New Cooking School Comes to Ladue

On Monday at an open house, L’Ecole Culinaire rolled out its new cooking school for foodies and non-foodies: L’Ecole Academy for Culinary Development. Whereas L’Ecole Culinaire is focused on a curriculum for career-minded chefs, the academy is for anyone who just wants to learn about food.

Dean of Culinary Studies, John Womick, said the new academy was created in response to the needs of the amateur and professional. “The program has been designed to meet two purposes: Intensive experiences for the general public and professional development for people already in the field. Classes are in four, eight, and 24-hour chunks.”

The first batch of course offerings is:

• Introduction to the World of Wines
• Beer and Food Pairing
• Artisan Bread Primer
• Chocolate Confectionary Basics
• Fundamentals of Cake Sculpting and Design
• Sushi Fundamentals
• ServSafe® Management (food safety)
• Ice Carving Fundamentals
• Catering Fundamentals

The need for these courses grew out of L’Ecole Culinaire’s “Kitchens with a Mission” cooking classes which pair fun learning experiences for the general public with raising money for a charity. “The attendees were asking if they could pick and choose specific aspects of those general courses and just take those particular classes they had an interest in,” Womick said.

During the open house, chef instructors demonstrated some of the techniques and final products that participants will learn. One chef was rolling out dough to make challah (a braided, egg bread), another was working with fondant for a cake sculpture and another chef was creating chocolate delicacies. In addition there was a display of sushi and wines.

Classes are starting right away and will reoccur throughout the coming months. The academy is located at L’Ecole Culinaire, 9811 South Forty Drive in Ladue.

For more information, visit www.lecoleacademy.com or call 1-888-860-7270, ext. 269.