At Your Service
The holidays outside the box: unique gift ideas for your favorite culinarians
Fri., Dec. 3, 2004
Craig Thibodeau Domestic Arts 656-9906, [email protected]
When the myriad details and pressures of today's busy world become too overwhelming, we sometimes fantasize about hiring someone who could organize our life, manage the household, tend the pets when we're out of town, make sophisticated and informed interior design suggestions, wrangle the remodeling contractors, or plan and execute a cocktail party. Would it really be possible to find one person equipped with the panoply of skills necessary to provide all these services, you ask? Craig Thibodeau can do it all, and he's available! With his new company, Domestic Arts, Craig is putting all his creative talents and his years of hospitality management experience at the public's disposal. He's the go-to guy who can solve any and all household, design, and hospitality problems. – V.B.W.
The Knife Sharpest
4703 Burnet Rd., 467-9763I often find myself cooking in other people's kitchens, and I learned long ago to always bring along my own knife. Why? Because the condition of most knives in most kitchens is abysmal. And trying to cut anything with a dull knife is tedious, hard work yielding unsatisfactory results, not to mention the fact that you're much more likely to cut yourself with a dull blade rather than a sharp one.
Keeping knives in peak condition is a skill that few people cultivate anymore, although a sharp, serviceable knife undoubtedly is the most valuable and useful tool in anyone's batterie de cuisine. Fortunately, there are people who specialize in keeping knives sharp, so how about saving your loved ones' fingers with the gift of sharpened knives for a holiday present?
Graham Stuckey of the Knife Sharpest has been in the knife-sharpening business for 15 years, and he'll fix up kitchen knives for $3 apiece ($4 for serrated). He not only offers gift certificates, but he'll also bring a mobile unit to what he calls "backyard get-togethers," where a group of friends or neighbors gather for a knife-sharpening party. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? – MM Pack
Gardening, Herbs, and Landscaping
Native Design Group, 680-5957It's About Thyme, 280-1192
Big Red Sun, 480-9749
My choice of a service to provide for friends (or yourself for that matter) is one that will keep on giving for years to come, and will greatly benefit your culinary prowess. There are several nurseries and landscape companies that can come to the house, take some measurements, consult with the occupants about what and how they cook, figure out how bad the deer herbivory problem might be (although deer hate herbs), and install an herb garden, a kitchen garden, or an edible landscape.
For a kitchen garden or an herb garden, it will get used more often if it's located close to the cooking area, so it's easy to harvest while being close to the stove. For herbs and vegetables in general, you want an area that gets full sun and has good drainage. Surprisingly, there is a huge range of herbs and veggies that can be grown in Austin, and our mild winters enable a lush crop year-round, even for annual plants. You just need to determine what you'd actually use if it were installed.
Edible landscapes involve the use of plants with decorative value that also provide kitchen use: fruit trees, large- to medium-scale herbs (bay laurel, Mexican oregano, rosemary, annuals, etc.). It's surprising how decorative a row of the multicolored "Northern Lights" Chard looks in the landscape, and being able to go out and harvest leaves at will is frosting on the cake.
Figuring out how much you want to spend is the first big step, and it can range anywhere from a large planted pot all the way up to a big installation. Next is determining the possibilities of what's desired versus the limitations of the site.
– Mick Vann
Seasons of My Heart Cooking School Culinary Getaway
Susana Trilling, directorRancho Aurora, AP #42, Admon. 3
Oaxaca, 68101, Mexico
011 52 951/518-7726
If you are looking for the perfect gift for a lover of indigenous Mexican culture and cuisine, I recommend classes at Seasons of My Heart cooking school in Oaxaca. Their yearly schedule includes several options.
One-day classes include a visit to a nearby village, mercado, and craft person's home or shop. Then, it's back to the cooking school for feast preparations using recipes honoring the village visited earlier that day.
The long weekend or weeklong class options are the way to go. You will see markets, craftsmen, and fiestas, and you'll get to know the village culture. The places you'll see just won't be found in guidebooks. During the longer classes, odds are good that you will make cheese, chocolate, and many other local delicacies by hand. The week culminates in a fiesta dinner with specialties from the villages surrounding Oaxaca City.
For mushroom lovers, I suggest a foraging class. We spent a day in the cloud forest in a village called Cuajimoloyas. Here, the indigenous population runs ecotourism tours through land they collectively own. Our guide helped us gather lunch and demonstrated how to tap the mushroom and replace the loam so that next year more mushrooms will grow in the same area. After foraging, we were treated to a feast using our gathered mushrooms, cooked in our guide's home.
What makes Susana's classes different from other cooking classes is that you feel a part of the local culture. It isn't sterile; it sometimes takes you out of your comfort zone, and you become part of whatever village you are visiting. She teaches the authentic ingredients needed to make the dishes truly Oaxacan, but then will help you with substitutions so you can re-create the magic of Oaxaca back home. – Amber O'Connor
The Soup Peddler
www.souppeddler.comHot soup delivered to the doorstep is the perfect gift to give sick friends, new mothers, or people who are just too busy to cook for themselves, but nevertheless appreciate real, homemade food. Cyclist, environmentalist, chef, and foodie David Ansel has been bicycle-delivering his delicious soups in Austin for three years. A proponent of the slow-food movement, Ansel tries to use seasonal, organic ingredients in all his soups. Recent soups include Cedar Key chowder, mushroom barley, and spicy Moroccan harira soup. Get on their e-mail list, or go to their Web site to find out what's cooking each week. Then place your order by e-mail. The soup peddler delivers to most inner-city neighborhoods. Pick-up at their store on South First can be arranged for those who live outside of central Austin. Soup comes in half-gallon portions (5-6 servings) and ranges from $15-20. – Rachel Feit
Is La Varenne the Best Gift Ever?
Food and travel are perfectly paired for holiday gift-giving. Austin foodies with a taste for adventure of the culinary kind can immerse themselves in three- and five-day cooking programs at La Varenne in Burgundy, France, this summer with celebrated cookbook author Anne Willan.
Students are guests in Willan's home, a magnificent 17th-century chateau surrounded by 100 acres of rolling hills overlooking the Yonne River valley and located about 90 miles south of Paris. Château du Feÿ is equipped with a fully outfitted cooking school, swimming pool, gardens, and tennis court. The programs include cooking classes, cheese and wine tastings, artisan bread-baking demonstrations and excursions to vineyards, French markets, and Michelin-starred restaurants.
Cooking classes are designed for the home chef and include hands-on and demo classes with a focus on French cooking techniques. The program is all-inclusive excluding travel to/from Paris. Students are picked up in Paris and whisked away to the chateau where days are spent eating, drinking, cooking, and shopping while gaining firsthand experience of today's food and wine scene in France with Willan as an amicable and knowledgeable guide.
In 2005, the five-day La Varenne Master Class program will be July 3-8 and Sept. 11-16 for $3,245 per person. The three-day Taste of Burgundy program will be June 19-22, July 10-13, and Sept. 4-7 for $1,675 per person. For more information, contact Cathy Cochran-Lewis at 322-9743 or www.lavarenne.com. – Cathy Cochran-Lewis
LIQUID ASSETS
Texas Wine Tours
329-7007, www.texaswinetours.comOne of the never-ending problems for those of us who love to visit wineries is finding a designated driver. Everyone in the car wants to sample the wares, but a 5-oz. glass of wine has exactly the same kick as a shot of tequila, so a driver can become impaired pretty quickly. One of my favorite services, Texas Wine Tours, solves the problem. For about $80 a person, they will cart you around in luxury for a full day, and they even arrange special tours and tastings along the way. They have developed an excellent rapport with the wineries, so you get an extra bit of attention when they drive up. Half- or full-day packages are available and vary by the size and style of transport. The best nexus between luxury and price is to put together a group of eight and rent their stretch limo for $75 per person for an eight-hour day. Got a big group? They have a 24-passenger bus that ends up costing about $20 per person for the day. There are a few extra costs involved – the wineries charge tasting fees, you'll have to pay for your lunch, and you'll want to give the driver a tip – but all of these costs will melt away the first time you feel a buzz and realize someone else is doing the driving.
– Wes Marshall
Greg Steiner Cellar Services
784-1352, [email protected]For those of you whose dot-com bubble never burst, here is the ultimate service for the wine aficionado. Local wine expert Greg Steiner (co-founder of GrapeVine Market) sits down with you to find out what your tastes are, what you know about wine, and how adventurous you are, then he sets up a monthly purchasing budget. From there, he stocks your wine cellar, balancing the inventory among wines you love and wines he thinks you'll grow to love, while making sure you have wines that are drinkable now as well as wines for aging. He puts every wine into a personalized database that includes descriptions of what the wine tastes like, where it came from, how much it cost, and what food it goes with, and then prints out a restaurant-style wine list for you to wow your friends with. If that's not enough, he sends out daily educational e-mails, offers custom menu consultations, and throws in a quarterly in-home class for you and your friends. If you are a doctor or lawyer or such, plan on working a couple of hours extra a month to pay for the service. – W.M.
COOKING CLASSES
Each of the following offers gift certificates.
Central Market Cooking School
North Lamar at 40th, 458-3068One of the best cooking schools in the nation, Central Market offers a wide variety of classes, including demonstration, hands-on, and interactive classes, as well as some with international celebrity chefs.
Culinary Academy of Austin
2823 Hancock Dr., 451-5743www.culinaryacademyofaustin.com
Courses include hands-on demonstration and preparation. Topics include kitchen basics, regional cuisine, holiday menus, and baking and pastry techniques.
Gina's Kitchen
917 W. 12th, 236-0705Owner Gina Burchenal calls her classes "food-related entertainment." They can create classes for events like bridal showers, office team-building, and kids' parties.
Batter Up Kids
342-8682Saturday and Sunday afternoon classes for kids 5-12 years of age. Classes have a special cooking or baking theme. Custom theme classes are available.
All in One Bake Shop
8566 Research Blvd., 371-3401Specialty baking classes for groups with fewer than 16 people. Learn anything from basic cake frosting to making gingerbread houses and wedding cakes.
Cooking by Design
431-8751Chef Beth Pav offers a wide range of fun and informative cooking classes in an intimate setting in the Texas Hill Country.
Grape Vine Market
7938 Great Northern Blvd., 323-5900Offering food, wine, and cooking courses, including wine and food pairings, as well as their awesome Grape Vine University for that special wine enthusiast on your list.
The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts
1701 Toomey Rd., 476-2276Vegan and vegetarian cooking classes, guest lectures, and seminars for people interested in an alternative approach to food, nutrition, health, and healing.
Málaga Tapas & Bar
208 W. Fourth, 236-8020Chef Alex Durán teaches fun, intimate, inexpensive cooking and wine classes, including paella-making. The new season starts the second week in January.
Cooking Classes by Marilyn Scher
100 Kristy Dr., 328-6622Former dessert chef from Jeffrey's teaches small cooking classes in her own home, with an emphasis on basics and simple, exciting, everyday cooking.
La Cucina Cooking School
11900 Colleyville Dr., 402-1273Chef Joan Wood specializes in private Italian and Mediterranean cooking classes for small groups, either at her home or yours. Personalized classes available upon request.
Thai Cooking With Jam
694-9796Authentic Thai cooking classes by a native Thai chef in your own home. Classes are for three to eight people, and include a three- or four-course dinner and an optional Asian grocery tour. – Claudia Alarcón
