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Cooking is the new wave in corporate team-building exercises.
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—The New York Times, January 13, 2007
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Making potato salad for the Comfort Food: Summer Picnic class, June 2002. |
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Group Class List
Nearly any of our hands-on cooking classes will work for a private party, large group, or
Team Building. But we know that it can be hard to narrow down the choices, so we've compiled
a list of great classes for groups.
Holiday-themed classes are listed first; regular classes follow.
If you have something specific in mind that you don't see here, please ask about it! We
will custom-tailor a class to your desires.
Fondue
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Festive and fun, fondue is a great way to kick back and enjoy!
Do you do fondue? If not, why not? It's a fun dish at a party, even a theme for a get-together. You can cook whole meals
this way (think Hot Pot)—it's not just for cheese and chocolate! Problems with fondue, like the cheese separating or scorching, will be
addressed in this class as we learn to make all kinds of different fondues. We'll have to keep eating as we go (darn!), so have
a light lunch this day!
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Gourmet Gifts
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Perfect for holiday gatherings!
Gifts from your kitchen are some of the best and most appreciated tokens of your affection. The time, love, and energy you put into
creating food for others is always appreciated. This year, stuff stockings or fill gift baskets with gourmet gifts of everything from
homemade liqueurs to chocolate treats, pastries, cookies, and more! We'll have fun creating these delicious gift ideas, and brainstorming
more as we work; class is followed, as always, by a full meal.
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Holiday Spirits
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Get ready for a rousing good time with lots of laughs!
Learn to make your
own Coffee Liqueur (like Kahlua), Irish Cream, Hot Buttered Rum Batter, and homemade Eggnog (maybe the best
you've ever tasted) in this very fun and festive class. Plan to take home some of the beverages you've
made; we'll have decorative bottles to buy if you'd like to give spirits as gifts. We'll also have plenty
of food on hand for dinner.
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Party Bites
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Many small projects allow group members to continually form and re-form smaller teams.
The holiday entertaining season is at its peak. Prepare for your guests by learning a dozen or so
perfect party "bites": homemade hors d'oeuvre that you can whip up in a flash and pass around
on a platter with pride. Expand your repertoire beyond your old stand-by party dishes; excite and inspire
parties this season (whether you host or attend) with fun, creative little bites to share. You'll learn
dishes to really show off your culinary skills and others you can whip up in a flash or make in advance and
pull out of the freezer. A great class whether you're entertaining or being entertained!
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The Urban Fridge
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Group brainstorming fosters creativity!
Learn how to draw inspiration and cook from your pantry, as well as what items to stock, so that you can
come up with delicious meals at night after work.
We'll talk about the foods that many of us normally have on hand and how
to cook creatively with them, and we'll also go over a list of great "basic" foods that you should always
have on hand to make things easy for yourself, and how to combine those with a few fresh things from the
market. We'll cook some great off-the-cuff dishes with these ingredients. This class will be a breath of fresh air for
anyone who hates that age-old question, "What should I make for dinner tonight?"
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Cuisine of India
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The newness of exotic ingredients creates a unique shared experience.
The cuisine of India is one of the most amazing and complex in the world. In this class we will unravel the
tapestry of flavors and spices that make this food unique. We'll cook lots of classic dishes and do lots of product
identification, to make you feel comfortable with these bold flavors. Note to vegetarians: although not entirely meat-free,
there are lots of veg options, and this is a great class for you.
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Pizza-Making
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Hand-tossing dough opens the door for plenty of laughter and good fun!
Pizza pleases people of every age; it has become an American comfort food. Making pizza at home allows you to be healthy and
also very creative. You don't need any special
equipment to make pizza at home, although five bucks spent at the hardware store can help a lot; we'll show you how. Tonight's class
will teach you how to make perfect pizza dough and sauce, tricks to getting your toppings perfect, the best cheeses for pizza, and
how to bake them to perfection. We'll do several kinds of doughs, learning to hand-toss. Of course we'll enjoy a whole lot of different
pizzas for our end-of-class meal!
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The South of France
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The romance of French cuisine is something everyone can appreciate!
Enjoy the traditional flavors of the South of France: artisian olive oils, honey,
lavender, thyme, and more, with fresh produce such as spring asparagus and strawberries or fall greens and apples,
and meats like lamb and sausage. You will learn
the traditional flavors and cooking techniques of this region as
we prepare a large and delicious meal to share together, something everyone will be able to reproduce at home to remember the
experience.
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Cuisine of Tuscany
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The comfortable familiarity of Italian cuisine is a great starting-point for group members to get
to know each other better.
So often in Seattle, we need a little reminder about the goodness of sunshine.
What better than the sunny, bright, hearty food of Tuscany and central Italy? This region is what most Americans think of
when they think of Italian food. Home to classic red sauces and fresh pasta (we'll learn to make both), Central Italian food
is about fresh, local, quality flavors and foods. Come enjoy a "Big Night" with us!
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Greek Cuisine
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Complex culinary projects, like delicious baklava, create a sense of pride and accomplishment
in their creators!
No part of Greece is more than 85 miles from the ocean, making it a wonderfully light cuisine based heavily on seafood.
Fresh flavors from the countryside also abound, though, with rich olives, tangy lemons, lamb, cheeses, and herbs making
Greek cuisine unique. We'll explore the cuisine of Greece, sometimes considered the oldest Western
cuisine, and the many influences made upon it throughout Greece's history of conquering and being conquered. We'll
sample retsina (really an incredibly light and delicious beverage) and finish the class with an incredible meal.
A typical menu includes Spanakopita, Moussaka, Greek Salad, Pita Bread, Baklava, and much more!
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Entertaining Spanish Style: Tapas
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Many projects allow group members to continually form and re-form smaller teams, so the
group works together in different
dynamics.
"Tapas" are little hors d'oeuvre -like snack foods that were originally little pieces of bread used
to cover the wine glasses of beach-dining bar guests in Spain. There is a huge variety of different tapas,
fron traditional to nuevo; all are excellent for entertaining, lending themselves perfectly to buffets, passed
appetizers, first courses, and bring-to-the-party dishes. We'll make a whole bunch of these delicious bites in
this class, one of our
most popular. This promises to be a very fun class in which you'll learn a lot of fun new dishes and techniques.
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How to Book: Call us at 206.284.8687 or email groupsandevents@culinarycommunion.com
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