With more than 60 cooking shows on various channels, an entire food television network and chefs reaching celebrity status faster than Hollywood stars, it’s no surprise that food and lifestyle are often the main ingredients in our entertainment. Now all of this is live and in person, with award-winning appliance distributor Clarke opening The Clarke Culinary Center, a school within its South Norwalk, CT showroom that will offer cooking and home lifestyle classes. Clarke plans to open a second Clarke Culinary Center in its Massachusetts showroom in January 2010.
“We have long offered cooking classes for customers who purchase Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances through one of our retail dealers,” explained Tom Clarke, president and CEO of the award-winning luxury appliance distribution company. “These demonstrations were designed to educate customers about the features available within their newly purchased appliances. However, we’ve always been asked if we have cooking classes open to the pubic, so we’ve remodeled our South Norwalk facility to do just that and launched our Chef’s Secrets Series this fall. We will also be expanding the series to include wine tastings, flower arranging and other personal lifestyle classes.”
While Clarke has acclaimed in-house chefs, the new series showcases the knowledge and skill of local celebrity chefs and lifestyle experts in Southern Connecticut. “We’re pleased to have Jean-Louis Gerin of Restaurant Jean-Louis in Greenwich; Matt Storch, partner and head chef of Match in South Norwalk; and Julia Deane, founder of Culinary Works and resident chef at Kitchens by Deane, as our chef-hosts for the initial phase of our Chef’s Secrets Series,” said Clarke. “We are talking to chefs and other lifestyle experts daily who are interested in offering classes in our Culinary Center and we have plans to expand the offering as it gains popularity.”
Matt Storch, who offered one of the first cooking classes in September, said about the experience, “It doesn’t get better than this…showing, teaching and feeding people the art that I love in a gorgeous setting with top of the line equipment.” Storch returned in November to share “Baking Stone Magic” and the inside scoop on “Creative Thanksgiving Cooking,” just in time for the holidays.
“Clarke's Culinary Center elevates your passion for cooking,” said Julia Deane, whose September class was filled with enthusiastic women enjoying a night out. “The design and functionality of the space creates an energetic place to relax, learn new recipes and a few culinary tips.” Deane returned in October to share Modern Mexican cooking techniques, as well as a kid-friendly Halloween Cookie & Cupcake party.
Jean-Louis Gerin, whose Greenwich, CT restaurant was chosen by Forbes Traveler as one of the 10 most romantic restaurants in the U.S. in 2009, kicked off the Chef’s Secret Series by demystifying French cooking for Southern Connecticut homeowners. He prepared braised chicken with herbs, a mosaic of vegetables, sole mousse, vegetables in saffron bullion and his grandmother’s chocolate mousse dessert. The Clarke Culinary Center offers a unique opportunity for home chefs to learn from a craftsman who won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef in the Northeast.”
Clarke plans to expand the Culinary Center to include a second location in their Milford, MA showroom in 2010, having hosted not only many noted chefs for events there over the years, but also providing a complete television kitchen studio for taping Chef Ming Tsai’s popular public television programs.
“Some of the finest chefs in the world have cooked in our showrooms,” said Clarke General Manager Sean Clarke, “now we’re working with them to share their secrets with home cooks who crave this knowledge. We’re all about food and home design and this is a logical next step.”
For more information on Clarke’s Culinary Centers and the schedule of upcoming classes, visit www.clarkeculinarycenter.com online or call 800-842-5275, ext. 206.
