Yes Chef, summer salad cooking class

I have already been in to Yes Chef in Abbotsford once before. Then, to do a little window shopping for kitchen gadgets and unique artisan seasonings. Today, I was back again for a cooking class.

This is Fraser Valley’s only specialty cookware store. It boasts a large assortment of bakeware including cookie cutters and novelty pans, serve-ware including presentation platters and leakproof lunch boxes; as well as anything you would need to curate the perfect at home bar cart. For those looking to take on cooking as a passion or hobby let this be your first go-to with enthusiastic staff and expert help to sort through what is what, and what you need.

At the very back of the store they have a kitchenette, fully furnished with refrigerator, pantry, and sink. Everything else you need to prepare a meal with they have as an electrical plug-in appliance. Here is where they host their cooking classes, utilizing the ability to demo products that they sell on the adjacent shop floor.

Yes Chef regularly offers a series of classes within the space, all of which, intimate, for a dinning experience like no other. I can best describe it as a live cooking show, where you are able to interact with the host in real time, take notes and photos; then try everything as a full plate, in place of dinner.

There is a variety of classes to choose from, including Chinese takeout and Italian classics. Given that my cooking class partner has a dietary restriction of no-dairy. We decided to take the Summer Salad class, feeling like that would probably be the safest option, where milk, butter, and cheese can be omitted or put to the side as needed. When you sign up for each class, there is no way to know ahead of time what is being offered or prepared, it is best to contact the event host to confirm and express these dietary concerns ahead of, if any. We did not and as a result my guest missed out on one of the three dishes, for another they were easily able to omit an ingredient.

We walked into the class (not reading the fine print), thinking it would be a hands on experience; where we would dawn aprons, pull up our sleeves, and prepare each dish as the chef walked us through step-by-step. However, now seeing the space, I can see that, that is not feasible. Instead, each person was assigned a seat, their own placemat and name card. This was an unobstructed view of our chef-host, and within eye-line of the television screen, broadcasting an overhead view of the counter in which they worked.

For those interested, Yes Chef does host hands on classes, like their knife skills class where you learn how to chop, slice, dice and julienne vegetables. These are then later made into a soup and salad, so that you are able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

There is also a pasta making class where with flour, dough, and individual pasta machines you can learn to make your own at home. Here you physically knead and wind your flattened through the extruder for the perfect fettuccine or ravioli.

As a result of not quite knowing what we signed up for, we actually ate before, thinking that we would not want to be hungry as we prepped and prepared. The results was us being too full to enjoy the three salads that we would learn to prepare fresh. However, staff at Yes Chef were able to help pack what we couldn’t finish up, so that none of it would go to waste. Unfortunately, leftovers were not anticipated so the packing consisted of wax paper and gift boxes, a clever solution along side making tinfoil swans.

So here I would advise you to bring your own containers, to be able pack what you need, minus the wilted greens that won’t keep. A couple of the salads even tasted better the day after. After the dressing and vinaigrettes were allowed to marinade into the pasta and noodles below.

I will not be going over how to make each individual recipe, but encourage you to take a class for yourself. You can just as easily follow a recipe from any cookbook, especially seeing as our host of the evening, Chef Dez is the author of 9. During class he actually referenced recipes from his cookbooks. And each student was given a booklet containing the same recipes so that they can follow along, take notes, and bring home for future reference.

However, the best part of such classes is to be able to ask questions, especially if you are looking for any substitutions like accommodating a dietary restriction, or decreasing sugar and salt for health benefits. Chef Dez also offered up best practises and easy tips, with a great focus on presentation, so that the dishes would have a restaurant quality as opposed to just a consumer one.

This included how to properly cut vegetables for a greater appeal (get the pun?). Plus salad and kitchen hacks on how to do things the most efficiently. For example, when cutting corn from the cob, if you use an angel food cake pan and put the corn pointed side down into the centre hole of said pan, you can easily take your knife and slice down to have better stability and all the kernels fall into the dish below for gathering.

I really appreciated Chef Dez’s honesty in using premade and prepackaged items like marmalade and pre-washed spring greens. His goal was to make it easy for the audience, so that we would want to do this at home for ourselves. He also showed how easy it was to do things like zesting and juicing a lime or lemon (with the right tool), so that there is no need to buy bottled options. Plus how butter and sugar easily make candied walnuts, so you do not have to purchase a bag with extra preservatives and processed sugars.

We made three salads in a span of 2.5 hours. All of which were not just greens on a plate, which I appreciated. The difference that made the following salads, as opposed to pasta or noodles, is the fact that the vegetables remained raw, the ingredients are layered, and a sauce/vinaigrette is always poured over top, with a final crispy element sprinkled to finish.

The first was a candied walnut and goat cheese, cranberry Springs salad, with a four ingredient vinaigrette. I found it not unlike restaurant quality, and it was so simple to prepare. I can definitely see myself doing this one at home with ability to be generous on my favourite toppings of goat cheese and walnuts. It would also add some beats into this mix, to make it a more fulsome dish.

This was accompanied with a glass of either white or red wine of your choosing. Or a can of soda water or sparkling for those not drinking.

Before our third course we would get another pour. I went from the lighter Italian white with the spring salad, to the bolder red for the heavier pasta.

We were also given a break here to be allowed to pursue the store and shop. Thus Allowing Chef Dez to prep some vegetables and cook the pasta.

The second salad was a spicy Thai noodle with extra red chillies for those who can take the heat. Sautéed brown chicken thigh, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, and mint smothered in an oyster-soy sauce; finished with crunchy crushed peanuts on top. Given the familiar flavour profile, this was my favourite of the three salads featured.

Being use to the burn of red Thai chillies, my guest and I were the only two who opted in for an additional sprinkling of them over top, and not just in the sauce. The benefit of having it made before your eyes meant the chef was able to prepare extra sauce and have it so that there was not a dry plate.

The last salad was a parsley pesto pasta salad with a slew of fresh veggies: corn, broccoli, tomato raw, and sun-dried. It was nice to be able to learn how to make pesto from scratch, and that you need not follow the traditional basil recipe, but can use parsley as a spicier more nutty alternative.

I also appreciated being able to watch specific kitchen tools being used, ones I have never seen, and others I did not know existed. All of which available for purchase within the store. Anyone who participates in these classes get 15% off of everything in store. Once again, you are given time in between courses and after the class to shop and pick up a few items, including Chef Dez’s cookbooks.

A few of the interesting tools featured today included a 14 inch electric skillet for the even cooking of lots of food at once. The citrus juicer, was able to completely rid juice from rind. I liked the specialty sauce drizzling spoon with its spouted end. And the necessity of owning a micro plane grater was highly stressed, as the best way to get all the rind off any citrus fruit.

In closing, this was a fun way to have a meal. A great learning moment I would recommend to anyone of any cooking level. It is nice to be able to sit back and watch someone prepare a meal for you, and nice to be able to learn some thing and replicate it for yourself and your loved ones at home.

Yes Chef
2619 Montrose Ave, Abbotsford, BC V2S 3T5
(604) 746-1232
yeschef.ca