Cooking School

Serves 4 Ana Garcia of La Villa Bonita, a cooking school in Mexico, makes this tinga (the common term for "messy stew") with cooked chicken, lots of tomatoes, and chipotle chili peppers. Regions throughout Mexico have a version. This one comes from the state of Puebla - hence the word poblana. Authentic versions use lard, but it's fine to substitute vegetable oil. For the quickest preparation, buy a chicken already roasted and shred the meat. Serve the tinga with warm tortillas and black beans.

OK, I admit it was boredom (of the "if it's Wednesday, it must be quiche for dinner" variety) that led me to Quincy's Hallowed Herbs Cooking School's Saturday morning class in Persian cuisine. That, and the Groupon offer that cut the cost in half. But I stayed the full three hours because not only was the class fascinating, but there was no way I was missing the chance to eat the chicken and pomegranate stew that had been simmering on the stove and sending out an intoxicatingly complex aroma all morning.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent I’m all for trying new, exotic food. I was in Thailand earlier this spring, and never have I seen such a proliferation of strange, wonderful food to sample, particularly in the legendary, super-crowded street markets of Bangkok. There was desiccated fish of all stripe and color hanging or heaped in mounds, the sizzle of chicken from the lines of street woks, the smell of bubbling-who-knows-what filling my nostrils, and carts of fruits and veggies, some recognizable, most not. I had to try it all, reaching for a gleaming pile of …...

Eurostoves is one part retailer of high-end ranges, like the English-made AGA and the Italian Bertazzoni, one part retailer of kitchenware, with shelves brimming with gadgets and utensils, and one part … mmm, cooking school. The Beverly store holds hands-on classes ($75 for 3 hours) almost every evening and weekend day in its culinary center. Local chefs teach a variety of small group classes, with topics such as knife skills, Mexican and Thai cooking, cake decorating, and more. "We teach people techniques and not just how to read a recipe," says Liz Walkowicz, chef instructor and culinary director at...

Grilling , By the Culinary Institute of America, Lebhar-Friedman Books, 232 pp., $35 Besides being the country's best known and foremost cooking school, the Culinary Institute of America is something of a media juggernaut, with its popular TV show and many books. Publications for home cooks, particularly "Cooking at Home With the CIA" and "Baking at Home With the CIA," both published by Wiley, which also produces the institute's massive textbook, "The Professional Chef," have struck a neat balance between careful basic techniques and interesting recipes that build on those techniques...

Eurostoves is one part retailer of high-end ranges, like the English-made AGA and the Italian Bertazzoni, one part retailer of kitchenware, with shelves brimming with gadgets and utensils, and one part … mmm, cooking school. The Beverly store holds hands-on classes ($75 for 3 hours) almost every evening and weekend day in its culinary center. Local chefs teach a variety of small group classes, with topics such as knife skills, Mexican and Thai cooking, cake decorating, and more. "We teach people techniques and not just how to read a recipe," says Liz Walkowicz, chef...

PARIS - Gaston Lenotre, considered one of France's best pastry-makers, died Thursday. He was 88. Mr. Lenotre died at his home in the Sologne region, south of Paris, the company that bears his name said without elaborating. President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement praising Mr. Lenotre as the man who transformed making pastries into an art, becoming "one of the greatest masters of sweets. " Internationally renowned chef Paul Bocuse called Mr. Lenotre a "pastry genius.

WHO: Joe Cahn WHAT: For 16 years, the self-appointed ‘‘Commissioner of Tailgating" has traveled to stadium parking lots around the country, sampling food and making friends. ‘‘I call it the original Facebook," says Cahn, who is partially supported by sponsorships and rarely attends the games. ‘‘Here, when you want to friend somebody, you give them food. On the Internet, when you want to friend somebody, you push a button. What's more fun?" On Sept. 18, he tailgated the New England Patriots' home opener and says he's already planning to come back — for the playoffs.

EL MASROIG, Spain -- "It's been a revelation. I think Americans know about Italian and Mexican food, but not Spanish food. I've never prepared food like this. Cod tripe, cuttlefish, molé sauce. But it's all very doable," said Marilyn Revesz of Chicago, sitting in the backyard of Catacurian, a Catalan cooking school in the Priorat region inland from Tarragona on the Mediterranean coast. "It's very hands on. We come to the kitchen in the afternoon, we cook, the table is set, and we eat what we cooked.

Q. Did you go to cooking school? A. No, I did a correspondence bachelor of arts degree for anthropology and sociology and science of religion through a South African university. I've always liked people, but I just thought it was nice and interesting; I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I worked in London for two years but traveled a lot, also. Traveling was the best thing. Q. How did you get your start in the kitchen? A. I was working at a restaurant in London when I was 20 and there was a chef named Angela Dwyer.

WHO: Joe Cahn WHAT: For 16 years, the self-appointed ‘‘Commissioner of Tailgating" has traveled to stadium parking lots around the country, sampling food and making friends. ‘‘I call it the original Facebook," says Cahn, who is partially supported by sponsorships and rarely attends the games. ‘‘Here, when you want to friend somebody, you give them food. On the Internet, when you want to friend somebody, you push a button. What's more fun?" On Sept. 18, he tailgated the New England Patriots' home opener and says he's already planning to come back — for the playoffs.

Q. Did you go to cooking school? A. No, I did a correspondence bachelor of arts degree for anthropology and sociology and science of religion through a South African university. I've always liked people, but I just thought it was nice and interesting; I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I worked in London for two years but traveled a lot, also. Traveling was the best thing. Q. How did you get your start in the kitchen? A. I was working at a restaurant in London when I was 20 and there was a chef named Angela Dwyer.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent I’m all for trying new, exotic food. I was in Thailand earlier this spring, and never have I seen such a proliferation of strange, wonderful food to sample, particularly in the legendary, super-crowded street markets of Bangkok. There was desiccated fish of all stripe and color hanging or heaped in mounds, the sizzle of chicken from the lines of street woks, the smell of bubbling-who-knows-what filling my nostrils, and carts of fruits and veggies, some recognizable, most not. I had to try it...

STE. COLOMBE-EN-BRUILHOIS, France - In this agriculturally diverse and rural region in the French southwest, students at Kate Hill’s cooking school learn about the distinctive cuisine of Gascony from the ground up. “We go to the village markets, and out into the countryside to meet local cooks and butchers and also farmers, the people who turn dirt into food,’’ says Hill. “The school is a culinary retreat...

PARIS - Gaston Lenotre, considered one of France's best pastry-makers, died Thursday. He was 88. Mr. Lenotre died at his home in the Sologne region, south of Paris, the company that bears his name said without elaborating. President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement praising Mr. Lenotre as the man who transformed making pastries into an art, becoming "one of the greatest masters of sweets. " Internationally renowned chef Paul Bocuse called Mr. Lenotre a "pastry genius.

Serves 4 Ana Garcia of La Villa Bonita, a cooking school in Mexico, makes this tinga (the common term for "messy stew") with cooked chicken, lots of tomatoes, and chipotle chili peppers. Regions throughout Mexico have a version. This one comes from the state of Puebla - hence the word poblana. Authentic versions use lard, but it's fine to substitute vegetable oil. For the quickest preparation, buy a chicken already roasted and shred the meat. Serve the tinga with warm tortillas and black beans.

SANTA FE -- It's easy to swoon before the star chefs of this city's chic nuevo New Mexican restaurants. But long before someone served caviar on blue-corn tortilla points, this wide spot on the upper Rio Grande had developed a traditional Hispanic-Indian fusion cuisine all its own. The last time we were in town, we decided to get back to the roots. David, who grows New Mexican chiles in our community garden, signed up for a class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Pat, who prefers eating to cooking, opted to investigate pop culture dining in the formidable form of the...

MOAB, Utah -- The quality and presentation of food at the Center Cafe cries out for suits and ties, high heels and pearls, but the crowd at the Center Cafe rides bikes a lot. Therefore, on any given evening in this lovely place that serves the fanciest food in town, you will see everything from jackets, shiny dress shoes, and silk skirts to bike shorts, T-shirts, and serious Nike bike shoes. That's the way chef-owners Zee and Paul McCarroll like it. "Anything goes, as long as they're wearing clothes," said Paul McCarroll.

Grilling , By the Culinary Institute of America, Lebhar-Friedman Books, 232 pp., $35 Besides being the country's best known and foremost cooking school, the Culinary Institute of America is something of a media juggernaut, with its popular TV show and many books. Publications for home cooks, particularly "Cooking at Home With the CIA" and "Baking at Home With the CIA," both published by Wiley, which also produces the institute's massive textbook, "The Professional Chef," have struck a neat balance between careful basic techniques and interesting recipes that build on those techniques...

EL MASROIG, Spain -- "It's been a revelation. I think Americans know about Italian and Mexican food, but not Spanish food. I've never prepared food like this. Cod tripe, cuttlefish, molé sauce. But it's all very doable," said Marilyn Revesz of Chicago, sitting in the backyard of Catacurian, a Catalan cooking school in the Priorat region inland from Tarragona on the Mediterranean coast. "It's very hands on. We come to the kitchen in the afternoon, we cook, the table is set, and we eat what we cooked.