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We ‘teased’ you back in January on The Dirty Apron.
With The Dirty Apron Cooking School website now up and running, we figured it’s time to expand on what we initially were asked not to expand on.
So in the spirit of expansion:
The rhyme: on August 12, the Vancouver foodie scene is going to get its hands dirty this summer!
The reason: Chambar’s Chef-de-Cuisine, David Robertson, has opened a very unique cooking school!
If you’ve neither been to Chambar, nor heard of David Robertson, here’s:
1) What you need to know:
For over fifteen years Canadian Chef and Food Stylist David Robertson has pursued the culinary industry all over the world, including such foodie epicentres as New York, Europe, the UK, and Australia.
After returning home to Vancouver, David has for the past four years furthered his career as the Chef-de-Cuisine at Gastown’s Chambar. Since that time, David’s talent for plating and food styling has not gone without notice, allowing him to make his mark on the scene with several industry names, including Bon Appetit magazine.
Which is why we’re excited!
Having frequented Chambar on more than one occasion, we’ve been impressed with its commitment to personalized service (read: they remember your name when you come in…and I’m being honest), splashy style, menu diversity, price points, and most of all food (and presentation of said food). So, when we heard about David’s latest project…we simply had to tell you about it (before anyone else…and we did…in January)!
2) Why you need to know it:
In partnership with his wife Sara, as well as Nico and Karri Schuermans, the owners of Chambar, David’s newest project is The Dirty Apron, a recreational cooking school where students from all different skill levels and backgrounds can unleash their inner chefs and use the cooking school as a culinary playground to learn, and explore.
The Dirty Apron Cooking School offers food enthusiasts a variety of different cooking classes and courses; from prominent local and international guest instructors to hands-on as well as demonstration-only classes, with themes varying from international cuisines to knife skills. It also houses an exclusive cookware retail store with ‘chef-approved’ utensils and gadgets (I particularly liked that part).
The focus of the school, as its name The Dirty Apron already implies, is on getting actively involved in the creation process of a dish, so that students can go home that evening with the feeling that they have accomplished something amazing and that they can successfully recreate that same dish again in the future – by themselves!
Aside from all of the wonderful things we’ve just told you, what we like best about The Dirty Apron is that from a service standpoint, it adds another dimension to the already well-regarded Vancouver food scene. And that…is fresh and exciting!
Excited? You should be.
[Update: Our February 2010 review of The Dirty Apron Cooking School!]
darren
I am very interested in your cooking school and would like more details regarding starting dates, registration and cost. I live close by and have been intrested in taking cooking classes, yet never have. This sounds like a good opportunity for me!
We went for the Julie and Julia cooking lass….outstanding!
Now I am becoming a pain in the……………is this possible I would like to buy 2 – 4 classes for my daughter’s fiance, can he be the hands on and the she just observe? Truthfully he is the cook she just likes to watch (with a glass of wine).
Hi,
I had a horrible experience at the dirty apron.
If you have allergies or food sensitivities – beware.
I have a gluten allergy and am very sensitive to vinegar and mushrooms and alcohol among other things.
The kitchen knew this ahead of time.
I went with a large group and once we were checked in and handed our menus – I noticed that I could not eat a single thing on the menu.
When I talked to the Chef he said ‘don’t worry – we will figure something out – it happens all the time. When discussing his off-the-cuff ‘options’ he proved that he wasn’t aware of my sensitivities.
The appetizer team made me a salad. I think all celiac and vegetarians will agree – salad is the biggest cop-out EVER. it was greens with some tomatoes and nuts on top – with lemon for dressing. I wasn’t going to get any of the goat cheese filling that everyone else got in their hand made pasta until a friend of mine interfered.
For the main course (which I was on the team of) Everyone else got herbed crepe with a medium-rare beef tenderloin medallion covered in herbed panko, green beans, and a mushroom red wine creme sauce.
I got the beans, a piece of painfully overdone meat and, some potatoes I had cooked. And was told to leave for later. Well, they had been forgotten about and were sitting in cold water. I had to microwave them and season them. They didn’t even tell me where the salt was.
And the pana-cotta dessert that a friend made for me?
It didn’t set.
Which isn’t really a surprise considering it was only given an hour to do so. restaurants usually let them set overnight to be certain. He told my poor friend who thought that she had messed up making my dessert that it just doesn’t set sometimes. – not true. If the recipe is right it will set – if given the time to do so.
And so they gave me ice cream. really good ice cream. (best thing by far that I ate that night) but i can’t eat more than a few spoons without my stomach revolting on me.
yes – another sensitivity.
So suffice to say I was an afterthought. It was insulting.
And at about $150/$200 I deserved more than greens, overcooked meat, microwaved potatoes and pre-made ice cream.
And to top it off they didn’t teach me anything. We ‘chopped’ our garlic with a garlic press, and he didn’t even show us how to hold our knives properly.
DO NOT come here with a large crowd ESPECIALLY if anyone has food sensitivities. They will be singled out and forgotten about – this is not a team-building exercise.
It was isolating and humiliating and I had to pretend to be happy as to not ruin everyone else’s good time.
We are very sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your experience at the Dirty Apron Cooking School. We take pride in continuing to exceed guest expectations and feel that we have let you down by not delivering the unique, hands-on experience the school strives to create.
Each member of our team does their utmost to accommodate dietary requirements in a sensitive and considerate manner. As you know, our chef personally meets every guest with food sensitivities prior to their class to discuss personalized menu options. It would have helped us to improve your experience had you alerted us at the time that you were not enjoying yourself and that you were unhappy with the options we presented. Unfortunately, throughout the evening and via the comment cards left after the teambuilding event, we only had great feedback from the rest of your team and thus were unable to detect that there was a problem until now. And by stating on your own comment stated that ”I would be very interested in returning,” it is unfortunate to hear that in hindsight, you would not recommend the school to others.
We would like to assure you that your feedback has not gone unnoticed and is greatly appreciated. We are always looking for ways to improve and evolve the experience we offer, and the best way to do so is by learning from our guests. We have emailed you directly to invite you back to the school in an effort to rectify your experience and to show you what we do best – provide a great evening of learning, cooking, eating, drinking and most of all, fun. We hope that we will have the chance to see you again soon!
All the best,
The team at the Dirty Apron Cooking School
This is as good as it gets as far as hands-on cooking classes in Vancouver. I attended the Knife Skills class on Friday, which cost $140, and I had an absolute blast and really did learn quite a few things. There were about 10 people in the class so each person got their own cooking station, which is ideal. The class started with a demo of basic knife skills and then we had the opportunity to cook and eat two recipes we made ourselves. For each recipe there was a brief demo of how to make it, then you went to your station and cooked it yourself while the instructors went around the room helping and giving tips where needed and then you got to sit in the dining room and eat your food while being served wine and chatting with other participants. There was also a lovely cooking store where you could purchase many of the items you used throughout the evening.
I think you really get what you pay for with The Dirty Apron, a top notch hands-on cooking experience with quality ingredients in a high-end kitchen that has a modern yet cozy feeling to it. The pace of the class is geared is for the average person however basic cooking skills are helpful. I can’t wait for my next class!