What You'll Get
Creating a meal from scratch is both challenging and delicious, much like playing "Stairway to Heaven" on a clarinet made out of a candy cane. Master meal melding with today's Groupon from Chef Ellen. Choose from the following options:
- For $33, you get a cooking class for one (up to a $67 value).
- For $60, you get a cooking class for two (up to a $134 value).
- For $70, you get a series of four Cooking Correctly…Confidence in the Kitchen classes for one (a $140 value).
With more than 15 years of culinary tutelage tied inside her apron strings, Chef Ellen Schwartz leads fledgling chefs through a panoply of informative, hands-on cooking classes. Singles and couples can sidle up alongside 15–20 other students for lessons such as Baby Steps on Cooking, an enlightening class on basic kitchen knowledge great for brides, grooms, and people who recently overcame oven allergies. Hands-On Cooking Fundamentals stretches its cookery tidbits across two class times, instructing students on how to prepare an array of simple yet savory dishes, then how to serve multiple courses. Enter the realm of Appetizers & Hors d'oeuvres, a class steeped in the art of bite-size party favors, or wield fireproof tongs during Fabulous Outdoor Grilling to learn the proper way to sear a hamburger instead of climbing a ladder and holding it up to the sun.
The four-class series, Cooking Correctly…Confidence in the Kitchen, furnishes fare scholars with a quartet of sessions tackling different types of projects. Learn the secret to working with desserts; piece together tasty salads, soups, and other first courses; master the five essential sauce bases; memorize tricks to create crowd-pleasing holiday meals. Food fees are included in every class, so participants don't need to bring their own ingredients from home or try to hastily whittle imitations out of soap.
The Fine Print
Promotional value expires Sep 21, 2012. Amount paid never expires. Limit 1 per person, may buy multiple as gifts. Limit 1 per visit. Valid only for option purchased. Classes are non-transferable. May redeem across visits. Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.
About Chef Ellen
The old saying "it takes a village" didn't apply to Chef Ellen's family—for them, the phrase "it takes a grocery store" was more on key. Ellen's father and grandfather operated their own grocery stores, allowing her to spend large portions of her childhood around food and those who knew its ins and outs. With the ingredients and knowledge readily available, she began honing her cooking skills at age 9. As a grownup, however, she hung up her spatula temporarily, attaining a career as an elementary-school reading specialist and a middle-school counselor. It wasn't until she joined the staff at Leisure Learning more than 15 years ago that she was able to combine her childhood fascination with food and her passion for education. She still leads cooking classes for all ages and skill levels through the organization to this day.
During lessons, Chef Ellen covers a wide spread of culinary fundamentals, teaching students how to sharpen knives, operate a grill, and whisk together flavorful marinades. She emphasizes student participation and hands-on experience in each of her classes, involving the attendees in every step from planning the meal to quelling the always-present threat of a food fight.
When she isn't sharing her wisdom in the classroom, she lends her talents as a personal chef and a professional recipe consultant, making occasional television appearances and demonstrating invaluable kitchen techniques.