The Chopping Block Cooking & Wine Blog

Make Culinary Boot Camp a Family Affair

Written by Andrea | Jul 19, 2024 3:30:00 PM

Culinary Boot Camp is a commitment. You spend 40 hours in our kitchens in one week (or five consecutive Saturdays) learning everything you need to transform you from a beginner or intermediate level home cook to someone who is more confident and successful in the kitchen. Most of our students attend solo, some come with their partners, others gather a group of friends, but I think it's most special when students make this class a family affair. 

Carlos Velez recently graduated from college. His parents wanted to set him up for success by gifting him Culinary Boot Camp so he would have a solid foundation of cooking as he started his post-college life. His mother, Elsa, signed him up for our July session and after giving it some thought, decided to gift a spot to her husband for his Father's Day present as well. 

The family lives in Northern Virginia so they made a vacation out of their trip to Chicago. They saw all of the sights the weekend prior to the class and ate at some of the city's most popular restaurants. They took the Chicago Architectural Boat Tour (our favorite way to see the city) and were blessed with excellent weather. Unfortunately, Carlos' dad was unable to attend the class at the last minute due to work, so Elsa stepped in and took the class with her son. 

Carlos was a newbie in the kitchen, only cooking a few times for himself and his girlfriend. He said he was excited to take the class to build his cooking fundamentals and get hands-on experience. "Sure, I can find videos online and I can follow a recipe, but this class solidifies the techniques. On day one, we started with Knife Skills which was what I was looking forward to learning the most. We practiced those same skills throughout the week and now, I think I can never practice that enough," said Carlos.

Now that he's a CBC graduate, Carlos says he has the confidence to attempt more difficult recipes or even try to make dishes on his own without following a recipe, as well as everything in between. 

He says he enjoyed the experience of being able to take the class with his mom. "It definitely made the experience less daunting. I was one of the younger people in the class and without having much experience cooking, I didn't really know what to expect. But it was nice knowing at least one person that I knew I would be working together with. It made the class more enjoyable," said Carlos. 

Elsa agrees. "It was an awesome experience to be able to spend this time with my son. He's been in college for the past five years so to have an entire week with him, it was very special. It was a lot of bonding time," she said.

Elsa says her two older daughters were extremely jealous. "They asked me to send pictures of our food every day. Our family is close to the Washington D.C. area, and we're all big foodies. We are always aware of new restaurants including Michelin-star places, so they were very envious of this experience. Now, they ask for us to cook for them all of the time!" said Elsa. 

Both Carlos and Elsa have taken a little break from cooking since finishing the course. But Elsa says since returning home, she has pulled out her binder to review the recipes and her notes. "It was a lot of information, but it was not overwhelming at all. I loved that we each got hands-on experience butchering our own fish, chicken and beef tenderloin. There was another student at our table who had taken a similar class at the Culinary Institute of America, and she kept saying, 'They don't do this - they only give you one piece of meat for the whole table to use," said Elsa. 

Some of the other benefits of Culinary Boot Camp, according to Elsa and Carlos:

  • They liked having different chefs teach each day because they brought different points of view to the table. "Everyone was so patient. We definitely understand it takes one set of skills to be a chef but totally different ones to be able to teach cooking to others," said Elsa. 
  • The camaraderie they felt in the kitchen. "We didn't know what to expect from the other students, whether they would be more advanced, but it turns out that we were all about the same level. Everyone was very flexible and easy to work with. It was a very pleasant experience," said Elsa.
  • The small staff to student ratio. "We got to practice under constant supervision because the chefs were always walking around and assisting. They never made you feel bad if you happened to make a mistake," said Carlos. "There was always a chef available to us at any time which was very helpful because you are going to have questions."
  • They were very impressed with the organization. "I come from a background in education. I could see the amount of planning that goes into executing this class. Everything was organized ahead of time: every step, every ingredient and nothing was ever missed. It's so much work, and that was evident. It was just amazing," said Elsa. 
  • The class is very structured. "Throughout the week, we took notes, learned and practiced hands-on techniques. The entire time, we were all planning our last meal on Friday," said Elsa.

On the final day of Culinary Boot Camp, students cook their "graduation meal" with their partners. They choose any protein they want and have five hours to cook a fabulous meal. The intent is that the students have learned all of the skills during the week that they can practice again to make anything they can imagine! We see everything from lamb, duck to lobster on this day and the dishes never fail to impress. Carlos and Elsa made a delicious Pork Belly Ramen, which they say they'll be recreating at home often. 

Every night after the class, Elsa and Carlos would come back to their hotel and tell her husband and his dad everything they had done that day. "Being able to review the experiences each day with Carlos while it was fresh in our heads was really fun and helpful," said Elsa. 

Have you been considering taking Culinary Boot Camp? Find a fellow family member who could benefit from the course, and sign up today. You will both have the time of your lives and walk away improved home cooks with a lifetime of memories!

We have availability in the following sessions remaining in 2024:
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