hat) of Rover's educated us on all things egg, including his famous appetizer of scrambled eggs with lime crème fraiche and white sturgeon caviar. If you didn't already know, Thierry and Tom do a radio show on KIRO every Saturday, and they are absolutely hilarious together! The first chef stand-up act? Maybe!
We finished up the day with a cherry-themed pastry demonstration from Garrett Melkonian of the Dahlia Bakery. More tasting: cherries in Pinot Noir with an amaretti cookie, cherry-apricot crostada, and a chocolate-covered cherry bon bon. And here came the wow factor of the day--Garrett showed us how to spray chocolate using your average household paint sprayer (no paint residue, please). OK, maybe I will never actually try this one at home. But, I'm thinking about it...
As the day came to a close, I was both elated, filled with the amazingness of the day--and a little sad. I didn't want it to end! One of the other campers said: "You've got to come back on the last day for the final camp dinner! We'll sneak you in!" I was envious of all the education, fun, and good food ahead for the rest of the campers. They were all so expressive about their time at camp: "I can't recommend this enough, it's amazing!" One camp alumna revealed that although the week cost a pretty penny, "How could I not come back this year?" I see her point, and if you have a dime to spare, drop it in my Culinary-Summer-Camp-or-Bust jar. I'm determined to spend a whole week at camp next time around. I haven't looked forward to summer so much since I was a kid!
Stop by Al Dente again next Friday for an in-depth post on Thierry Rautureau's egg extravaganza! Plus, don't miss extra camp photos after the jump.
--KitchenMaus
buy kamagra on April 23, 2010 at 03:08 PM
I ever tell you that I'm a bullish go-getter when it comes to quizzes, Monopoly and well, any game that doesn't require too many neurons, excepting the brain variety? I'm also a frightening sore-loser too. I'm a little scared to let this kind of ugly out into the loose and wild but but but...
buy kamagra on April 23, 2010 at 03:09 PM
had the unbelievable good fortune to attend one day of summer camp last week, and let me tell you--it left me hungry for more!