Le Chat Gourmet; Fine Cooking Classes in Eaton Rapids, Michigan

Posted on 16 February 2007 under Cooking Classes

One of the things I enjoy about this blog, and about my Michigan Cuisine web site, is the array of people who contact me to chat about cooking, get their site listed, or even to make corrections to what I’ve written. Others, such as Mary Beth at 101.5 The River in Toledo, or The Kitchen blog on the massive Apartment Therapy site in NYC, talk about what I’m doing here without telling me first. All this just makes life interesting.

So, it’s nice to hear from people like Chef Denene Vincent, Owner and Executive Chef of Le Chat Gourmet Culinary Arts in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Chef Denene had found my Michigan Cuisine site, and emailed me yesterday to ask for a link from there to her site.

Once I looked up her own web site, discovered more about what she does, and realized she’s not that far away, just off M-50 northwest of Jackson, I decided she deserves more than just a simple link on my other site (which I’ve already done). Like Chef Tad of the Frog Leg Inn in Erie, Michigan, Chef Denene loves to teach. And from what I can tell, she loves it quite a bit, celebrating her 4th year of devoting a lot of her time to teaching anyone who’d like to take one of her diverse classes.

For example, on February 23rd she’s teaming up with Saveur magazine (one of my faves) to teach a class called Classic Italian II.

And on March 17th for the Guinness Beer Bash class, all the dishes she’ll teach have Guinness as the “secret ingredient”, including a Guinness Stout Ice Cream with Homemade Chocolate Fudge Sauce.

I might have to attend that one myself …

In her email, Chef Denene made sure to mention a series of three classes under the umbrella of Taste of Michigan, which incorporates Michigan ingredients from that season into the dishes themselves. 

There are also classes for kids, such as the Junior Chef Peanut Butter Lover class on March 10th, where kids from age 8 - 13 will start by making their own peanut butter. They’ll then use this peanut butter to make an Asian Chicken Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing, and Peanut Butter Cookies!

Outside the scheduled activities listed on Chef Denene’s online calendar, she also hosts corporate team-building cooking classes. Can you imagine making a sauce with your supervisor? My supervisor’s from India. More curry, please!

There are also all kinds of possibilities for private cooking classes for groups. I know Mary and her friends would love a Girls’ Night, and there may even be a need to one of her friends to have one of Chef Denene’s special brand of Bridal Shower with all those same gals present and cooking.

The photos on Le Chat Gourmet’s web site show some of the dishes. Chef Denene’s studies in art really shine through.

But in September is when the real fun happens. From September 22nd through the 28th, Chef Denene will take a group of folks to France for a Culinary Vacation. The itinerary sounds simply amazing, with Chef Denene preparing some of her clients’ meals herself at Le Grand Maison. If you can afford this and have the time to go, it’ll certainly be an incredible experience.

I really don’t know of any other location, particularly in Michigan, where you can take classes like this. The variety of possibilities at Le Chat Gourmet Culinary Arts ensure there’s something for everyone.

And one of these days, I’ll head up there and take one of the classes myself. Maybe two, who knows.

Mary thinks I should take the Guinness class. Hmmm … I’ll have to consider that one …

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