If I told you I flew 500 miles to make a crouton, you'd think I was pulling your leg, but that's essentially what I did. In February, I flew from Manhattan to Amelia Island, Florida for a 2-day cooking class and spent a good portion of Day 1 on that crouton. Actually, it took a team of 4 people to make the crouton, including one supervising cook.
Elsewhere in this class, a man worked for an hour scrubbing the bones of an elk rack (he'd been told they would gleam once they hit the grill). A woman spent nearly as long cutting apples into "textured slices." Like most of the class, both were nearly 70 years old and drinking mimosas while they cooked. Some students stopped cooking altogether on Day 2, preferring to mingle, while others fawned over the master chef, not unlike groupies.
The theme of the course: "Aphrodisiac Cooking." Yet no cooking demos were given. And at the end of this course, we were given a group photo and a small box of salt.
It may not sound like a sexy experience, but would you believe that this is one of the finest (and friendliest) gourmet cooking classes on the East Coast?
The Course
This class takes place five times a year at Salt, a Frommer's 3-star (and AAA Five Diamond) restaurant at the Amelia Island Ritz Carlton, 4750 Amelia Island Parkway (tel. 904/277-1028; www.ritzcarlton.com/ameliaisland), on the northeast tip of Florida. (This Salt is not related to the restaurants in Manhattan.)
I received a press invitation to the class, and the theme intrigued me, though I didn't know much about the course or the restaurant. Salt, I quickly caught on, specializes in salts from around the world. That box of gift salt was actually a real treat -- a rare Hawaiian "Hiwa Kai" that pairs well with tuna.
It turns out that cooking rare and intricate things is what they do at Salt, and they do it exceedingly well. Those croutons were no chunks of stale bread; they were cubes of Béarnaise sauce that we coated in panko crumbs and fried -- so when you bit into them they oozed delicious Béarnaise. Way more foods should do this. (For a slideshow of how to make these "Béarnaise croutons," click here.) They were part of a dish of "grilled Australian Waygu rib-eye with purple potatoes and a smear of asparagus sauce." The Waygu, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, was clearly the main attraction, though our crouton team liked to think otherwise.
Many of the dishes were straight off the restaurant's menu and complex like this, which felt like a welcome sign our class was getting the full Salt experience (albeit with mimosas in lieu of the cutthroat pressures of professional cooking). Indeed, Chef Richard Gras told me he wanted to give us "the real feel of the kitchen," which is why he avoids cooking demos. Instead we worked in teams with printed recipes and supervising cooks, and attempted entrées such as "black truffle crusted scallops with champagne saffron foam in cauliflower soup"; and "tempura-fried Florida frog legs with caramelized banana, cashews, mint, and hot sesame oil"; and "vanilla-poached Maine lobster with Georgia grits, apple in textures, and pink pepper oil." All were daunting on paper but manageable in groups.
The Tools
We worked in Salt's kitchen and used all their equipment, including their staff's personal knives. Mine said "Ricky" on the handle. This is a generous gesture from any cook.
We also worked with some more unusual gadgets, or, as I thought of them, "toys for foodies." This Ritz has one tricked-out kitchen. For the Béarnaise, we skipped the double-boiler you might use at home (to gently heat the eggs and butter) and went straight for the Thermomix, a $1,500 processer that quickly whipped our organic ingredients into shape. Later, while waiting for our sauce to freeze, I helped a chef with a curious plastic contraption used to make caviar-sized pellets; we made "cucumber caviar." Another group blasted their striped marlin with a "smoking gun."
For my Day 2 entrée, I used a flavorless powder called "meat glue" (or Transglutaminase), which can effectively paste your proteins together if you need them to hold a certain shape. We wrapped Florida rabbit saddles around some intensely aromatic wild rice that had been cooked in foie gras, then "glued" them into tube form. Gras buys many of these toys and powders at www.chefrubber.com, and he turns instantly giddy when talking about them. (Okay, I admit the caviar machine made me giddy, too.)
The Chef
Gras often gets excited when talking about food. In a class without large-scale demos, he comes across as the kitchen's head cheerleader, someone who's sincerely eager to show off his gadgets and talk about his favorite recipes and ingredients, without ever coming across as self-promoting. This is refreshing in an industry full of ego, attitude, and Hell's Kitchen-esque temper tantrums. As a teacher, Gras might be the anti-Gordon Ramsey.
It's no wonder that he attracts those "groupies," who were actually very sweet locals and experienced cooks in their own right. Several have taken the course at the Ritz since it began in 1996, with chefs such as Matthew Medure and Jordi Vallès, so they've seen the school evolve. They say Gras -- Chef de Cuisine since October 2007 -- has taken the course to "a new, more personable level."
I asked Gras about the class's "Aphrodisiac" theme, and he produced a packet of amusing facts: "Nutmeg was highly prized by Chinese women as an aphrodisiac"; "basil is said to stimulate the sex drive and boost fertility"; and "the Aztecs called the avocado tree Ahuacuatl which translated means 'testicle tree.'"
Most of the class didn't see this list, so they had no idea they were poaching those lobsters with "lust-enhancing" vanilla, for example. This makes the class a bit of a get-what-you-put-into-it situation. You'll learn the most if you talk and cook with Gras for a bit, though all of the cooks are quick to offer tips and answer questions. At the other end of the spectrum, some students stopped cooking altogether. On Day 2, a woman in her 60s, mimosa in hand, cheerfully declared, "I just don't feel like cooking today. I'm going to watch."
The Feasts
After a few hours of cooking -- or not cooking -- it was back to the dining room for an elaborate 7-course meal served with wine. Day 1, we dined restaurant-style with individual plates, while Day 2 we ate family-style off of platters. We had the option to dash back to the kitchen to plate our team's dish just before it was served, though we didn't give input into the plating. About half the class did this.
Time for the moment of truth: Had we really recreated those Five Diamond entrees? Would the food hold up, or would it fall apart on our plates like some sad Project Runway gown that pops a few buttons on the catwalk? Would the croutons really ooze Béarnaise sauce? Would the bones on that elk rack gleam? Would the "meat glue" hold?
We ate through 14 courses in 2 days, and our self-review was unanimous: we were clearly worthy of those diamonds. The butternut squash ravioli was perfectly al dente; the vanilla lobster was fragrant and tender; and all the local ingredients the cooks had effused over -- including the Logan Mill grits from Georgia -- were exceptional. Everything oozed, sparkled, and glued according to plan. Only a few dishes seemed average, especially some of the more straightforward desserts. The rabbit dish was rich and flavorful, but even Gras acknowledged that the meat was a bit tough.
The meal seemed more rich and decadent than "aphrodisiac," though any of these dishes might woo a significant other. They certainly charmed this class. Over a long, lively meal with wine, people exchanged compliments and pointed out their contributions ("I did the saffron foam!"). Some were surprised by our success and the caliber of the food, though it was clear that the kitchen had carefully steered us to excellence-- tasting a bit here, adding salt there. We hadn't cooked without a net.
Many wondered how some of the more involved, expensive dishes would translate at home. A delicious arugula salad with Serrano ham and feta-stuffed dates seemed the easiest to recreate. Some said they'd simplify the recipes and cut a few ingredients. Others said they would never buy rabbit or elk (though, to their credit, the cooks had often suggested chicken, steak, and other substitutions).
During inspired meals filled with superlatives, this was their only criticism-- that the course was less about cooking at home and ultimately more about getting a taste of the big time in a professional setting.
But what a taste it was. You'll have a hard time finding another restaurant of this caliber that opens its kitchen doors like this to you -- or one with croutons as tasty.
Signing Up
They're booked for 2008, but the Ritz just released their 2009 course schedule. Only two of these are currently on the Ritz calendar, but you can register for all five:
- Feb 25 & 26: Aphrodisiac Cooking
- April 22 & 23: Fantastic Spring and Nutritional Cooking
- June 17 & 18: Barbecue Around the World
- Aug 12 & 13: American Barbecue (basting, smoking, grilling)
- Dec 16 & 17: Holiday Classics
Each class has less than 30 spots, so they'll fill up quickly. Call tel. 904/277-1028 or log onto www.ritzcarlton.com/ameliaisland.
The price is a reasonable $339 per person, not including hotel costs. You can also get a 2-night hotel package deal starting at $669 for one person and $849 for two. (Package rates will vary slightly by date.) Ritz Carlton hotel rooms normally start at $199 (coastal view double) and $409 (ocean view double), so the package is also a bargain. As a comparison, you'd pay $650 for a 2-day class at the French Culinary Institute in New York, plus hotel.
The Amelia Island Ritz Carlton: Tips
- The hotel/class package includes 2 nights, but I recommend you request a deal on a third night. After a long leisurely 7-course lunch with wine, students grumbled about having to pack up and ship out.
- The property has everything you'd expect from a Ritz on the beach: pools, hot tubs, surfing lessons ($50), a modest gym with yoga space, restaurants, sports bar, etc., plus play rooms where you can dump your kids (one with a supervisor).
- The gigantic, labyrinth-like spa is worthy of a splurge. I thought it would be funny to stick with the food theme for my treatments, and then I found myself the stuffing of a "Honey Butter Wrap." It was surprisingly soothing and included a full body massage (120 minutes for $290). The "Chocoate Facial" (60 minutes for $185) sounds like a recipe for acne but is anti-oxidant rich and okay for sensitive skin. A more budget-friendly spa "Day Pass" ($25) lets you use indoor pools, saunas, jacuzzis, and lounge areas.
- Friday nights at 5:30pm: Rum toast in the lobby with the hotel pirate and parrot. (Pirates once lorded over Amelia Island.)
- Note that the property seemed virtually empty in early February, when I attended. If you're looking for a more bustling scene, plan for spring or summer.
- Taxi northwest to the Fernandino Beach town area. If you still have room for food, local students (and our Frommer's Florida author) swear by Le Clos, 20 South 2nd St. (tel. 904/261-8100; www.leclos.com) and 29 South, 29 South 3rd St. (tel. 904/277-7919; www.29southrestaurant.com).
For more information on getting to and exploring Amelia Island, click here.