Dim Sum Cooking Class with Aphrodite Cooks at Nella Cucina

These trays of bison-stuffed potstickers are the work of about 30 intrepid individuals who signed up for a Year of the Tiger Dim Sum Brunch cooking class yesterday at Nella Cucina (876 Bathurst, 416-922-9055). Under the auspices of chef Vanessa Yeung (AKA Aphrodite Cooks) and her mom Millie, we learned how to prep and assemble numerous dishes, including vegetarian soi gau (water dumplings), rich stuffed eggplant with shrimp and classic pork-filled shaomai, as well as these Year of the Tiger Dumplings and a couple of desserts.

Most were quick to pick up the skills. In the picture above left, class participants practice potsticker-frying techniques, under the direction of Joanne Lusted of Nella Cucina (with pitcher). Above right, Millie preps the shaomai filling of ground pork, chopped shrimp and condiments. (Click on photos to see slightly larger images.)

For some reason, one of my Twitter pals requested a picture of me cooking (to prove that I do in fact do it occasionally?) So here I am, courtesy of food writer and promoter Mary Luz Mejia (@MaryLuzonfood on Twitter), who kindly arranged that I and some other food-blogger types could attend the class as guests.

I was impressed with the professionalism of the whole endeavor. The ratio of various staff to participants was about three to one, including pro chef instructors, clean-up help and a bartender who made sure no one lacked juice or water. The session started with a quick rundown of knife safety, waste separation, hand washing and purse security.

Then the large group was divided into smaller teams who were able to rotate from station to station, getting a feel for all the different processes, learning new techniques and finding out about unfamilar ingredients. There was lots of room for questions, and everyone had enough time to practice each new skill, but nothing felt like drudgery.

In the end, the cooking surfaces were cleared for a delicious dim sum brunch, and since the class participants has had a couple of hours to work together, no one felt like a stranger.

I note that chef Yeung (left, with her mom, and Mary Luz in the background) is offering a class called The Singles Supper Club (for men and women from 25 to 35) on March 5, while Nella Cucina offers quite a roster of classes with chefs of note, the next being a Mexican dinner with chef Francisco Alejandri this coming Thursday. At $75 (or $100 for sessions with wine), these offer very good value in my opinion. I'm quite looking forward to trying out some never-before-acquired skills at home.