10.10.11

All the fun of cooking....with none of the cleaning.....

Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to a B&B cooking class experience in Guelph with 4 other couples at the Everton Academy of Culinary Arts.

Chef Dale Everton demonstrating something, not sure what.
If you are ever look for a fun overnight activity to do with a bunch of your friends, definitely consider checking this out.  The Everton Academy is set up in a huge house just west of Guelph (not sure exactly if that is accurate, once we're outside of city limits I get all mixed up), with a huge teaching kitchen.  Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms with 5 beds, so perfect for 5 couples if two couples don't mind sharing a room).

We got there around 6 o'clock on Saturday, unloaded our overnight bags and chilled out with a glass of wine (it's BYOB).  Then we all gathered in the kitchen and Chef Dale set about starting us out on dinner.  Here's our menu:

Sweet Potato Fries
Tuscan white bean dip
Grilled eggplant bruschetta
Rare beef tenderloin with goat cheese
Calamari
Gnocchi with brown butter and sage
Baby arugala and oranges
Paella
Zabaglione
Please excuse the quality of the pictures, they are from my iphone.
This is Dave chopping up some sweet potato fries.
Dale would show us how to make something off the list and then one or two people would be in charge of that menu item.  Pretty soon we were all working on something.  And as certain appetizers were finished we would be eating and chatting while other things were being prepared.  It was really super casual and fun.  When the main course was done we went into the huge dining room and enjoyed a fantastic meal, although I have to say, we were pretty full from all the yummy appetizers.  I should come clean here though, much as we all pitched in, Dale and his assistant do most of the work, and while we were eating dinner, they put together a lovely dessert that topped off a delicious meal.  And he put in some extra work cooking a separate meal for the gluten-free vegan (me).


After dinner, Dale adjourns to his home next to the B&B and you have the whole house to yourselves.  We had a roaring fire going in the fire place and we all sat around enjoying some post meal drinks and great company.


We woke up the next morning to a breakfast of waffles with blueberry coulis, bacon, and hashbrowns.  I don't know what more you could ask for in a weekend getaway.


I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for something different to do on the weekend with a few of your friends.  Dale is totally laid back, very knowledgeable, and really make the learning experience a great one.  AND you can stop into Chudleigh's Apple farm on the way home for some apples and pie.