Date Nights Denver: Cook Street School of Culinary Arts
Dinner, movie, home: the traditional date night pitfall. To showcase ways around this, I set out to find some romantic experiences you can only find in Denver. In my latest article for USA Today’s 10Best.com, where I am the Denver Expert, I offer 10 romantic date night ideas. Learn to carve on a longboard at Wash Park with KOTA, sleep and eat at a delicious brunch at the Capitol Hill Mansion Bed & Breakfast or laugh together watching a hilarious improvisational show at the Bovine Metropolis Theatre. But one of the most interactive experiences I found is the Culinary Date Night at Cook Street School of Culinary Arts in LoDo.
Watch our video interview with Chef Adam here and take a look inside Cook Street.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F6vmikU9Sk[/youtube]
The three and half hour class starts with a glass of wine, table of appetizers and run down from Chef Adam on the layout of the evening. First, Chef Adam whipped up house-made vanilla marshmallows that would later be dipped in fondue style to wrap up the night. They paired perfectly with oysters we shucked on our own and dipped in a vanilla mignotee sauce. Chef Adam showed us how to scrape a vanilla bean from Madagascar for the best flavor.
Next, we whipped up a buttery hollandaise sauce from scratch before grilling steaks marinated in a sauce similar to a pesto that smelled so good you would have almost eaten the steak raw. We learned some grilling techniques to get that perfect criss cross grill mark on your cut. And also some take home tips when it comes to seasonings. Like that kosher salt is best to use because others loose the mineral elements you pay extra for as soon as they are heated.
From there, we were on glass three of three of the wine included in the class and we were ready for dinner. We ate a feast of lobster Chef Adam poached that was served with béarnaise sauce out of a compressed air canister that perfectly marinated NY strip steak, arugula salad and asparagus.
What stood out the most
1. Source of Ingredients
Cook Street makes it a point to buy local and quality ingredients. The beef comes from Lombardi Brothers, the seafood from Seattle Fish Company (same supplier to Whole Foods) and most of the produce is organic.
2. Interactive Experience & Atmosphere
The fun wasn’t just in the food but the overall atmosphere. Light music plays overhead. Between cooking, sit down for a quiet conversation with your partner or chat with other couples. The class is taken at a relaxed pace with a cadence to stay on track.
3. Friendliness of Chef Adam
At the beginning of class, he passes out his email in case you have any cooking questions at a later date. He has a teaching style that has just the right amount of assertiveness without making this feel like a boot camp. Plus, he offers a lot of sweet tips along the way- like where to find some of Denver’s best fish markets- like the one at the Corner of 32nd and Lowell.
4. Price
The class runs at $88 a person. Which is more than most would expect to pay for a dinner. However, three glasses of wine are included as well as top of the line ingredients. You also are paying for atmosphere and cooking instruction. An absolute great deal.
Carri’s Catch: Take an Uber to class so you can enjoy a bottle of wine between you and your sweetheart. We went for the California made Homefront ($30) because a portion of sales goes to wounded veterans.
More on Cook Street School of Culinary Arts:
Classes are offered between four and six nights a week and there is tons of variety. Here are three others I think sound like a blast.
1. Bites N’ Brews– How to cook with beer and make food that is best served with hops.
Eat Your Veggies: Put the canned ones away. Grab some fresh ones and learn techniques like roasting, caramelizing, blanching and pickling.
Sushi– Learn how to select the right fish and ingredients for rolls.
You can find the full class schedule online here.
