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 this Groupon.
$29 for a Cooking Class with Three-Course Meal and Glass of Wine ($60 Value)
Choose from the following options:
- Knife Skills and Sauces on March 3
- Thai Fish Panang on March 10
- Tasty Vegetarian on March 24
- Royal Spaghetti on March 31
- Aphrodisiac on April 14
- Gluten Free Cooking on April 21
- Superfoods on April 28
Classes take place inside Habibi Restaurant.<p>
Elite Catering & Events’ courses introduce a wide spectrum of skills necessary to thrive in the kitchen, including knife-handling techniques, methods for selecting ripe produce, and how to bake without gluten. Instructors convene with students at Habibi restaurant, and pupils learn and dine surrounded by the eatery’s exposed-brick walls, dark-wood accents, and arched window partitions. During the two-hour Thai Fish Panang class, for example, culinary coaches instruct their protégés in the art of the bias cut, nonstick-pan cooking, blending vinaigrette, and a three-step breading process to seal in juices. After rigorous instruction, students enjoy the fruits of their labor with a three-course lunch of salad with ginger-peanut vinaigrette, fish panang in red-curry sauce, and thai tea-bread pudding, all soused with a glass of wine.<p>
Elite Catering & Events
As one out of six children from a family of modest income, a 13-year-old Alfred Mann entered the cooking and hospitality industry out of necessity. Luck finally struck him when, throughout the 1990s, he met face-to-face with John Smoltz, Tyra Banks, and the Orlando Magic basketball team, all in his capacity as a chef. Since then, he's continued to hone his art while cooking for a range of celebrity actors, athletes, and visiting dignitaries as the head of Elite Catering & Events. Chef Mann and his team draw on experience working with culinarians including Emeril Lagasse to perform catering and personal-chef services, letting customers revel in at-home feasts or flaunt the strength of papier-mâché banquet tables. In addition to crafting gourmet fare for large and small events, staff members pass on their culinary legacy through cooking classes and assuage clients' tension with home spa services such as chef nights, massages, and aromatherapy.