Cooking Classes at Ramekins in Sonoma

[james]

If you are looking for a wood-fired cooking class, along with a nice place to stay in Sonoma country, we have a plan.

We have made a partnership with Ramekins Culinary School to offer brick oven cooking classes. We are installing a Forno Bravo oven at their facility and they are adding wood-fired cooking to their course work. Ramekins is a well-known and well-respected school for foodies. They are located in Sonoma Valley (about 40 mintues from Forno Bravo) and have a nice B&B -- they even won the Cooking School of the Year award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 2005. They have hosted John Ash, Jacques Pepin and Tony Gemignani, among others.

If you are interested in learning more, you can either contact us, or Mary Karlin at Ramekins.

Mary Karlin
Ramekins Sonoma Valley Culinary School
450 West Spain Street
Sonoma, California 95476
Telephone: 707-933-0450
Fax: 707-933-0451
www.ramekins.com

There are more details here:

http://fornobravo.com/company/ramekins.html

We will still be offering cooking classes at Forno Bravo (in fact the stucco is drying at our demo kitchen now that the rain has paused). Look into both options and see if either works for you.

If you have a question, just contact me.
James

[CanuckJim]

James,

It's a great shame I live so far from the West Coast. Both classes sound very good indeed. Maybe you could set up a travelling school?

I have a separate question related to this thread category. I've gone through several cheapo instant read probe thermometers for use with my bread baking. They have three characteristics: 1. they don't last very long, 2. they're very, very slow (about 30 seconds), 3. the accuracy is questionable.

Recently, I've read about something called a Thermapik thermometer. Made in England, the blog is that it will read the temperature in two seconds flat and is super accurate up to 500F. Problem is, it's pricey: around $90 US, but I've already spent that much on junky ones. I'd invest in it, if what they say is true, for the speed, accuracy, and, I presume, longevity. Anybody know anything about it? Any cheaper place to get one?

Thanks,
Jim

[stuart]

Sounds great! I've emailed Ramekin for more info, but in the interim James, any general idea of when these classes will start?

[james]

They are starting in the next couple of weeks. The plan is that they are working wood-fired cooking into their regular schedule of classes, taking advantage of it wherever they can. I just got my copy of the spring/summer course catalog -- which I am sure they will send you.

James

[Unoblondie]

I see the class in Sonoma and would consider flying out there to attend. Is there anyway a weekend course with several classes could be arrnaged to make it worth the trip for those of us coming from far away?

[james]

Ciao Uno,

Why don't you contact Mary Karlin directly. I don't know if they can put a custom class together to extend one of their scheduled classes. I will ask her as well.

On a related note, we are going to have some good news on Italian brick oven cooking classes in Florence, starting this fall. If anyone is planning travel to Italy this fall onward, let me know.

James