Semester Two of Cook’s Masters Program Kicks Off
The Cook Masters Program is a series of instructional cooking lectures taught by some of the city’s and country’s biggest culinary names, for students who are truly passionate about pursuing a professional career in the restaurant industry.
Philadelphia magazine and Cook staffers hand-selected the ten students from applicants to the program. Line cooks, culinary students, dishwashers, aspiring chefs all applied to be part of this second semester and the best of the best were picked.
Today was the first class and the featured instructor was Katie Cavuto Boyle of Healthy Bites, who taught Health and Nutrition 101.
When we arrived at Cook today, the students were all gathered around a long counter, eager to learn and improve their cooking skills. Some sat with notebooks, others with coffee. All were eager to learn, in their seats on time and packing their own sets of knives.
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- Before the class began, we were able to catch up with five of the ten chefs that would be participating in the class. Among the students were Andrew Bergholtz, a cook working in the Aramark premium division who was attracted to the Cook Masters Program because of the opportunity to network and learn from other chefs. Bergholtz aspires to be the head chef at a fine dining restaurant in the future.
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- Next we caught up with 26 year-old pastry chef Elissa Shapiro, who is currently working at Tulalu’s Garden. Shapiro wants to get classic training in the kitchen and to broaden her horizons into areas of the kitchen other than the pastries.
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- Beth Dinice received her formal training at the American Culinary Federation Apprenticeship Program and is currently the head chef for JPM Catering and Event where she leads on-site food service at large events like weddings. Dinice decided to wants to become a better chef in the Cook Masters Program, specifically by learning the art of meat curing.
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- Jake Herman, 29, a graduate of the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, is currently a line cook at both Zinc and the Saint James. Herman is trying to become a better chef in any way he can, and he hopes to learn new techniques that will bolster his career.
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- The last chef that we interviewed was Brayan Hernandez. His goals for the future are to be an innovator in the kitchen and to bring his culture to the modern world. He is currently working on a concept speakeasy restaurant that will be opening in the future at 2020 Walnut Street.
Class began with an informative lesson on healthy foods by Cavuto. On the agenda were the differences between healthy and unhealthy fats, carbohydrates, and proteins at length before leading a discussion on different dietary restrictions that are trending today. Cavuto stressed that it is easy to eat great tasting food that is also healthy. For the bulk of the class, the students worked with Cavuto to make five colorful grain salads.
Check back next week when we talk to the rest of the program’s students and what the chefs did in class two.
Cook Masters Program [Cook by Audrey Claire]
