Residents looking for interactive dating based in teamwork, fun, and camaraderie are raising their game and joining the crowd at Eat Street culinary school, located in the heart of Anaheim, at 270 S. Clementine St.
Eat Street offers cooking classes from the “just for fun” events like date night, girls’ night out and kid’s class, to intense preparation for kitchen professionals.
Chef/Owner Katie Averill is no stranger to the kitchen, and spent most of the last 20 years opening restaurants for celebrities.
Residents looking for interactive dating based in teamwork, fun, and camaraderie are raising their game and joining the crowd at Eat Street culinary school, located in the heart of Anaheim, at 270 S. Clementine St.
Eat Street offers cooking classes from the “just for fun” events like date night, girls’ night out and kid’s class, to intense preparation for kitchen professionals.
Chef/Owner Katie Averill is no stranger to the kitchen, and spent most of the last 20 years opening restaurants for celebrities.
“I opened restaurants in Las Vegas and Washington D.C., but the whole time my heart was in Southern California,” she said. “Spending five years running a restaurant for Todd English was a great experience, but I am a California girl.”
Averill returned to Southern California and opened her own restaurant, and honed her teaching skills at the Art Institute of Southern California in Orange County.
“I don’t like to do the same thing every 11 weeks, and teaching at the Art Institute worked in that cycle,” she said. “I was a guest teacher here when the previous owner operated the location. One afternoon I drove by and noticed the place was closed and decided Eat Street was going to happen.”
The school opened on Sept. 1, 2012, and has been sold out continuously.
“The most popular classes are date night and girls’ night out,” Averill said. “We have people who live in the area, but a couple of couples traveled here from San Pedro tonight.”
Preparation for date night usually begins about two hours before the couples arrive.
“I try and have everything ready before the participants arrive,” she said. “Most people get here about 15 minutes before class starts.”
The menu focuses on self-discovery and fun.
“People don’t know they can deep fry olives and make pizza from scratch,” she said. “I talk for about 30 minutes and give everyone the basics, and the energy is palpable when the cooking begins.”
Mike Seely said he is the king of the kitchen at home.
“This is pretty much what I normally do,” he said. “It is fun to learn new things and add to my skills.”
Preparing new recipes with her husband brought Stephanie Seely to the school.
“Cooking does not intimidate me, but I don’t have time for this at home,” she said. “This is our first trip to Eat Street and it is a really cool date.”
The students created a delectable three course menu, starting with battered and deep fried olives stuffed with sausage, honey yogurt chicken skewers and pizza bianca (white pizza) topped with salad.
The first lesson everyone learned was menu management.
“We are going to prepare the items in reverse order so everything is ready to eat at the same time,” Averill said. “I would love all of you to eat together.”
David Moo said the cooking experience at Eat Street is something new.
“I am really looking forward to using some of the machines,” he said. Cutting and chopping is something I am very comfortable doing at home in the kitchen, but making dough is awesome. I usually buy it at the store.”
Moo said his best home cooked meal is lemon garlic chicken.
“I make it with cheesy pasta or rice,” he said.
Jamie Moo said the cleanup usually falls to her.
“Every time,” she said. “When I cook, my best meal is stuffed peppers. I am here learning tonight, so the plan is to put him in charge of the cleanup.”
Last minute substitute Thorsten Behnken did not plan on attending the event, but was not complaining.
“My better half’s sister was supposed to come and cancelled, so I get to cook,” he said. “I have never used a burr mixer before and it is a lot of fun. We are making a great meal together and I look forward to sitting down and enjoying our creation.”
Better half Trish Carpico said she is the best cook in her house.
“I usually make cakes and barbeque at home,” she said. “We love Mediterranean food and are here to learn how to cook these items and add them to our repertoire. Healthy eating is on our agenda and this is a really good start.”
Up next for Carpico is the Friday baking class.
“I am already signed up,” she said.
Date night participant David Pozzi said he has been to other cooking classes before, but none compare to Eat Street.
“At other classes all you get to do is watch, and then eat,” he said. “This is something totally out of the ordinary and much more fun.”
Pozzi said “yum” best described the meal he and his date prepared.
“The stuffed olives we made are delicious,” he said. “The pizza is amazing and light, as well. I never made dough before, but it was really easy.”
Averill said date night participants get no special treatment.
“I treat everyone like it is their first day at culinary school,” she said. “The difference at this school is the students cook their butts off the entire time.”
Everybody gets the basics before they get turned loose in the kitchen.
“I do not measure everything out and put it in a bowl for the student and call it cooking,” she said. “Students in this class learn how to get their ingredients together, use the knife, chop, weigh, measure and cook. When the cooking begins I run around the kitchen and make sure everyone does the work properly.”
Eat Street kitchens are designed to make sure each student feels right at home.
“I wanted to make sure there were only two people at each station,” Averill said. “Everyone has ownership of four stovetops, and knives, all set up like their own kitchen.”
Teaching people can mean breaking bad habits sometimes, Averill said, and each challenge is met head on.
“There are students who have been cooking for a long time and do not want to change what they do,” she said. “I will show them, for example, how to hold a knife and say I know you do not want to do this, but this is the proper technique. At my last sauce class an older couple was receptive to everything. That is very rewarding and I am sure they took some new tricks home.”
Averill’s favorite item to cook is homemade pasta.
“The recipes are memorized in my head,” she said. “I can put the pasta together in five minutes, let it rest in the fridge, crank it out and make the filling and sauce in an hour. It is a blast and I love teaching that class.”
A new date night series in coming up in June.
“Because date night is my most popular class, I am going to have Spain, Paris, and Italy date nights three Wednesdays in a row,” Averill said.
Chocolate class sends you into the world loaded with treats.
“People who come to that class learn how to make truffles and candy,” Averill said. “I provide everything, including the pastry box.”
Mom’s and Dad’s looking for an afternoon away from the rigors of parenting take advantage of the kids cooking class, which is held monthly.
“I tend to have a lot of repeaters in kids class, so I switch the menu,” Averill said. “The next class is going to feature summer snacks, with savory and sweet healthy items.”
Diabetics needing assistance maintaining their diet can gain valuable information from the healthy eating class on Sunday, May 26, featuring Chef Eda Vesterman, who holds a Master’s Degree in Nutrition from Boston University.
“This class is a launching point for specialty offerings,” Averill said. “From here, I would like to add a gluten-free class. This session will open up exciting new doors for people with diet restrictions.”
At the end of the day, Averill wants everyone to feel happy.
“Date night is a fun evening out,” she said. “Participants walk away from this event knowledgeable about how to measure, cut and weigh in the kitchen while having a blast. Everyone is seated and eating together and really enjoying each other’s company. This is different than going to the bowling alley or Movie Theater.”
To see more pictures from date night, visit the Independent on Facebook.
For more information about the classes and events at Eat Street, call 714-563-2334, or visit eatstreetculinary.com. Katie Averill can be reached at info@eatstreetculinary.com.
