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The Essential Series

Cooking is a lifelong process of learning and practice.

The Essential Series teaches the foundations of cooking in just 12 hours. These jam-packed classes teach the knowledge, skills, and ideologies that are necessary for anyone to cook any type of food they want faster, easier, and cheaper at home. Once you have the basics, the rest is simply refinement through your own practice combined with your curiosity to cook any food you want with ever increasing speed and skill. We’ll get you started, the rest is up to you!

THE ESSENTIAL SERIES

The Essential Series will give you fundamental knowledge and practice with:

All Food Types (Vegetables, Fruit, Grains, Spices, etc.) and Essential Tools in a Kitchen

Cooking Skills and Techniques for Each Classical Method of Cooking

All Classical Types of Sauce, Major World Cuisines, and How to Utilize and Create Recipes and Meals like a Chef

What do we learn?

Upon completion of the Essential Series, you will be able to:

  • Set up your Kitchen to be Efficient, Sanitary, and Well Stocked

  • Know All Types of Foods and Pick Out the Best

  • Cut Any Fruit or Vegetable with Confidence and Efficiency

  • Understand and have Confidence with All Cooking Methods and Sauce Types

  • Have an elemental knowledge of the Major Worldwide Cuisines

  • Cook with increased Efficiency and Speed through Organization 

  • Use Recipes as Guides (rather than rules) and begin developing your food Beyond Recipes

  • Have an overall Increased Ability and Confidence in the kitchen to allow for more Enjoyable, Easier, Faster, and Tastier Cooking!

Essential Class Topics and Skills

Essential Class 1

  • Kitchen Theory- How to Think and Look at Food Like a Chef

  • What Your Kitchen Needs and What it doesn’t

  • Selecting Only the Best Fruit and Vegetables

  • How to Break Down Any Fruit or Vegetable Like a Professional

  • “Is that still good?” - Food Safety and Storage at Home

  • How to Maximize Your Kitchen for Easy, Utility and Speed

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Essential Class 2

  • How Cook Everything - Dry and Moist Heat Cooking Methods

  • Properly Cooking Vegetables and Meat (Not Overcooked!)

  • How to Sauté/ Toss Food in a Pan (see photo)

  • Cooking Eggs, Any Style You Want, Like a Pro

  • Handling Meat and Fish Safely in Your Kitchen

  • Differences between Types of Cheese and Dairy

  • “What’s the other stuff in your pantry?” - Dry Goods Basics

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Essential Class 3

  • How and When to use Different Herbs and Spices

  • How to Make the Classical and Contemporary “Mother” Sauces and Their Variations

  • How to Make Emulsions (Vinaigrettes, Hollandaise, Aioli, etc.)

  • Major World Cuisines and How to Let Them Guide Your Cooking

  • How to Look at Recipes Like a Chef to Have Them Become Guides Instead of Rules

  • Tips and Tricks to Save Time, Effort, and Money in Your Kitchen

Read more

Why do I need these?

The Essential Series teaches the fundamental knowledge, Ideologies, & techniques to feel comfortable cooking any type of food.

They are structured in the same way that cooking is taught to aspiring chefs at The Culinary Institute of America, but tailored for home cooking. The Essential Series is a year of culinary school ($40,000+ value) distilled into just 12 action packed hours!

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Learning about food comprehensively allows for a more natural, less stressful, and more enjoyable cooking experience, because you are not bound to a few treasured recipes but empowered to make any food you want, exactly the way you like it. The Essential Series encompasses the What (foods, equipment, methods), the How (methods and techniques), and the Why (cuisines and some food science) of Cooking in order to provide the confidence and knowledge to cook any food you want!

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If you want to feel like you truly have a grasp of cooking and want to cook interesting new foods anytime you want, The Essential Series is where to start! You won’t be disappointed and we'll guarantee it!! 

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Because we know this will literally change your life with food (because it happens every cohort), if you're not completely satisfied with The Essential Series, WE'LL GIVE YOU YOUR MONEY BACK! Either John changes your life or you get your money back. Period. No risk, all reward! 

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If this wasn't enough, you also get Essentials On Demand Video Series ( a $350 value and over 15 hours of instructional video taught by John) to cement and refresh all of the teaching in The Essential Series! Every skill and concept in The Essential Series, broken down one by one, so you can refresh your memory anytime you want! Yours free with The Essential Series! 

Happy Cooking Y’all!

Tell Me More!

John has been teaching and inspiring cooks for decades. He is ecstatic to be able to share his knowledge, skills, and stories of lessons learned from a life in the kitchen, along with a few bad jokes, to transform how home cooks approach, think about, and cook with food. He can’t wait to cook with you!

ABOUT JOHN

Ready to Get Cooking?

THE ESSENTIAL SERIES

Three 4 Hour Classes
PLUS 
Essentials On Demand Video Series
(a $950 value) for only $600

ALL SOLD OUT OR CAN’T MAKE THESE DATES?

Leave your info below and we’ll put you on our list for an exclusive email invitation to secure your spot as soon as the next dates are released! Keep an eye out for our email as these are sold on a first come, first serve basis! Can’t wait to cook with you!

The Essentials Series | Request Form

  • WHAT IF I HAVE A FOOD ALLERGY?
    No Problem! Send us an email with any allergy or dietary restriction and we will do our best to accommodate you to the best of our abilities.
  • WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING TO CLASS?
    Comfortable, closed-toe shoes and a desire to learn. We’ll provide everything else! But do keep in mind that cooking is an active activity so dress accordingly; stay away from long, loose sleeves, or any excessively dangling clothing, hair or jewelry. Water and snacks will be provided during class but please eat before class as being surrounded by food while hungry seriously impedes learning and retention of the knowledge you are here to learn.
  • ARE THE CLASSES SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?
    Possibly. These classes are designed for adults of all skill levels so being a novice isn’t a problem. Safety is the most important concern, especially with children. Our classes involve active participation with sharp knives and hot pans with oil and do require attention in order to be safe while in class. If you and your children feel comfortable with them handling sharp knives, cooking with hot pans, and can maintain our standard of safety in the kitchen, we would love to have them in class! Please contact us before booking a class for anyone under the age of 18.
  • HOW BIG ARE THE CLASSES?
    Cooking requires attention and for that purpose, our classes are small, with a maximum of 5 people per class.
  • WHERE ARE THE CLASSES HELD?
    What better way to teach home cooking, than in a home? Classes are taught at our house, in our kitchen, in order to provide real world knowledge and examples of how best to cook at home. The address is 2510 Yorkdale Court, Durham, NC 27707.
  • WHAT IF I NEED TO CANCEL A CLASS I BOOKED?
    Because of the limited size of our classes, we have a one week cancelation policy. If you cancel, by telephone, more than one week before your scheduled class, you will be refunded for the class. If you cancel less than one week before your scheduled class we will try to fill the spot and, if we can, a refund will be issued. If we cannot fill the spot, you will not be refunded, but feel free to send a friend in your place!

Have more questions?

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