Our Kids & Teens Holiday Baking classes are now sold out.  The next kids & Teens classes will be in the Summer of 2009.  See you then!

Holiday Baking?  In July?  Not exactly.  We’re thinking ahead.  The next event for kids & teens will be in December. 

If you’re looking to make some edible holiday gifts or a plate of sweets for the family, then join us for some festive fun.  Chef Barb will give you a dose of seasonal spirit .  A yummy lunch and heavenly hot chocolate will be served to keep the young pastry chefs energized. 

The cooking classes are action-packed, fun-filled days where kids and teens have the opportunity to learn about the culinary arts through demonstrations and hands-on cooking in small groups.

Chef Barb Finley has been teaching in the lower mainland for over 20 years, as an elementary teacher, instructor with the Faculty of Education at UBC and as a culinary and pastry instructor. 

Kids: Saturday, December 13 10 – 2:00 PM 7 – 11 years

Teens: Sunday, December 14 10 – 2:00 PM 12 – 17 years

Please bring: A container to take home the festive fare.

Price: $80 + GST

Register: by phone at 604.876.7653

When I discovered that the chef at Cibo Trattoria (cibotrattoria.ca - 900 Seymour, Vancovuer) was only 27 years old, I was stunned.  The food, first of all, was some of the best Italian I’ve had in this city.  But what impressed me about this relatively new restaurant was that the chef, Neil Taylor, called me at the school and wanted to discuss a relationship between his kitchen and the Academy’s students.  That, to me, is a sign of a very mature chef.  In my experience, those chefs that want ot give back, that want to take on students, that have a plan and skills to incoportate newcomers to the kitchen, with the same patience and care they give to their ingredients, it has been my observation that these are the chefs that cooks want to work for. 

When a restaurant is a newcomer, it expects and hopes the public receives them well, especially a public that appreciates the effort and dedication that goes into this profession.  When a student is a newcomer, he/she should expect and hope the industry receives them well too, especially its chefs who truly appreciate and relate to the effort and dedication that goes into this profession.  New restaurants usually have their hiccups (I saw none at Cibo) when getting started and expect the public to show some patience and understanding before making too harsh of a final judgement.  New developing professionals should thus deserve the same patience and understanding from its industry.

I never though a 27 year old chef can deliver a mature menu, mature food, especailly authentic Italian food, and take a higher road when it comes to training young cooks.  But Chef Neil proved me wrong.  When I met with him in his kitchen, it was obvious I was meeting a young man mature beyond his years as a chef and person.  To be honest, it was humbling…and it made me feel better about my profession.

Tony Minichiello

Culinary Instructor

Almost every student I’ve ever taught at NWCAV or the old Dubrulle comes to what I call a boiling point.  This is when the students ask themselves:  “Why am I doing this?”  This usually happens after two or more consecutive days where things simply did not go as desired.  The student either fell behind and couldn’t catch up, split the sauce, or the soufflé too fell, or all of the above.  Especially if the student had high hopes of perfecting learned skills on the first try, failure with food is emotionally very challenging.  It hits hard. 

I wish I can convince students that this is natural.  It not only happens, but it will happen, and not just now but forever.  And it HAS TO HAPPEN.  The best chefs deal will failure all the time because they are constantly challenging themselves.  They are the best at what they do because they know how to deal with shortcomings and failures.  They know how to gather even more determination, more focus, and move forward. 

I can’t teach the skills of moving past the boiling point rather than surrendering to it.  I can talk about it, console and advise (that’s a main part of teaching);  but positive action must come from within the student.  As a school we made a commitment NOT to shy from an environment that can bring students to their boiling point.  We don’t coddle our students and give them absolute fool-proof recipes.  In fact, right off the bat, we challenge them.  We pay close attention to body language and intervene only when necessary.  We do this not for any thrills  - trust me, it makes our work that much more challenging in itself.  We do this not so much to toughen our students – this is not an army we run.  No.  We do this because we want our students to figure out within themselves how to take good care of their learning, their work, their emotions, their development.  The industry will bring you to the boiling point every day.  It has to in order to survive.  A cook’s survival is determined by their own strategy to stay the course.

Staying cool,

Tony Minichiello,

Culinary Instructor