TV cooking shows – from PBS classics to Food Network and the like – have played an important role in the evolution of American cuisine for a whole generation. But away from the glossy sets and professional equipment, what’s it like to cook alongside a top chef in their own home kitchen?
Enter 92U Culinary Arts – a cooking program with a difference. 92Y has welcomed many legendary chefs for talks on our stage. Now, through 92U, our new online university, we’re taking our cooking, food and wine program to the next level. 92Y’s Melanie Macchio, the mastermind behind our new 92U Culinary Arts program, explains.
“We’ve always longed to have a cooking class program at 92Y — but have never had the facilities to offer that,” says Melanie. “Food — cooking it, baking it, eating it together — is central to Jewish culture, particularly in NYC, the culinary capital of the world. In these last 10 months we’ve learned so much about running successful virtual classes. Virtual cooking classes are the next big step. Our vision is to bring our students right into the kitchens of some of the world’s most exciting and talented chefs – and enable them to learn first-hand, in real time, the skills and secrets to create dishes from all over the world — just as the chefs do in their own kitchens.”
The program launched at the end of last year, with classes from legendary pastry chef Nick Malgieri, Pie Lady Kate McDermott, Moroccan-Israeli cook Danielle Renov, A Brown Table’s Nik Sharma and Alta Calidad chef/owner Akhtar Nawab.
“There’s an intimacy to the classes that you might not get on a TV cooking show because they’re in their own kitchens, using their favorite rolling pin, their old garlic press … there’s a comfort level that the students really respond to,” says Melanie. “Our chefs are incredibly talented people at the top of their professions – but they’re committed to meeting our students at their level, and really want the students to learn.” She continues: “The teachers also bring a cultural background to the classes. It’s much more than just about the recipes – the classes are about understanding the culture and how the meal fits into that.”
And so far, patrons have been loving it. “We’ve had an amazing response to these classes,” says Melanie. “Our audience tend to be skilled amateurs – people who have the basics down, and now want to take it to the next level. They’re really passionate about cooking and are hungry to learn – and the chefs really respond to that. There’s much to learn from the other students, too. Patrons are joining these classes from as far afield as London, Israel, LA, Dallas – and they’re sharing things like their workarounds for hard-to-find ingredients and their favorite shopping locations.”
Susan Herrmann Loomis, the internationally recognized journalist and chef, has run a destination cooking school, On Rue Tatin, for many years from her homes in Normandy and Paris. On Feb 22, she joins 92U for a class on how to make a classic French dinner. She says: “Pre-Covid, I couldn’t have imagined teaching cooking online. But what I am enjoying so much about it is the weird intimacy of it — even though it’s just me, I feel very connected to people watching.” What does she find most appealing about teaching French cooking? “The French are devoted to finding the best possible seasonal, usually local, ingredients. And this is what I love about teaching French food. It’s a little like demystifying a religion, by revealing that it isn’t actually so complex, but it’s based on the best intentions, the finest ingredients (that doesn’t mean expensive!), and then it’s about letting those ingredients give their utmost.”
Nick Malgieri, the legendary Windows on the World pastry chef, has been teaching amateur and professional chefs for 42 years. He founded the baking programs at the Institute of Culinary Education, and is fast becoming a 92U favorite. Having tested the water with two highly popular and successful classes in pastry-making and chocolate, he returns on April 5 for a breadmaking class.
“The main difference between this and teaching in person or on TV is that I’m making all the videos myself, using my iphone!” Nick told us. “I hired a professional videographer to show me how to make the videos that show the actual preparation – and I have an artist friend who’s worked with me on the classes I’ve produced so far. I’m getting better at it! The pastry class was a walk in the park, but there is so much more to actually teach in the chocolate class. First, I give a general introduction about chocolate, and then I introduce each video. This way, I’m able to show the entire process of the same recipe.”
“Bread has a lot of hocus pocus attached to it,” he goes on. “In high-end restaurants, they’re often serving bread made with extremely high-quality flours. They’re going to the extent of sourcing the wheat nowadays – big producers can do that. It’s also a question of scale – putting 400 loaves in a climate-controlled refrigerator is very different from putting your single loaf of dough into your kitchen fridge. The atmosphere is different! That said, it’s possible to make really good bread at home.” He’s full of tricks the home baker can take – like counteracting a softening crust by popping your cooled, baked loaf back in the oven at 375 degrees to crisp it up. His class will start with Focaccia – and a recipe he developed from memory one summer in Cape Cod in 1992 — an infallible favorite he’s been using ever since.
Explore all 92U’s culinary arts programs.