De Gustibus Cooking School: Behind the Scenes

Welcome back foodies! On March 19th I had the opportunity to come into Melissa Clark's De Gustibus Class to prepare the food for the whole day. When I walked into De Gustibus's kitchen, excitement overtook me. I was greeted by the general manager, Amaral, who invited me to come in weeks ago. Next the wonderful owner of De Gustibus, Sal Rizzo, came over to say hello. Emmy, who is the office manager of De Gustibus, welcomed me too. De Gustibus Cooking School is such a well-oiled machine, run by such amazing people.

Amaral gave me my chefs jacket, an apron and a shot of espresso to get us going. Then we began cooking. We were preparing for a class between 30 and 40 people. In the first hour, we cleaned and cut mushrooms, cleaned and cut kale, and made an incredible anchovy-date dressing. Around noon another De Gustibus chef, Linda, came in to help prepare with us. She worked on making an Olive Oil Almond Cake while Amaral butchered some pork shoulder and I cut and toasted bread for the crostini. Next Linda prepped the shrimp and Amaral cooked the pork shoulder. I began Melissa's mise en place for her demonstration.

Melissa arrived at De Gustibus at around 3:00 with her assistant, Sarah. They checked all the dishes to make sure everything was up to their standards. Everyone at De Gustibus is so organized and very professional. We actually finished prepping at 4:00 for a 5:30 class. When everything was finished, Linda had a chicken roasting and everyone ate together. Since the prep was complete, Melissa and Sarah went shopping in Macy's. The De Gustibus team and I finished cleaning and made final preparations for the demonstration. Melissa and Sarah returned with some pillows (and later told the class about the pillow sale on the 6th floor!), ready to begin. Sal had everyone come together for a final meeting, which was my cue to go outside and wait on line like everyone else. I was actually sitting in on the class.

Just to give you an idea of which ingredients went in which dish, here is Melissa's menu:

Crispy Brown Butter Mushroom Crostini

Raw Kale Salad with Anchovy-Date Dressing

Shrimp with Capers, Feta & Dill

Braised Pork Shoulder with Tomatoes, Cinnamon, and Olives over Polenta

Olive Oil-Almond Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone

This behind the scenes viewing of De Gustibus Cooking School was an incredible experience that I am so glad to share with all of you. My post on Melissa Clark's De Gustibus class will be posted shortly for full descriptions on the food served and tips given. Check out our Facebook page for many more pictures behind the scenes of De Gustibus. 

-Mike