Welcome to Ethos Culinary!
We are located in the beautiful city of San Diego.
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As I begin the planning of my upcoming new classes, I happened to look back on my most productive events. It was a busy year taking on more private classes and team-building parties as requested. I decided to also tackle hands-on cooking which became our most popular events. I witnessed more interaction among my customers with more chatter and enthusiasm during these classes. I enjoyed the many questions regarding the process of developing recipes, and cooking skills. My recipes also changed as well, trying to be more aware of what is available locally in our stores. My position is always to support my local farmers and producers in my area. From my culinary perception as a teacher, my goal is to incorporate as many “cooking techniques” as possible during your time with me.

What am I talking about? Once, you learn the basic skills, then you can experiment all you want in the kitchen. And of course, I’m taking this from the healthy approach of cooking with purchasing organic and local produce as much as possible and supporting our local farmers. You can also take up gardening and try a small pot or two of your favorite veggies for your home-cooking.  When you visit Ethos, one extra bonus you will encounter is the freedom to wander into my vegetable and herb garden for a quick tasting. We are all hands-on here!

Here’s a peak into my kitchen. I set it up as a classroom with bright light coming in and ample space for a large group. My appliances are all commercial with three
10-foot islands for hands on cooking and plenty of sitting for observation classes. We often spill into the front patio for relaxation and conversations. It is my private chef’s kitchen where we cook together and gather around for developing new friendships in our community.

Here are the basic cooking techniques I teach in my classes.

• Sauteing – Foods cooked with this method are quick and higher in nutrients.
• Stir Fry – Similar with sauteing, mostly Asian inspired based on vegetables and intensely flavored liquids.
• Grilling – tender meats, poultry and seafood are generally grilled along vegetables that can be marinated or flavored with rubs.
• Roasting- Foods cooked in the oven tend to have much flavor, moist and flavorful.
• Steaming – Moist cooking is prepared in a steamer or wrapped in paper that retains their nutrients. Sauces are often added for flavor.
• Stewing – Main ingredients such as meats, are paired with aromatics and cooked gently for developing flavor.

Knowing these simple cooking techniques can advance your culinary skills and knowledge on how to develop more creative dishes. These techniques are often taught and explained at the beginning of my cooking classes. It’s important to have several of these skills incorporated in the recipes as well, which are taught during my lunches, ands throughout my classes.

What equipment is needed to enhance your cooking skills?

• Less is more! We don’t need to crowd up our kitchen counters with a zillion pieces of equipment.
• A good large soup pot, stainless steel or cast iron as Le Creuset.
• Several saucepans, small and large for sauces, small vegetables, and baking.
• A food processor for making sauces, doughs and cutting up your foods.
• A blender for creaming soups, fresh juicing, drinks, and blending foods.
• If you’re a baker, a hand mixer or standing mixer will be necessary, along with baking pans.

Now, that you have that understanding in knowing the basics of cooking skills, you can better understand my position as a culinary teacher and the responsibility I have in teaching you these basic techniques. My lunches will cover these skills one by one and in more depth.  All my classes will cover one or two of these culinary techniques as we cook along in more details. We also include a sit-down table time so we can enjoy the foods we have prepared.

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My February and March Classes will be posted soon.

Happy Cooking,

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