Look out Rachel and Julia

Oops….....Julia Child is dead already! Tom, my best friend and I started cooking class at a new restaurant called Chef Pierre’s Bistro and Bread. We have committed to 4-lessons for the next month.

The cost amounts to approximately $18.50 per class or a total of 600 Q for the month. It's a deal! The restaurant is closed on Mondays’ so we had it all to ourselves, the two of us plus Chef Pierre. I brought a lovely bottle of Malbec for the night. I drank most of it myself being the lush I am, but the chef did have one glass.

Pierre has this new restaurant. Tom and I were one of his first customers. Chef is from Montreal, and was professionally trained in Toronto. He was here on vacation and was discovered by an affluent family while traveling. They loved his cooking and set him up in business in Antigua. I have to admit, he does some pretty creative dishes. When was the last time you had an iguana burger?

The evening lasted over 3-hours. For our first lesson, we learned French Classic Cuisine. We started with learning to make a basic chicken stock. Then a pesto sauce, a virgin tomato sauce, balsamic oil and vinegar dressing, Eggplant Napoleon, and the finale was a vegetable soup. I had so much fun and the dinner was delicious. We even got our own apron’s to take home. Several comments were made about my abilities with a knife. I I complain becuase there are no left-handed knives! hehe I've always been afraid of knives because I got cut a few times when I was a child. I have the scars to prove it. I also was not so artisitc with my garnishing. I'm good with colors and creativity, but once again, if I have to use a knife, I tend to butcher things. For others garnishing techniques, we poured cream and pesto sauce from a plastic like ketchup bottle, but for me the opening was too large and I made a mess.

One of our additional lessons will be traditional Guatemalan Cooking. I’m excited about my new hobby.

My life here is pretty full and rewarding. I am blessed.