Chef studio teaches cooking

New classes return to basics

When you watch cooking shows on the Food Network, you may think that you have to upgrade to shiny, new, top-notch kitchenware in order to get those great looking and tasting results.

But professional chef Jon Anderson wants people to know that just isn't so. And to prove it, he's installing home-grade equipment in The Fork and Spoon Kitchen Studio on Highway 61 in West Ashley, where he will teach cooking classes for chefs of all experience levels when he opens early next year. He wants to show people that they can create a lot of great food in their kitchens, and they don't need fancy equipment to do it.

'The average person doesn't have a six-burner stove or a Garland

range,' Anderson said. 'I'm not trying to sell anything but maybe some of my knowledge.'

Anderson already has The Fork and Spoon Kitchen Web site up, complete with a schedule of classes that span a variety of techniques and cultures - and interesting names. The 'Miso Sushi-Love It Long Time' class is meant to show how to properly construct the Japanese staple. The chef will stress the importance of pasta in cultures around the world in the 'Noodles, Noodles Everywhere' course. And he said he's already gotten several inquiries about 'Globe-Trotting Chicken Feast,' which will show participants how different cultures prepare chicken.

The idea behind The Fork and Spoon Kitchen, located on Highway 61 in West Ashley, is pretty simple and is reflected in the slogan: 'Make new friends. Keep the old ones. Learn to cook.'

Anderson wants to teach people not only the how-tos, but why certain things happen as you put a meal together. He wants those who attend his classes to appreciate a casual experience of sharing simple foods and building culinary confidence. To him, it's ok to make a mistake or a few. So what if you don't have all the ingredients a recipe calls for? You can work around that.

That's not to say Anderson hasn't had his fair share of experience in the larger, more commercial kitchens. After graduating from Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Ore., he spent over a decade with acclaimed chefs in Europe, New York and San Francisco. Anderson has also been an instructor at Charleston Cooks!

But when he lived in Minnesota and taught courses at an old farmhouse, he realized that it wasn't necessary to have a kitchen full of gadgets. The building is Anderson's ideal of a cozy experience. It's probably about 350 square feet. He doesn't want more than 10 people in each class. Most of the courses are $35 and are intended to last two or three hours. For more information or to sign up for classes, visit forkandspoonkitchen.com.

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