Every single week private chefs Julia Doyne and Mary Veinovic host a variety of themed cooking classes for every occasion whether it’s for a birthday, large group gathering, holiday celebration, or even for a special date night with your spouse. However, it’s not your typical cooking class that is tucked away inside of a restaurant. What makes ICanCook Miami so special and unique is that it gives locals the chance to learn how to cook in a intimate and comfortable setting which happens to be the chefs very own home! How amazing is that?! You actually get the opportunity to learn how to cook from inside a chef’s very own kitchen!
Luckily, I had the opportunity to take a cooking class with my husband back in February and experience it all for myself. The theme of the night was “Fish Friday” which means we were going to be making pan seared fish along with pomegranate ceviche, baby tomato salad, lemon rosemary roasted potatoes, and key lime pie for dessert. When we arrived to the chef’s home that night we immediately received a warm welcome from Chef Julia and were introduced to three other couples that were also taking the class with us. We chatted with one another for a bit, served ourselves some amazing red wine, and then we began the class.
The way the class was setup was pretty neat because each person was in charge of one specific task and each couple was in charge of a preparing a side dish. For Example, I was in charge of chopping the pineapple and red onion that was going to be used for the ceviche and salad and my husband was in charge of preparing the dessert. One of the couples had to chop all of the tomatoes, cucumbers, and chives for the salad and the other two couples had to chop all of the potatoes, butternut squash, and squeeze the lemons, limes, and oranges.
Once everything was cut, chef Julia brought out the ceviche and each one of us got to marinade it and add all of the ingredients to the bowl and mix it all together with our hands which was actually pretty fun! Afterwards, we let the ceviche sit and we began to prepare and cook the fish. This was probably my favorite part of the class because for the first time ever I learned how to cut fish and the techniques behind it. After everyone finished cutting their fish it was time to cook it in the pan. Everyone got to pan sear their fish (one at a time) and as soon as the last person finished then it was finally time to eat!
We stepped outside of the kitchen into the patio area and found the most gorgeous dinner table waiting for us that was already setup with candles and real flowers! It was so beautiful and felt so intimate and special and it was all done by chef Julia! After every one picked out their seat we began to serve ourselves buffet style and started eating everything that we had prepared together.
I was really impressed with all of the food that we made because everything came out super delicious! The lemon rosemary roasted potatoes were so flavorful and addicting and the ceviche was super fresh and had a very unique taste to it because of the shredded coconut, pineapple, and pomegranate seeds in it and it was definitely the BEST ceviche that I’ve had up-to-date!! The butternut squash was cooked to perfection because it came out so soft and it actually had a good taste to it along with the baby tomato salad which was very light, fresh, and healthy!
The fish that we made came out amazing as well because it was very fresh and light since it wasn’t cooked in a lot of oil and was only seasoned with kosher salt. Last but not least, my favorite part of the whole meal was the Key Lime Pie dessert which was to die for! I absolutely loved it because it wasn’t over the top sweet or sour compared to most of the Key Lime Pies that I’m used to eating because of the heavy lime zest and the crust was made out of almonds instead of graham crackers which gave it a different yet delicious taste.
After we all finished eating we stayed talking with one another and getting to know the other couples at the table and right before we left Chef Julia handed us a little recipe book and extra key lime to take home with us which to me was very thoughtful! I really loved that gesture because it showed the effort and extra mile that Chef Julia went through to make our experience truly special and unforgettable. Plus, it really came in handy since I wanted to recreate the same recipes at home.
Overall, I really enjoyed the class and loved how knowledgable and helpful Chef Julia was in answering my questions and in coming to my aid when I got stuck in a step and how comfortable she made everyone feel in her home. Everything from the menu to the table setup was very well planned and executed and she really went above and beyond to make our experience special. Another aspect that I loved about the class was that we got to meet and network with other couples and work together as a team to create these amazing dishes.
I strongly recommend and urge everyone who has never taken a ICanCook Miami class to do so because it’s a really unique and fun experience like no other and it’s a fresh and different alternative to eating out at a restaurant. I really think it’s a great date night idea and I also think it’s a great class to take with your mother, sister, friend, colleague, etc. So the next time you’re looking for something cool to do during the week (or weekend) then make sure to skip the restaurant and book a class with ICanCook Miami!
For more information and/or to book a class with ICanCook Miami you can visit their website at: http://www.icancookmiami.com
And make sure to follow them on Instagram!
** On behalf of my husband and I we would like to give a special thanks to Chef Julia for accommodating us and allowing us to participate in this amazing experience! **