Cook’s April Schedule: A Sneak Preview

A new month means a new schedule of classes at Cook. As always, we have your sneak peek–this time two whole days before the class list goes live on Wednesday, March 7th, at the Cook website. So take a look, see what’s coming up and then, come Wednesday, be sitting by your computer early because these classes seem to be selling out faster and faster every month.

What’s New In April:

Okay, so you know how we’ve been doing these Foobooz Neighborhood Pop-Ups for the past couple months at Cook? We did East Passyunk (killer). We did Fishtown (a drunken, loudmouth mess in the best possible way). We’ve got the “Wheeled Neighborhood” food truck pop-up (which sold out in a matter of minutes) coming in a couple weeks, bringing together the likes of The Mini Trini, Say Cheese, Sugar Philly and others for a one-night-only indoor food truck-a-palooza. And in April. we’ve got a new neighborhood and a brand new party to throw.

The Fairmount Neighborhood Pop-Up (April 18) is going to be huger than you can possibly imagine. We’ll have food. We’ll have booze. We’ll have chefs doing weird things to pork chops and cooking together like the brothers-in-arms they are (or at least pretend to be when in public). More notably, Fairmount is going to be a huge deal because it has seen more openings over the past few months than any other neighborhood in the city and we’re going to get as many of those chefs crammed in behind the line at Cook as we possibly can.

Register fast is what I’m saying here. Tickets are going to go quick.

Also, while you’re hanging out on the site, check out Wednesday, April 4 which is going to be the night of our very first Cook and Foobooz “Open Stove Night.”

What is Open Stove Night, you ask?

Open Stove Night is a competition–a contest between two worthy chefs (or line cooks, or sauciers, or dishwashers) who haven’t risen to the level of household names yet, but who might someday be the guys opening the next generation of great restaurants. Open Stove Night is where they get to show off, to showcase their skills for the public and to cut their teeth in front of a crowd. We give them a bunch of ingredients and a challenge (both of which are kept secret until the night in question) and then have them duel to the death (metaphorically speaking) for your pleasure and amusement. Think of it like a small and local version of Iron Chef. Or, more appropriately, think of it like a cooler, more local, more guerilla version of Top Chef, where you get to decide who goes home victorious and who ends up crying in his beer. We’ll provide the booze and the fun, all you have to do is sit in judgement.

What’s Cool In April:

In addition to the new programs on the Cook schedule, there are also going to be some awesome nights worth mentioning. On Saturday, April 7, Jonathan Adams (aka Johnny Mac) of Pub & Kitchen and Diving Horse fame, will be behind the stove doing a night entitled “Down The Shore In The City” which will bring you all the pleasures of a summertime trip down the Shore without you having to worry about traffic, tipping, beach tags or getting sand in your private regions.

On Friday the 13th (lucky!), Jeremy Nolen from Brauhaus Schmitz will be behind the stoves cooking up some contemporary German cuisine which, I’m guessing, will involve a lot of tube-shaped meats and beer (a lot like classical German cuisine, really…).

They’ve got Joe Cicala from Le Virtu coming in on the 10th to school you in the art of pasta-making. On the 20th, Yun Fuentes and Paul Rodriguez from Tinto will be doing tapas. On the 25th, David Katz of Meme will be doing…something. Honestly, no one appears to know what he’s going to be doing yet, but that doesn’t matter. His classes are always fun and very, very drinky.

Stalker’s Report:

For those of you who just use the classes at Cook as a method for getting close to your favorite local chefs (nothing wrong with that), there are two nights you want to keep an eye on. First, on April 22nd, Lee Styer from Fond will be in the house, cooking contemporary American cuisine. The last time we saw him at Cook was during our East Passyunk pop-up, where he had to share the stage with a bunch of other white jackets. Now he’s holding down the stoves all by himself, and the night promises to be a good one.

And then, on April 16th, we’ve got “An Evening With Jason Cichonski of Ela.” Dude was just voted the hottest chef in Philly over at eater.com, and came close(ish) to being named the hottest chef in the U.S.. And you know what else? He can cook like a motherf… Well, let’s just say he cooks very well, too.

Wanna hang out with him and 17 other lucky local gastronauts? Just be watching the Cook website on Wednesday, and be ready to click on his class the minute the schedule goes live.

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