The CIA is an entity of great respect and secrecy. America’s top minds spend their days hard at work, homing in their craft for the benefit of our nation’s peace of mind, united pride and ……. full bellies? Yes, the Culinary Institute of America is the premier training grounds of our country’s best chefs. Over the years I’ve had some interaction with this great institution and its extraordinary graduates, even as recently as this past weekend…
Located just a few miles from my alma mater, Marist College, on the banks of the Hudson River lies the equally beautiful campus of the Culinary Institute of America. As you can imagine, the campus is full of mixed-use kitchens and traditional study settings. My time spent there, however, was that of a patron. My friends and I would frequent their Apple Pie Bakery, which was a more casual restaurant serving soups, salads, sandwiches, etc. To ensure a well-rounded education and understanding of all that goes into a food service operation, the students manage and run all parts of the business. From the chefs to the cashiers and service-staff, the students are in control and if I remember correctly, graded by their professors on how they preform individually and as a team via hundreds of tiny cameras, microphones and disguised visitors – much like the Central Intelligence Agency. As you can imagine, the food was always out of this world.
This brings me to my birthday present from my loving parents. Instead of any physical gift, I asked for some sort of cooking class for Khrista and I to attend. After some research, my mom found Chef Eric, a renowned chef and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who had left the high-end restaurants to begin a teaching business. After we traded some stories of his time at the CIA as a student and my time as a glutton, we began the main event: pasta making. With the combined Irish German Filipino blood in our veins, it’s fair to say that this type of cuisine does not come naturally. After learning some basic knife skills, we were guided on how to make pasta dough from scratch while simultaneously preparing Fettuccine Alfredo, Pork Bolognese, and Pesto sauces. The results were marvelous. While I’ve had my fair share of homemade pasta at restaurants, the gratification of making it yourself makes the food even more enjoyable and tasty. We had such a great time and will certainly leverage these new skills in the future.
If you’re struggling with holiday gift ideas for that certain someone, I highly recommend a local cooking class. And if you find yourself in the Hudson River region, you MUST stop by the CIA – you will not be disappointed.
