ICE - review

Institute of Culinary Education
50 W. 23rd St., NY, NY 10010

At the end of last year, I gave my honey a 4-hour cooking class for his birthday, and of course reserved a spot for myself in it as well. The course was on Southeast Asian cooking, run by a guy named Richard.

In a phrase: What fun! It was a small class, 16 people max., of a variety of ages from 20-something to maybe 70-something. Most were couples, and the only uncouples folks were two guys who came solo. We first sat around a steel table situated in front of a cavernous open kitchen, while Richard passed out the packet of recipes and gave us a brief overview of the main ingredients used in SE Asian cooking. We saw, heard and sampled some of the ingredients; were given appropriate warnings regarding preparation (wear gloves when chopping the chilis and don't rub your eyes immeidately after chopping said chilis) and even which brands to use and which ones to avoid (authentically speaking).
Then we all got up and spread ourselves around two prep tables that were further back in the belly of the kitchen. Each place was set up with a white cotton apron, a matching tattered towel, and our cutting board and plastic handled chef's knife. Cooking for kindergarteners! We set about chopping and measuring and getting to know one another. Richard evolved into this amazing conductor who was everywhere at once, keeping an eye on what we were chopping and measuring, making sure that I sliced only one 3-inch finger of ginger, not three. Things started cooking, boiling, ingredients whirring about in blenders and processors. My husband and I got stuck at the vegetable table and did not get much exposure to the preparation of the snapper and squid, but we did pick up some tips on how to properly julienne cucumbers and mangoes.
After a couple of hours, the food was ready. We all sat around the steel tables where we had started the class, and had ourselves a darned good meal, paired nicely with beers and wines that emerged. The dishes turned out really well, the least impressive of which was the chicken that was just not tasty enough. The peanut sauce was the best I've ever had, and I was glad we got the recipe. We were encouraged to take any of the leftovers home, though I cannot remember if we did or not. It was almost sad to say goodbye, after such an isolating and intense few hours. We all wished each other well, and went on our way.

Pro: fun, lively, educational and interactive, some good tips to pick up. The instructor makes the class, though. Huge variety of classes to choose from - interactive cooking to intensive skill-cultivating to mere tastings and pairings of wine. Classes are offered, I think, every day of the week, all year round.

Con: with so many recipies and so many people, you really only get to prepare part of the meal, so don't come expecting to have experienced all of it. If you're interested in how to prepare something specific (say squid or fish), make sure you pay attention and situate yourself in a stragetic place when it comes out. Also it's not inexpensive - least expensive classes are around $85 per person, most single 4-hour sessions are $110.