The Aprons Cooking School at Publix caught my eye for one class in particular – “Kitchen Fundamentals: Knife Skills.” Here’s the deal. I actually hate cooking, mostly because of the prep work. If I could get someone to come chop and slice and dice every day, then clean the dishes and bowls and utensils, I think I’d probably enjoy cooking. But how likely is that?
Here was my thinking: maybe if I learn how to cut vegetables like the professionals do, with those quick, choppy movements where the knife doesn’t even leave the board, I wouldn’t mind it so much. So on the spur of the moment, I registered for the class and (since I’d paid for it) showed up.
The cooking school is on the 2nd floor of the Publix supermarket (available by stairs or elevator) and looks like a small restaurant. One chef prepared the meal, adding the vegetables as we cut them up. The other chef did the teaching, demonstrating techniques and then encouraging us to give them a try. I was amazed to learn how simple that cutting technique I admired really was. But I also discovered it might’ve helped that I wasn’t using my own 30-year-old knives. Imagine.
When I first got there, I jokingly said I planned to end up a Michelin Star chef. As expected, that got laughs. But really all I wanted was to end up with a skill that would make me not dread having to do the prep work for my meals.
Now that I have newfound knife skills, I might be ready to apply for the show if Gordon Ramsay ever decides to do “Master Chef – Granny Edition.” Can you imagine how many seniors would be arguing with him about the way things “have always been done?”
The menu was fantastic. We left with the instructions in hand, so I can easily (well, maybe not easily) recreate them at home. There was “Hearty Minestrone” soup, “Chopped Salad with Grilled Chicken and Avocado-Ranch Dressing,” “Pan-Roasted Shrimp with a Sweet Corn Succotash,” and ” Strawberry Trifle Parfait with Orange-Mascarpone Cream.”
I thoroughly enjoyed this class and am already planning on another one (maybe pasta making). This particular one was $58 but the prices are different depending on the class. One thing I can tell you for certain: knives need to be upgraded (or at least sharpened) more often than every 30 years.
- 7835 Gunn Hwy, Tampa
- 813-926-4465
Online categories:
- Cooking demonstrations
- Hands-on cooking
- Couples cooking classes
- Workshops (everything from pasta to bread making)
- Family classes
- Kids, juniors and teens cooking classes
- Cooking skills
- Private classes
- Virtual classes
Lisa Browder 
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