chicken, chicken, chicken...

Eight years ago Tracey kicked me out of the kitchen and into the dining room. She was pregnant with our first child and I wanted to close the Restaurant on Sundays. I wanted time with our family and at that point in the evolution of the restaurant I didn't have anyone to run the place on a day off. So, she said " if you want to close on Sundays you will have to start teaching those cooking classes you have been talking about." Well, it's true I had been talking about teaching classes but, if you know me, you know I'm a little shy, standing up in front of a bunch of strangers cutting vegetables and sauteing chicken was not my idea of a good time. I figured I'd write a couple of classes, nobody would come and that would be the end of that. Maybe I could get a part time job or something. Of course the opposite has occurred and our cooking classes have become very popular. I truly believe that I have learned as much if not more than I have taught. If you don't believe me you can conduct a little survey of the teachers in your life. Most of them will tell you that after the BS there is great gratification (not to mention decent health benefits) For me there is no, or at least very little BS. All of the folks who attend the classes truly want to learn or at the very least be entertained. It all comes back to the passion that I have for what I do. The cooking classes are my chance to have the face to face contact with people and inspire them to get in the kitchen and cook real food. What follows are Robs fantastic images from my most recent class. I will do my best to post the accompanying recipes shortly. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy and are inspired to cook, shoot photos, paint, or express yourself because I truly believe that creative expression is just one small part of true happiness.