All proceeds go to The World in a Garden Urban Agriculture Project which educates community and youth on the environmental, social and cultural benefits of a just and local food system. You can find out more at www.theworldinagarden.com

Now the brilliance.  Oats are probably the greatest, healthiest grain on the planet, especially if they are steel-cut or whole, not instant.  At our school, whoever show’s up first in the morning makes the oatmeal.  It’s been my breakfast ritual for the last 5 years and if President Obama were to ask me for advice about the health care issue I’d tell him to start a program were oatmeal becomes as American as apple pie (or potato chips, fries, Oreo cookies, burgers…you get the picture).  Many smart North Americans have caught on to the benefits of this Scottish ritual.  The owner of Bloop, Kat, should be given some sort of recognition for her contribution to her society, period.  Firstly, her oatmeal (comes in a variety of ways and fresh fruit toppings) is delicious.  It’s wholesome.  It’s also helping local workers start the day right, which usually means finishing the day right too (so good for productivity).  Without going any further here, I am convinced without a doubt that oatmeal =  good health + excellent productivity.  Oatmeal, yes oatmeal, is the answer to the health, obesity, economics, and general happiness of North Amercia.  Some of us already know this as an absolute fact!

Another brilliant part of Bloop.  My students always ask me what I’d be doing if I weren’t teaching, and I always list them some business ideas, some which I think, convincing myself perhaps, are brilliant.  I even carry a top 10 list of these ideas.  When I first saw Bloop, I stood there dumbfounded and said to myself, “Why didn’t I think of this?”  Well Bloop is now # 2 on my list (I share my ideas only with my students, and #1 only evolved this last term).  In a profession demanding 12 hours a day minimum for the most part, an oatmeal cart is low maintenance.  It’s open from 7am -10am!  My goodness, Kat not only does good for her society, but has a personal life too.

follow her blog at http://bloopoatmeal.blogspot.com/

Brilliant!!!

This last Sunday I was taken to lunch by a very special friend at a diner called Sportello, right next door to Menton, both Barbara Lynch’s (no relation) new places and along with a few other gems around the city that showcase her focus, wit, brains, and gutsy business sense.  Menton, a very fine dining establishment, was obviously not open for lunch, but my friend has some clout in the Boston food scene so we walked in for a potential tour.  The service manager was very gracious to show us around. Beautiful dining room, but the kitchen, show me the kitchen!  Well, quite an impressive kitchen indeed.  One would think it was designed by Escoffier himself.  It even had a chef’s table in an adjacent room behind glass.  From this room we were given some details about Menton.  But something else impressed me that Sunday afternoon, around 2pm, something far more beautiful than their French ovens.  There was one lone cook inside the kitchen – it happened to be Chef Colin Lynch – sharpening his impressive collection of Japanese knives with a whetstone.  Did I mention it was Sunday, around 2pm?  How many cooks/chefs sharpen their knives on any given Sunday, around 2pm?  According to Alton Brown, none (referring to episode on sharpening knives, claiming even professionals don’t sharpen their own).  But a foodsmith would, and it was a most beautiful and reassuring sight to my eyes.

Some, when it comes to life in general, have called me of a pessimist.  But I’m an optimist when it comes to the next generations of cooks.  On a rainy Sunday August 22, around 2pm, 354 Congress Street in Boston, my optimism was confirmed.  Thank you Chef Colin.

Date:
- 8 Mondays starting September 20 to November 15
- 8 Wednesdays starting September 22 to November 17

* Note there will be no class Monday October 11 and Wednesday October 13

Time: 6:15 – 9:45 pm

Cost: $759 + HST

Bring: Chef’s knife, paring knife, pastry scraper, 2 tea towels, kitchen appropriate footwear.

This class will sell out! Please call 604.876.7653 to register early.

You will learn how to process and apply advanced cooking techniques to whole ducks, lobster and salmon.  Cuisines from all over the world will be part of the course with an emphasis on the techniques and the understanding of them.  Create preparations you’ve seen in restaurants and always wanted to know how to make like risotto, spatzle, polenta, hollandaise and artisanal hand shaped pastas.  After this course your dinner parties will never be the same.

Prerequisites: Students should have competent knife skills and the desire to improve on their cooking skills.  It is advised that you have taken the Serious Foodie Culinary Basics course prior to taking this course.

Date: 5 Tuesdays starting October 5, 2010

Time: 6:15 – 9:45pm

Cost: $495 + HST

Bring: Chef’s knife, paring knife, apron, 2 tea towels, pastry scraper, comfortable shoes, hair elastic for long hair

Menu has not been determined yet but if you know Chef Tim he always has great recipes and ideas to share.

Dates: Will be held two individual days (identical)
Saturday November 27
Saturday December 11

Times: 9am – 2pm

Cost: $98 + hst

Bring: chef’s knife, paring knife, pastry scraper, 2 tea towels, bib apron, closed toe/heel shoes, container to take home your goodies.

Register: Call 604.876.7653.  Payment is due at registration and can be made by phone with Visa or MasterCard.

Master the art of tempering chocolate.  In this 2-day series you will learn how to taste & work with chocolate.  Some of the techniques and items prepared will be:

- Pre-Crystalizing Chocolate (Tempering)
- Garnishing Techniques: Cigarettes, Curls…
- Ganache & fillings
- Chocolate Truffles
- Enrobed Chocolates
- Molded Chocolates

Date: November 13 & 14, 2010

Times: 9am to 2pm.

Cost: $280.00 + HST

Bring: Chef’s knife, paring knife, pastry scraper, 2 tea towels, silpat (1/2 sheet size), bib apron, closed toe/heel shoes & a container to take home your goodies!

Register: Call 604.876.7653.  Payment is due at registration and can be made by phone with VISA or MasterCard, or in person.

Sample Recipes:
- Whole wheat pita bread
- Multigrain bread
- 7 whole grain & Seed bread
- Dark Rye

Develop flavour & texture through:
- Better understanding of ingredients
- Mixing Methods
- Making multi and whole grain breads easier and a more desirable choice

Date:  October 30 & 31, 2010

Time: 9am – 2pm

Cost: $260 + hst

Bring: Chef’s knife, paring knife, pastry scraper, 2 tea towels, bib apron, container for your goodies, closed toe/heel shoes

Register: Call 604.876.7653.  Payment is due at registration and can be made by phone with Visa or MasterCard over the phone.

Sample Menu:

• Chocolate Trio Mousse Cake
• Mango Strawberry Entremet (layer cake)
• Basque Gateaux (sponge w/semolina mousse)
• Poppyseed Cake
• Raspberry Cream Cheese Mousse Roulade

Individual techniques we will be learning:

• Vanilla Sponge
• Genoise
• Chocolate Dacquoise
• Japonaise
• Trio chocolate Mousse
• Mango and Stawberry Mousse
• Semolina Custard Mousse
• Cream Cheese Mousse

Date: October 16 & 17, 2010

Time: 9:00am – 2:00pm both days

Cost: $260 + HST

Bring:  Chef’s knife, paring knife, pastry scraper, 2 tea towels, bib apron, container to take home your goodies, closed toe/heel shoes.

Register: Call 604.876.7653. Payment is due with registration, and can be made by phone with a Visa or MasterCard.

Examples of possible creations (previous classes)

- BC Pear, Fig & Goat Cheese puff pastry tarte
- Heirloom Tomato Celebration Salad
- White Balsamic Bronze Fennel Seed Dressing
- Roast BC Peaches, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream & Lemon Chiffon Cake
- BC Apple Torte
- Gooseberry Red Currant Sherbet

Menu will be determined closer to the date of each class based upon what is at its peak of perfection that week. Trust us, it’s going to be fantastic!

Date: Saturday September 25, 2010
Time: 9:00am – 2:00pm

Cost: $98+HST

Bring: chef & paring knives, 2 tea towels, pastry scraper, apron, closed-toe/flat-heeled shoes & hair elastic

It is with great pleasure that I tell you that our group won in the British Council “I AM A CHANGEMAKER” Business Plan Competition!!!  We won ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS! In Canadian, that would be a little more than CAD$2,000. It might be small by Canadian standards but it sure goes a long way here in my village. We now have seed capital to make a downpayment on a truck/van to transport our deliveries, and we are now working on reaching our target of 80 commitments/pledges for our pilot run.

Of course, what I learned in NWCAV will come in handy later on as we plan to include kitchen-tested recipes in our website to make participation in our project more enjoyable to our stakeholders.  I will be the resident chef. Please visit: www.goodfoodcommunity.com OR www.goodfoodco.wordpress.com and watch the video my teammate made for the presentation. Hope you don’t mind if I plug the school logo in our website.

My dream, however, is not so much as to grow the client base but to replicate the system all over the Philippines. Hopefully, this will result in drastically improving the income levels of our dirt-poor farmers, slow down urban migration, increase education levels in the rural areas, and conversion of more lands to organic production.  What a great year!

Warmest Regards,

Philip
NWCAV Alumni

Her cooking classes pair sound nutrition information with whole foods- based, beautifully prepared recipes.   Interactive and fun; her classes convey her love of real food, community and culture.

The ultimate in slow food is fermentation – responsible for gourmet foods from wine and bread to chocolate, tea and cheese; fermentation adds dimension and depth to your diet.

Fermentation is the transformative action of micro-organisms. In this hands-on class we will be focusing on lacto-fermented foods. These fermented foods can transform your meals and your health by providing easily-assimilated probiotics and enzymes in the form of delicious, zingy and lively foods.

Menu:

Kimchi
Sauerkraut
Brined Pickles

Cost: $89 + hst

Date: September 21, 2010

Time:  6:15 – 9:45pm

Bring:  chef’s knife, paring knife, apron, tea towels, 3 wide-mouth 500ml jars.