Culinary Course at Tante Marie's

Six-Month Culinary Course

The Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course will give you the foundation on which to build a career in food and cooking. You will learn the principles and techniques of French cooking as they apply to modern California tastes. In other words, you may make Wild Mushroom Risotto or Pumpkin Ravioli from Italy, or Spring Rolls from Vietnam as well as traditional French braises and pastries. Graduates from the Culinary Course at Tante Marie's have gone on to successful careers as chef/owners of their own restaurants, as cookbook authors and television personalities, as owners of their own food product businesses, as private chefs for instance in a winery or for a family, and as cooking teachers and cooking school owners. The class meets five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 10 am to 4 pm. In this 22-week Course, the 16 students cook every morning under the direction of the Chef/Instructor. Most afternoons there is a demonstration of French techniques or of the cooking of various countries that influence the cooking of California, such as China, Mexico, India, and Thailand. There are guest chefs throughout the Course. The Curriculum The curriculum for this 22-week Course covers many subjects in progressing from Stocks and Soups, through Sauces and Fish and Shellfish, from Brioche and Croissants to Advanced Cake Decorating. In the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday workshops the students all cook the same thing; for instance, Pasta, Chicken, or Rustic Breads. The Tuesday and Thursday morning classes are organized so that the students work together produce a complete menu, which is essentially a review of the techniques practiced previously. This is the opportunity to work on timing and presentation. On Fridays, there are tastings of important ingredients as well as wine. The Chef/Instructor The Chef/Instructor for the Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course is Frances Wilson. Frances has received both culinary and education degrees in her native Ireland. She was the chef of Lalime's in Berkeley for ten years, and has been a private chef and teacher at a chateau in the south of France for five years. She brings a remarkable ability to communicate and lead people to understand what they are cooking and why. Externships At the conclusion of the Course, the students who have successfully demonstrated their knowledge and skills in both written and practical exams, are given the opportunity to spend a four-week Externship in a Bay Area restaurant such as Greens, Nopa, or Insalata's in San Anselmo. Because the dishes taught at Tante Marie's are generally in quantities suitable for home cooking, this is an opportunity for the students to learn large-scale production of food to be served to the paying public. This Course usually starts in the beginning of October and April. The cost of this Course is $21,500, not including the cost of knives, textbook, and uniforms. To be considered for enrollment, applicants need to exhibit a high degree of motivation and sincere interest in learning to cook professionally. Call 415.788.6699 for an interview and application procedures. back to top

Six-Month Culinary Course

Students from the Six-Month Ful-Time Culinary Course

The Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course will give you the foundation on which to build a career in food and cooking. You will learn the principles and techniques of French cooking as they apply to modern California tastes. In other words, you may make Wild Mushroom Risotto or Pumpkin Ravioli from Italy, or Spring Rolls from Vietnam as well as traditional French braises and pastries.

Graduates from the Culinary Course at Tante Marie's have gone on to successful careers as chef/owners of their own restaurants, as cookbook authors and television personalities, as owners of their own food product businesses, as private chefs for instance in a winery or for a family, and as cooking teachers and cooking school owners.

The class meets five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 10 am to 4 pm. In this 22-week Course, the 16 students cook every morning under the direction of the Chef/Instructor. Most afternoons there is a demonstration of French techniques or of the cooking of various countries that influence the cooking of California, such as China, Mexico, India, and Thailand. There are guest chefs throughout the Course.

The Curriculum
The curriculum for this 22-week Course covers many subjects in progressing from Stocks and Soups, through Sauces and Fish and Shellfish, from Brioche and Croissants to Advanced Cake Decorating. In the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday workshops the students all cook the same thing; for instance, Pasta, Chicken, or Rustic Breads. The Tuesday and Thursday morning classes are organized so that the students work together produce a complete menu, which is essentially a review of the techniques practiced previously. This is the opportunity to work on timing and presentation. On Fridays, there are tastings of important ingredients as well as wine.

The Chef/Instructor
The Chef/Instructor for the Six-Month Full-Time Culinary Course is Frances Wilson. Frances has received both culinary and education degrees in her native Ireland. She was the chef of Lalime's in Berkeley for ten years, and has been a private chef and teacher at a chateau in the south of France for five years. She brings a remarkable ability to communicate and lead people to understand what they are cooking and why.

Externships
At the conclusion of the Course, the students who have successfully demonstrated their knowledge and skills in both written and practical exams, are given the opportunity to spend a four-week Externship in a Bay Area restaurant such as Greens, Nopa, or Insalata's in San Anselmo. Because the dishes taught at Tante Marie's are generally in quantities suitable for home cooking, this is an opportunity for the students to learn large-scale production of food to be served to the paying public.

This Course usually starts in the beginning of October and April. The cost of this Course is $21,500, not including the cost of knives, textbook, and uniforms. To be considered for enrollment, applicants need to exhibit a high degree of motivation and sincere interest in learning to cook professionally.

Call 415.788.6699 for an interview and application procedures.