eggbeater

San Francisco Knife Skills Class, 2-17-08

**There are a few spots left for this class...**

When was the last time your knife was so sharp it slid through a potato like melted butter on toast? When was the last time you bought a knife confidently? When was the last time you didn't dread making dinner because your knives were so sharp and easy to use that it was a breeze to cut and dice and julienne and peel and mince?

It's that time of year. To learn about knives and why they should always be sharp. It's time for Shuna to teach another Knife Skills Class, much to the chagrin of savoury line cooks everywhere.

Yes, here I am: a pastry chef who loves sharp knives. A whites clad person who rarely breaks down a chicken and never fillets fish and yet forces her charges to get and keep their knives sharp and in working order. I tell people which knife to use when and we make a lot of fruit and veg delicious because we're not destroying their beauty with our ineptitude and terrible tools.

My Knife Skills Class is divided into 3 sections:
1. Show and tell and answer questions about all my various knives.
2. Demonstrate fun cuts and hints for efficient knife skills.
3. You prep various fruits and veggies with my knives or you bring a knife or two you love to use or haven't the faintest idea of how to use. I give you personal instruction and everyone learns better and safer knife skills.

Wanna see what it's all about?

When?
Sunday February 17, 2008

What Time?
12 noon- 2:30 pm, give or take 10 minutes

Where?
San Francisco, Financial District {exact location disclosed to registered students only}

How Much?
$75 by Paypal, $70 by check

Paypal link is in eggbeater's lower left hand column and if you want to send me a check, send an email and request and address.

Facts about this class:

The Knife Skills Class is vegetarian. There will be no butchery of animals taught. It's a basic class for people who want to know more about how to buy, use and care for knives. It is not a knife sharpening class although I do show you how to keep your knives sharp once they are sharpened by professionals. The class maxes out at about 15 people. Please check back in here to make sure you're not paying for a class that is closed. If, for any unforeseeable reason the class needs to be canceled, you will be paid back in full minus whatever fees Paypal takes. There are no refunds. Sometimes if you can help me fill your spot, that student will pay you back. Click here to see what else I've taught, other knife skills classes and anything else you'd like to know about how and why I teach.

The permanent link for my class announcements is here. If you want to hear about my classes first, ask to be added to my private mailing list.

Many of you have asked for this class, and so here it is. If you're about to ask me if I'll be teaching it again the answer is yes, but I can't say for sure when.

See you soon?

    come one. come all. come hungry to learn!

SF Knife Skills Class: February 17, 2008

When was the last time your knife was so sharp it slid through a potato like melted butter on toast? When was the last time you bought a knife confidently? When was the last time you didn't dread making dinner because your knives were so sharp and easy to use that it was a breeze to cut and dice and julienne and peel and mince?

It's that time of year. To learn about knives and why they should always be sharp. It's time for Shuna to teach another Knife Skills Class, much to the chagrin of savoury line cooks everywhere.

Yes, here I am: a pastry chef who loves sharp knives. A whites clad person who rarely breaks down a chicken and never fillets fish and yet forces her charges to get and keep their knives sharp and in working order. I tell people which knife to use when and we make a lot of fruit and veg delicious because we're not destroying their beauty with our ineptitude and terrible tools.

My Knife Skills Class is divided into 3 sections:
1. Show and tell and answer questions about all my various knives.
2. Demonstrate fun cuts and hints for efficient knife skills.
3. You prep various fruits and veggies with my knives or you bring a knife or two you love to use or haven't the faintest idea of how to use. I give you personal instruction and everyone learns better and safer knife skills.

Wanna see what it's all about?

When?
Sunday February 17, 2008

What Time?
12 noon- 2:30 pm, give or take 10 minutes

Where?
San Francisco, Financial District {exact location disclosed to registered students only}

How Much?
$75 by Paypal, $70 by check

Paypal link is in eggbeater's lower left hand column and if you want to send me a check, send an email and request and address.

Facts about this class:

The Knife Skills Class is vegetarian. There will be no butchery of animals taught. It's a basic class for people who want to know more about how to buy, use and care for knives. It is not a knife sharpening class although I do show you how to keep your knives sharp once they are sharpened by professionals. The class maxes out at about 15 people. Please check back in here to make sure you're not paying for a class that is closed. If, for any unforeseeable reason the class needs to be canceled, you will be paid back in full minus whatever fees Paypal takes. There are no refunds. Sometimes if you can help me fill your spot, that student will pay you back. Click here to see what else I've taught, other knife skills classes and anything else you'd like to know about how and why I teach.

The permanent link for my class announcements is here. If you want to hear about my classes first, ask to be added to my private mailing list.

Many of you have asked for this class, and so here it is. If you're about to ask me if I'll be teaching it again the answer is yes, but I can't say for sure when.

See you soon?

    come one. come all. come hungry to learn!

Custards Class, September 16, 2007

As many of you know I taught my last class of 2007 yesterday. It was a full house at 14 people and spanned almost 4 hours in total! I taught goat yogurt pannacotta, honey-lavendar creme anglaise (which is the custard traditionally turned into ice cream) and stove-top chocolate pudding. At the end of the day we ate all of these plus butterscotch ice cream and young ginger pot de creme.

One of the students, Lauren, just sent me this link to a few photos she put up on Flickr. Check it out-- you can see me in my crazy new hairstyle...

SF/Bay Area Baking Classes Taught By Me.

Many of you have been asking me when I might teach more baking classes. I have answered a number of you in the comments sections that you have inquired and I have also had a number of conversations with those of you who have asked me directly.

I am very much hoping to be able to teach baking and knife skills classes again. As many of you know I am a passionate teacher. I love the exchange of information, I love hearing people say "A-HA!!" under my tutelage, I love getting emails and comments from you later saying that you went and tried something from the class at home and it worked out!

But, opening a restaurant is three and a half full time jobs. I have dozens if not a hundred or so recipes to test. I have a staff/ department of four to train on 5-6 shifts during any given day (I have written a mock schedule to cover all the production and plating/services already.) I have product to eat/test. I have purveyors to make deals with. I have accounts to set up and front of house to introduce myself and my department to.

The list goes on.

So, no, I will not be teaching any more baking classes this year. Please stay tuned for classes I might be able too teach on Sundays, the restaurant's one day off (and therefore my only day off {at least for a spell}), in 2008. Maybe I can eek something out once a month when I get my department up and running.

Right now all of my teaching energy will be spent on the four people who I've hired to be pastry assistants at Sens.

This link is the Static URL for my class schedule. It's where you want to go to see what I'm teaching next. As many of you know, being on my private mailing list is a great idea if you want to hear me make the next class announcement first. Email me if you want to be placed on the mailing list.

And thank you for your interest! I do hope to be in a classroom with you again.

SF/Bay Area Baking Class: Custards on September 16, 2007: FULL!

!! ANNOUNCEMENT:

! Sunday August 19: This class is full !*

{To find out what I'm teaching, click here.}

What's Next ~

On Sunday September 16, I will teach my last class for a spell on the subjects of Custards. Not since March have I taught this intensive on whose family branch of cookery might well be my favorite, if I'm allowed to say I have one.

*

**** Saturday August 18: This class is half full... ****

*If you want to sign up for the wait-list, email me directly but DO NOT register.

Why:

As a self proclaimed "student of the egg," I believe that to understand custard making, in all its wildly delicious disparate variations, one must learn the hows as well as the whys of baking, infusing, whisking and setting custards. Students receive tried and truly tested recipes, a thorough lecture on the food science of eggs, setting agents and dairy, and a number of hours in the kitchen watching and making the recipes. Afterward we sit down and eat our spoils!

Whether it be the simple pannacotta or the elusive pot de creme, a home-made custard is a beautiful thing to behold & put in your mouth.

Most recently San Francisco Magazine reviewed my last custard class reviewed in the Bay Area.  Click on this link to see the piece.

*

WOW! I have never had a class of mine fill up so fast. Thanks for your overwhelming interest!

SF/Bay Area Baking Class: Custards on September 16, 2007

!! ANNOUNCEMENT:

! Sunday August 19: This class is full !*

{To find out what I'm teaching, click here.}

What's Next ~

On Sunday September 16, I will teach my last class for a spell on the subjects of Custards. Not since March have I taught this intensive on whose family branch of cookery might well be my favorite, if I'm allowed to say I have one.

*

**** Saturday August 18: This class is half full... ****

*If you want to sign up for the wait-list, email me directly but DO NOT register.

Why:

As a self proclaimed "student of the egg," I believe that to understand custard making, in all its wildly delicious disparate variations, one must learn the hows as well as the whys of baking, infusing, whisking and setting custards. Students receive tried and truly tested recipes, a thorough lecture on the food science of eggs, setting agents and dairy, and a number of hours in the kitchen watching and making the recipes. Afterward we sit down and eat our spoils!

Whether it be the simple pannacotta or the elusive pot de creme, a home-made custard is a beautiful thing to behold & put in your mouth.

Most recently San Francisco Magazine reviewed my last custard class reviewed in the Bay Area.  Click on this link to see the piece.

*

Where & When:

The Custard Class will take place between 1-4:30 pm Sunday September 16, 2007 in North Berkeley, California, close to public transportation and plenty of parking.
Details of location are disclosed to registered students.

Price:

$125*

How To Sign Up:

To register for the class, pay by simply clicking on the Paypal link (located in the right hand column of Eggbeater). If you wish to send me a check, email me (Email link is in the upper left hand column of Eggbeater) and I will give you a snail mail address.

*There are 2 spots in each class reserved for "assistant" positions, $65.
If you feel you qualify, please email me directly.

**Saturday August 18: These positions are filled, thank you for your immediate response!**

---> Photographs by Sam Breach from the day I taught this class for the first time in her kitchen. 

*

As I said in the first paragraph, this will be my last class for a while. I took a pastry chef job in a restaurant. Both with opening a new restaurant and heading into the holidays, I will be quite busy.

Hopefully next year, when I settle in a bit, I will resume teaching. Be sure to let me know what you'd like to see me teach in 2008. This custards class is here because many of you asked for it!

Thanks for your interest!

*

C O M E  ONE. come all, come H U N G R Y to  LEARN!

Pasta Class by Joe Fish.

Joe Fish knows a lot about pasta.
Not only is he Italian-American, but he has an extraordinary love for the dough, its properties, flour, and history. It helps that he's funny, has a thick east coast accent, and enjoys being humbled by the greatness of food.

This Sunday, August 19, Eggbeater presents a Hand-Made Pasta Class with Joe Fish of The Omnivorous Fish.

Here's what he says:

"Welcome to Basic Pasta-Making, a three hour (ish) class that will introduce you to the simple joy of freshly made pasta. Concepts covered in the class include mixing, hand-rolling, machine-rolling, cutting and shaping of fresh pasta; how ingredients affect it; white wheat, semolina and other flours; and potato gnocchi. Please come equipped with a rolling pin, a dinner fork and- if you have one and would like to bring it- a hand-crank Imperia-style pasta machine. This last item is not necessary, but if you have one and would like to know more about it, feel free to bring it along. Please do not bring mixers with attachments or extruding machines.

Joe “Fish” Cangelosi missed out on a lot of opportunities to learn about Italian cooking when he was a kid, and has spent the last lifetime or so trying to make up for lost time. This search has taken him through ten years of bakeries, restaurants and pizzerias, and many more years of reading, writing, blogging and, now, teaching about food. "

The class is just about full. If you want the last spot, email me directly. {If you didn't hear about it until today, it's because you're not on my mailing list.}

This one will be a delicious one, mark my floury words.

See you soon?

come one come all come hungry to learn!

SF/Bay Area Pasta Class: August 19: almost full~

Joe Fish's Pasta Class is very close to being closed & full!

If you are interested in coming, please email me before paying. Refunding money from Paypal is difficult....

Thanks for your interest!

SF/Bay Area Knife Skills Class, an announcement, or two.

**For a current calendar of my classes, click on this link.**

Sunday August 12, 2007

Knife Skills Class

1 pm -3:30 pm

North Berkeley, California

$68

I am pleased to announce that this class is full.

Thanks for your interest!

*

My fall classes will be announced shortly. I promise.

There's a good chance I will teach in Portland again, and NYC.

Don't wanna miss out on the info? Email me to be placed on my mailing list. Otherwise the link above is a static page that gets all the updated information as it is known.

p.s. I am hosting a small, one time only pasta class in a few weeks, taught by a secret friend...

See you soon?

come one. come all, come hungry to learn!

Shuna's August Bay Area Baking Classes: An Update

**For the static URL of my current class calendar, click here.**

~ Summer 2007 Classes ~

What's Next:

Sunday August 12 Knife Skills Class 1 pm -3:30 pm

North Berkeley, California

$68

*

I'm sorry to report these classes are canceled:

Sunday August 19 Ice Cream Class 1:00 pm - 4 pm

North Berkeley, California

$100**

*

Sunday August 26 Seasonal Fruit Dessert Class 1:00 pm - 4 pm

North Berkeley, California

$100**

*

I will probably be teaching 1 baking class in the Bay Area in early September. And there's talk about me going back to Portland to teach again... Stay tuned for details.

Please join my mailing list to be first in the loop to find out about my Fall classes.

Click here to see what I've taught before...

Links To My Other Classes:

Shuna's classes advertised on Guy Prince's blog Meathenge.
Sean Timberlake writes about a pie dough class of mine.
Anil Dash, the one and only, writes about my first ever Knife Skills Class!
I talk about the finer points of Caramel, as the subject of one of my classes, on KQED.
Pavlova, one of the desserts covered in the Egg Whites Class, at Simply Recipes.
My latest Knife Skills Class reviewed by Catherine at Albion Cooks.
Seasonal Fruit Desserts Class reviewed by the formidable Anita at Married With Dinner.
Rachel Keller reviews Seasonal Fruit Dessert Class at Yelp.
All classes written about on Eggbeater. {Look in the comments sections for student feedback.}
Pie Dough Class photos by Kat of Kung Foodie.
Kat's photos of my recent Ice Cream & Sorbet Class.
The ice cream class, in all it's funny goodness, reviewed by none other than Dolores at the excitable Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity.

*

Come One, Come All. Come Hungry To Learn!

~ finished: pie ~

ok, ok! here it is. calm down. pie, finished.

berries abound/ pie pie pie, and more pie.

This may very well be my last pie making for a while. Tonight's my last Portland class in July. phew!