I came to Holiday Market almost four years ago with a very specific mission – to teach people to cook and think like professional chefs. Sounds, easy, right? Surprisingly, it is much more difficult than I thought it would be! My boss, Tom Violante, Jr. is an extraordinary person (I mean that in all sincerity, not just because he sometimes reads my blog) who leads with vision and an innate understanding how to support the people who work for him.

Mirepoix was Tom’s idea, and a brilliant one at that. The entire concept was something that he had been thinking about for a while, and one day, we met to talk about it. It took me several months to wrap my mind around what he was asking me to do. I’m incredibly literal and specific and Tom is into “the big picture”. I, being a complete pain in the ass, gave him the run-around for a while, since I didn’t quite see the opportunity in its entirety (which was incredibly dense on my part). Finally, Tom called me out (if you know me, this earns you major respect in my book) and I took the job. Subsequently, it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

So here we are, almost 4 years later, our cooking school past its infancy and growing pains. After some trial and error, I’m now blessed with a staff of incredible chefs and assistants, and I can finally breathe just a little bit easier. Still, I’m not ready to rest. The business of professional cooking is honestly, a brutal one. My own father once owned a restaurant and still says that the happiest day of his life was the day he sold it. My dad is a tough guy, so if the restaurant business gave him hell, that’s saying something.

We teach all kinds of classes at Mirepoix, from knife skills to couples classes. At the outset, each class was formatted in a way that offered something for all ability levels, so that no matter how unskilled or advanced you were, we had just the right recipe project for you. My original vision for Mirepoix was to offer professional culinary instruction for the person who longs to cook like a professional, but doesn’t have the time to invest in pursuing a culinary degree.

Realizing this vision has taken time, but we have now grown to the level where I can finally offer 3 distinct categories of classes; open ability (the same format we’ve always offered), theory-hungry (beginner to foodie- but an obsession with food theory is a must), and advanced.

This month, we introduced a new series called, “What I Learned in Culinary School…”

This series is designed for the student who may be curious about professional cooking, but not sure if it is right for them, or, the student who longs to attend culinary school, but doesn’t have the time or resources to make that dream a reality (this fits into the “theory-hungry” category). Our first class, “Boot Camp” was last night. Each class in the series is limited to 8 students because the level of instruction is much more intense than our other classes.

Our agenda last night focused on basic knife skills, very basic butchery, and stocks. We discussed the theory of cooking and explored all of the little details that are essential for success in the kitchen, whether you’re a novice or an accomplished foodie. After over 600 classes taught at Mirepoix, this was far and away my favorite.

Building on what we learned last night, our next class will focus on using stocks to make sauces. The lessons are taught straight from our textbooks and notes from our days as eager culinarians at Schoolcraft College, making the agenda for each class very ambitious. Starting in October, I will be offering an advanced series for people who are looking for something even more intense. This series will also be limited to only 8 students.

Moving into this new phase of development is incredibly satisfying and exciting. As excited as I am about the two new class categories, you have my word that our commitment to excellent instruction, great tasting food, and a friendly and fun atmostphere will still be a part of our curriculum, and our core category of classes will not fall by the wayside with this new chapter.

We have an unbridled enthusiasm for teaching the home gourmand how to cook like we do. We are technique driven – not recipe driven, passionate about food I love the personal touch that we add to the experience. Those things, as long as I am here, will never change. In the meantime, though, if you’ve been dying to celebrate the chef in you, but didn’t know how, consider signing up for a few of the classes from the Culinary School series.

Also, don’t forget about our recipe contest! To learn more about the contest, click here.

All entries must be emailed to me at stacysloan@holiday-market.com. Good luck!

One of the first things chefs-in-training learn in culinary school is “a recipe is only a guideline”. We think of a recipe as an outline, a list of ingredients, a starting point. So many people are inhibited and hesitant in the kitchen because they think they can’t cook without the perfect recipe. Others follow recipes carefully only to deliver another disappointing meal to the table because the recipe was poorly written or not tested. Worse, some meals wind up in the garbage can because the cook didn’t know how to fix what went wrong.

When you learn and start developing the basic tenants of cooking (which you can do at a Mirepoix Cooking School class), your eyes are opened to an entirely different culinary experience. Armed with practical knowledge and experience, and guided by a professional, you can learn to develop your palate and cook from instinct, instead of by the book.

I don’t expect people to know formulas and ingredient quantities from memory. Instead, I’m selling you on the idea that the recipe can be altered to a certain degree. For instance, every time a batch of guacamole is made, even if it is followed to the letter, it turns out different every time. Depending on the ripeness of the avocados, the acid in the lime or lemon juice, the ripeness of the tomato, the same recipe will yield different results because the food is FRESH .

Or, if your recipe calls for 4 scallions, but 6 come in a bunch – use 6. The chances that you are going to need 2 scallions tomorrow is slim, and what can you really do with 2 scallions anyway? Of course, you can’t do this with ingredients like flour in a baking recipe, but once you learn the fundamentals, you have the confidence to make these types of decisions.

Since the Mirepoix Cooking School’s mission is to teach people to cook and think like professional chefs, another one of our goals is to develop your palate. Being a good cook is about having sound intuition and following your instincts based on what you’ve learned. Knowing how to taste food is incredibly important, which is why we provide tasting spoons – we want you to taste your food as you make it.

Since there are only 5 basic cooking methods, I believe that once you master them, there is no more need to be so “recipe dependant”. In fact, I have been known to make my chefs teach without a recipe packet for their reference. Bold statement, but I say it because they, trained chefs, should be able to look at the list of ingredients in the recipe and repeat the method to their group because they are so grounded in the foundations of proper cooking technique.

By no means are we saying the recipes aren’t important, or that we want you to disregard them or plow ahead without any instruction. What we are saying is that we don’t want you to think that the recipe is gospel. Let’s face it – some recipes are written badly, some haven’t been tested, some don’t MAKE SENSE! Read the recipe and ask us your questions.

So – start with the guideline and go from there. Taste your food! Ask questions, practice . As you develop your skills, take chances and try something new. Build your confidence in the kitchen by developing your palate and broaden your knowledge of basic cooking technique. The worst thing that can happen is that you ruin it beyond repair. It’s just food! When you take the fear out of food is when the fun can really begin.