The Loft by Longos

After reading Tamara M.‘s ROTD for The Loft, I became intrigued and went on-​line to see what this place was all about. Living in Mid Town, the closest Loft location is at Laird and Eglinton — most classes here seem to take place during the day (when most of us without a trustfund are at work). Luckily, Longo’s offers their cooking classes at various locations around the GTA.
I attended a cooking class last night at the York Street location. From 7:00 to 8:30, I learned about foods for optimum health (incorporating good foods into your diet, how to ensure a proper functioning immune system etc.). It’s a small space so I assume that classes are usually not that big. The class I attended had three students (myself included), which was great!
Some perks:
— small classes
— reasonable fees
— information and recipe package provided
— free parking
I will definitely check out other classes here.
Yay, I’m a fan.

«Gather, cook and learn» is the motto behind The Loft cooking classes at Longos. It is an enclosed space near Starbucks and Corks wine bar at the back of the store and can accommodate up to about 20 people taking the class. The kitchen area looked professional, similar to what you might see on those cooking shows like Rachel Ray, where you have a large overhead mirror reflecting what the chef is doing on the stovetop. The class I took was part of the Longos Chef series, where we learned to make summer tapas with Chef Luis Valenzuela of Toritos Tapas Bar in Kensington (as a side note, Chef Luis won the most authentic taco in a taco takedown competition at this summer’s Hot and Spicy festival at Harbourfront!).
The menu looked delicious and consisted of hors d’oeurves, tapas and dessert, with highlights being the lightly poached oysters with olives and lemon, smoked ceviche, tortilla Espanola, dates with almond and manchego cheese wrapped in double smoked bacon, and the ultimate main dish: paella with mussels, clams, scallops, chorizo and chicken. Keep in mind that the cooking classes are demonstration style but as we were only a group of six, we were able to gather around the preparation area to try our hand at shucking oysters as well as getting to see the ceviche being smoked outside. The class was kept informal and interactive as questions and comments were welcomed, and I found it useful that ingredient substitutes were given as alternative suggestions if you don’t happen to have exact ingredients in the recipes. It was also interesting to hear about Chef Luis’s stories and experiences around food and how it relates to the environment and culture, North American vs. European views towards cooking.
And lastly, I can’t forget about the two helpers. One was the wine expert introducing the wines that pair with each dish (loved the Cave Spring late harvest Riesling!) and topping up our glasses, while the other helper kept filling up our plates with food to sample and clearing them quickly for the next course. Both were friendly and kept the conversations rolling throughout the class.
The three hour class flew by as it was both fun and informative, not too mention absolutely delicious! Highly recommend :)
Note: everyone was stuffed by the end of class from sampling all the dishes but we weren’t allowed to take food home due to a food safety policy from Longos. So for all those thinking of bringing tupperware containers like at TUM and food truck events, just leave them at home!