Cultural and historical lessons have put a twist on cooking classes in a new culinary series from Upper Arlington Parks and Recreation’s Lifelong Learning program.
Attracting a fully booked class at the Upper Arlington Recreation Station Kitchen almost every time, the events are part of the A Taste of Travel series, created by Shawnie Kelley-Foy and Sherri Pickett, the duo that co-founded Wanderlust Tours.
A recent cooking class in this series, Recipes from a French Farmhouse, featured food from Dijon, a city in eastern France. Despite the bitter cold weather that evening, the class had number of people on the waitlist.
“Food is fundamental in every culture,” Kelley-Foy says. “It’s so specialized everywhere you go. To me, you’re really getting to the guts of the place.”
Although Kelley-Foy typically likes to spotlight an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert for her smaller classes, she decided she would demonstrate two standalone entrées and a dessert for this class of 22 people. She prepared beef Bourguignon, a tartiflette (a bacon, potato and cheese casserole) and, for dessert, pear clafoutis.
Kelley-Foy encouraged her students to personalize their dishes with their preferred amount of wine. She also had no qualms mixing bacon and butter together in the same pan, as she said it would give the dishes a “velvety texture.”
Deb Mosely, program coordinator of Upper Arlington’s Lifelong Learning program, thinks that the blend between travel and food in the classes is a natural pairing.
“It provides an all-around, great immersive evening for people who will perhaps take a trip or not take a trip,” Mosely says. “People see the pairing of the food and there’s the enhancement of having the slides in (Kelley-Foy’s) presentation. She’s so familiar with both the historical and travel aspect because she’s been to most of these places.”
Wanderlust Tours leads groups of tourists on cultural, historical and culinary adventures throughout France, Italy, Great Britain and certain parts of the United States. Incorporating the aspects of these tours into the cooking classes came naturally for Kelley-Foy, who spent four years in England and Scotland conducting research on castles and valleys in the region.
When she was asked to join the Lifelong Learning program, she decided to integrate stories and the history of the cuisine’s geographical origin, providing her students a deeper understanding of the dishes they are cooking.
“A Taste of Travel series has evolved out of everything we love to do – traveling, eating, cooking, culture and cuisine,” Kelley-Foy says. “That’s pretty much how we approach our tours. There’s a little bit of culture, a little bit of history, a little bit of architecture, a lot of food, some cooking classes and a little adventure if you want to cut loose.”
With the help of Kelley-Foy’s extensive knowledge, each class delves into a different region to understand how dishes are made there. Classes usually last for two hours and participants have the opportunity to taste the dishes that are made during the session.
Cooking classes instructed by Kelley-Foy are conducted twice a month, but the A Taste of Travel series only has two to three classes per quarter. A Taste of Travel: The Garden of France is scheduled for 6:30-9:30 p.m. April 10. The cost is $40 for residents or $48 for non-residents. For more information on Upper Arlington Parks & Recreation cooking classes, visit www.uaoh.net.
Nen Lin Soo is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Tartiflette
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 8 oz. slab bacon, cut in to 1” strips about ½” thick
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 ½ lb. waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 lb. Reblochon cheese, sliced ¼” thick
Instructions: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an oval 2 ½-qt. casserole dish with 2 Tbsp. butter. Heat remaining butter and bacon in a 12” skillet over medium heat. Cook until bacon is slightly crisp, 10-12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add onion to skillet; cook until slightly caramelized, 7-9 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until reduced by half, 2-3 minutes. Stir in potatoes, salt and pepper; cook until just tender, 8-10 minutes. Spread half the potato mixture evenly in prepared dish; top with half each the reserved bacon and the cheese. Repeat with remaining potato mixture, bacon and cheese; bake until top is browned and filling is bubbling, about 25 minutes.
