Cook Like A Pro At The Gervasi Cucina

 

If you've ever wanted to become chef for a day, creating culinary cuisines and learning tricks of the trade that will impress your family and friends, look no further than Gervasi Vineyard in Canton. You can make that cooking dream a reality by booking a class at The Cucina, a fully-equpped professional kitchen located on site at the Villa Grande.Classes are completely hands on, letting you be in control of the preparation and cooking process, while being guided step-by-step by one of the restaurant's experienced chef instructors. Not only that, you get to sit down with your classmates and enjoy the meal you created, paired perfectly with one of the many fine wines from Gervasi's vineyard. In addition, you get to take home the coveted black and red apron!

Most all classes have slots available for up to 16 students, and are typically about 3 hours in length. Most take place primarily in the spring, fall and winter months. This is because the kitchen you use as the classroom is also a fully functioning kitchen used to cater weddings and special events that take place at Gervasi. It's exciting to be in the middle of the action, as real chefs and cooks are creating magic just a few feet away from you!



There's an incredible amount of classes offered, all with an equally enticing theme. You can sign up to learn how to make "kneadlessly" simple breads, artisan pastas, or wood-fired pizzas. You can get a bit more adventurous with a sushi-making class, or a course dedicated to chilis and stews. You might want to consider sampling specific worldly cuisines, like Mexican, Italian or French! Cool new classes are always popping up, and there is something for everybody! Classes fill up very quickly, so if you see something you like, don't hesitate to book your spot immediatey!

Being a frequent flyer at all three of Gervasi's amazing restaurants (The Crush House, The Piazza, and The Bistro), and being a budding chef in my own home kitchen, I had been wanting to attend a culinary class at The Cucina for quite some time. I had the chance to be a student this October in the "Great Fall Grilling" class with Chef Meg Feller as my instructor. The high quality and elegance you'd expect from any of Gervasi's establishments is found throughout your cooking experience at The Cucina.

On the menu for our grilling extravaganza was: brown suger and bourbon flank steak, citrus and basil cedar plank salmon, grilled sweet potato salad with honey mustard vinaigrette, lemon parmesan grilled brussels sprouts, and grilled pear and almond packets with vanilla ice cream! This lengthy list allowed for us to cook side dishes, main courses, and a dessert - all using our newly acquired skills on the grill. 

Chef Feller taught us many things, including how to skin a salmon fillet, how to check the temperature of your meat (and what the appropriate temperatures should be), how to properly slice and dice our various ingredients, and more. We were also taught how to use cedar planks while grilling our salmon in order to get a bold flavor, and she introduced us to some cool utensils, like ceramic knives!

After our cooking was complete, we plated our meals and chowed down. It was a great feeling to know that we were responsible for cooking these gourmet restaurant-quality dishes ourselves! I'm looking forward to attending even more classes to build upon my chef skills!