Get Cooking

What an awesome experience. I highly recommend a
class for yourself or as an awesome gift. No really, you have to do this.
Chef Rylan Krause, of Mercury Room fame, gave great presentations and shared his knowledge freely. Chef Richard (Rage Catering) was demonstrating knife skills to the group, hope to hold it, how to sharpen a knife correctly and helped with plating and prep. Chef Jade (often found at 124 Market) made a really slammin’ Thai salad as the first course and talked about the ingredients and her influences. All 3 of them prepared and plated the dishes we ate (yes, you get to eat the meals, drink their carefully selected wine pairings and grill them for inside tips, some I got to taste more than once!) and the wine glasses were kept full along the way, yes, full and happy.
It was surreal, like some kind of dream culinary spa. I left feeling empowered, so relaxed, and quite full. Everyone was smiling and having fun.
Overall, the most challenging part was finding where the parking garage is at MacEwan, and that wasn’t really very hard since the tickets provided a map and they give you a parking pass before you go.
For just under $ 150 bucks per person, those arrived solo and made friends over a glass of wine or four, couples enjoyed a great date night. You’ll have a great time, all of the Chefs were so friendly, approachable and talkative it was like being invited to their home to watch them cook for awhile. I can’t believe how much fun it was. 4 hours of chatty local Chefs, wine and good food. What’s not to like? Hint hint, there’s s special Christmas menu class coming up ;)
The presentations were very light, open-​ended and as hands-​on as you would like to be, or not. We got to practice cutting carrots into juliennes, cubes etc and because of my wife’s input we got to make carrot flowers of different sizes.
While one course is being plated, the cooking station is being tidied for the next course. Each step of the class was laid out in the handout at the beginning, which comes in a nice folder with the menu and full recipes and wine pairings.
Basically after you leave here, you’ve had an awesome meal, rubbed shoulders with some talented YEG Chefs and they have given you their recipes for everything you just watched/​helped them make. Now go home and do it yourself for a small group of 10 or so friends and look like a hero, seriously.
Check out their upcoming classes, some of the special annual classes are a bit more but they are 6 hours long, it’s a whole day long course for under $ 200. Edmonton, fork-​yeah!
The class I took was actually vegan, though you wouldn’t have been able to tell, except maybe by the non dairy salted chocolate mousse with coconut cream at the end. Yes, we even got dessert. Boom. Your Encephalon Literally Popped. (Y.E.L.P.)
a.k.a your mind is blown. I just blew your mind twice there, see how I did that?

Ever dream of taking a seat in the kitchen of your favourite cooking show? Then this experience is for you! Get Cooking’s kitchen is stylish and cozy, just the right size to accommodate an intimate group (typically 16 people). Seating for all, right up at the demo kitchen, as well as back at the dinning area. Expert chefs on hand to wine, dine, educate and entertain you!
Their catch phrase is «Think Local. Cook Global.» which I think fits the bill well. A quick look through their offerings will certainly prove that they provide world-​wide-​ranging variety… and once in the class, you’ll be impressed with the chefs’ knowledge of local sources.
Most of the classes are held in the evening, but they offer some weekend daytime classes as well. A casual mix of demonstration and hands-​on for those who want to be more involved. Some classes are more hands-​on than others, but no skill level is required. I recently attended «A Vegan Vacation with Chef Rylan Kause» (of Mercury Room), and the the only part that was hands-​on, apart from the eating) was the knife skills with chef Richard Toll (thankfully before anyone had much wine). The three chefs instructing us (there are typically 2 – 3) seemed flexible in this department and went with the flow of the group. The third instructor we had was the warm and cheerful Chef Jade Wu.
Yes, these are cooking classes, but they provide the most value if you think of them as a night out: A dinner of **fantastic** food (every single morsel I had was mouthwatering), perfectly paired with the right wine, you learn something new, and are entertained for 4 hours. At the time of this posting, the cost is $ 139 for the average class. This also includes a voucher to cover parking ($ 8 value).
For the class I attended there was Green Papaya Salad (paired with 2011 Nett Riesling Trocken), Black Bean Tostadas, served with corn salsa and sourkraut (paired with 2013 Lucien Lardy Côte du Py), Chickpea Tajine (paired with 2013 Rizieri Sorì del Ricchino Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba), and for dessert there was B52Mousse topped with coconut whipped cream. Wine consultancy provided by Entori and all wines are available at ‘7 Degrees Beer Wine Spirits’. I’m a bit of a lightweight when it comes to wine, but will happily drink it, especially when it goes with what I’m eating so nicely, so I’m especially thankful for the resource folder full of the recipes used and details that I took home at the end of the night. Chef Toll noted that a discount can be had at Evoolution by presenting the resource packet, but I think it’s a bit much to bother to carry around.
Founder Kathryn Joel has put her heart and soul into these classes, having started them out of her own home even, and it truly shows. It is apparent, in fact, just by visiting the Get Cooking Edmonton website, which is meticulously upkept, new classes are constantly added and questions are answered quickly. Booking a class is extremely easy as well. A pleasant experience from start to finish — choosing your class through to the end of the evening of the class, like the perfect host she is, Kathryn has pretty much thought of it all. The only tip I could have for you is to not load on a huge coat when you’re heading over in winter ’cause the coat rack at the back of the room would not be able to accommodate 16 parkas.

Get Cooking is a great addition to the Edmonton food scene. They provide cooking classes with a global flair, using local ingredients.
I was lucky enough to attend a history of cocktails class; we learned to make classic cocktails like Old Fashioneds and Hot Buttered Rum and got small bites of delicious food to go along with each drink.
We made 7 drinks in total, and 5 of them were full size, 2oz drinks — so I would advise not driving to the class, because you will not be driving home.
The classes are in a gorgeous space at The residences at Grant Macewan, so there’s plenty of parking, and I believe they even validate as well.
The classes are kind of pricey, but you learn a new skill and eat great food, and it also doubles as a fun date night.
The classes are held in the evening, but if you can pop in to their coffee counter during the day, you get yourself a latte and a sandwich for lunch as well.