New(s) to Me: Cooking Class
Before I begin my nonsense, let me start of by saying this was definitely not what I was expecting...
TikTok has been the initial starting point for far too many of my interests since I first downloaded the app, so when a user boast about Williams-Sonoma’s free cooking classes, I was quick to see it as another potential hobby to throw myself into. As a lifelong fatty, food has played a big role in my life ever since I was a child. My mom poured her heart and soul into her kitchen; my parents are from north east Africa, so people from our community pride themselves in their ability to feed their loved ones in their homes. As I grew older, I began to explore different tastes and textures outside of my own culture. I’ve also been privileged enough to travel the world and try different countries’ cuisines with my family, expanding my own palette.
Needless, it didn’t surprise many people when I jumped at the idea of a free cooking class.
The registration process for the class itself was fairly easy. Their website was easy to navigate, and the process from start to finish took me less than 10 minutes. It was also easy for me to find a location near me that hosted this event, so I didn’t have to travel far. While I was on their website, I took interest in some other events posted on their calendar. One particular service on making barista-level coffees definitely caught my eye as a recovering caffeine addict, not to mention the rabbit hole of fancy espresso machines and other fun kitchen accessories. When class day finally arrived, I woke up extra early to make sure I had plenty of time to get ready and make my 30 minute drive down to the store to pick a spot in the classroom.
This is the point where my disappointment kicked in.
While I waited for the store to open, I peered through the storefront window trying to find the door to the classroom. The doors opened at 11:00 AM sharp, and we were lead to the center of store. I was drawn to the colorful cookware displayed on the shelves, and one particularly beautiful stand-mixer caught my eye. However, my confusion ultimately set in when I saw the hot plate and cast iron skillet perched on the check-out counter. If this was supposed to be a cooking class, where were our aprons and cookware? One of the lovely ladies standing by the cash register offered everyone some freshly brewed Italian coffee, which was delicious; out of the five uniquely flavored syrups, I opted for the cinnamon-y gingerbread to sweeten my coffee and topped it off with a splash of heavy cream.
Finally, the instructor stepped up to the counter to begin the class. We watched diligently as she taught us different chopping techniques, smoothly slicing and dicing her onions, bell peppers, and chicken before throwing them all into her freshly oiled wok. She was far from a professional chef, but the fact that she didn’t come from a culinary background made it so much more relatable. Each aromatic was briefly sautéed in her pan, just until fragrant, and combined together at the end to make a stir fry. Lastly, the sweet and savory pineapple stir fry sauce brought all of the ingredients together in perfect harmony.
All of the attendees and I received a small, sample-sized plate to try the 10-minute meal the instructor had just made. The taste and texture were pretty good, but the soy sauce I drizzled on top is what really sealed the deal for me. The soy sauce was rich without being overly salt or sour, and I liked it so much that I ended up purchasing a bottle of it to take home with me. An 8 oz bottle of it was $12.95, so I figured it’d be a good souvenir to bring home to my family kitchen.
Final Review
I’m definitely a “glass half full” kind of gal, so let’s start with the positives. The highlight of this class for me actually had nothing to do with what we were learning. It’s rare for me to see uniquely flavored coffee syrups that ACTUALLY taste pleasant, so the cappuccino I threw together before the class started was my favorite part. It was also enjoyable to walk around the store afterwards and browse through all of the different cookware and appliances.
Now, my critiques…
In all honesty, they should’ve never referred to this event as a cooking class. Calling it a demo would’ve been far more fitting considering none of us actually got a chance to touch anything or even get close to their makeshift stove. Another bit I wasn’t too fond of was the fact that nobody could actually see what the food looked like as it was cooking due to the height of the hot plate; for a bit of reference, I’m 5’10 and still couldn’t see anything. Finally, I wish they had some sort of seating arrangement so that 20-ish people weren’t all standing around a hot plate for close to an hour. The demo would’ve been much more enjoyable if everyone had a chair to sit on or at least a bar stool.
All in all, I did enjoy getting out of the house to try something new for a change. Even though my expectations weren’t met in the slightest, it was fun to be in a different environment and watch someone cook. I probably won’t be attending another one of these classes anytime soon solely because I wanted it to be something more hands-on, but if you are someone who likes learning by watching other people do things, then the Williams-Sonoma cooking classes are definitely something you should try at least once.