The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Pairing nicely
Cooking school combining take-home kits with YouTube instructions, prepared meals with Zoom-based chef access
Proof that necessity is indeed the mother of invention is found in the lineup of food experiences being offered by the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking in Chester Township. They’ve been so successful that they will continue even as restaurants reopen.
Combining high-quality meals with how-to instructions via Zoom and YouTube videos continues the tasty learn-as-you-eat formula familiar from its popular cooking classes.
Instructor Kate Csepegi has a Memorial Day weekend meal covered with a $45 kit that includes nonperishable ingredients for a dinner for four and connection to a private YouTube video that shows how to make it, step-by-step. The resulting meal this week is a Carrot Salad; Grilled Chicken Breast with Homemade BBQ Sauce; Roasted Potatoes with Corn, Celery and Onions; and Apple Crisp.
A small grocery list of perishable ingredients also is included, and because the instructions are in a YouTube video that doesn’t expire, the meal can be prepared any time.
“It’s ideal for a family working on it together,” Csepegi said.
They may wish to set up a laptop in the kitchen and connect to the video to divide up tasks to make the meal. Instruction and preparation usually take about an hour.
The kit can be ordered any time this week, but the pickup is set for 2 to 4 p.m. May 21.
Pickup is made easy by pulling into the driveway off Route 322 between the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking and Sapore, the adjacent sister restaurant where the kits are assembled. Sapore, 8623 Mayfield Road, also is the place where a selection of other meals has been prepared by owner Loretta Paganini for carryout during the pandemic lockdown.
They are making only 10 kits for each class, and past classes have all been soldout.
“We keep them small so they’re more manageable,” Cspegi said.
She shares a recipe for White Vegetable Lasagna that was included in a recent kit.
Along with kits, the school is offering elaborate prepared meals paired with instructions on the Zoom video-conferencing platform.
Questions can be asked during live, hourlong Zoom presentations showing how to prepare a meal picked up earlier the same day.
A meal of Torta al Testo with Rosemary; Stringozzi Pasta with Asparagus Orange Sauce; Porchetta Herb Stuffed Pork Roast with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes; and Tozzetti Almond and Hazelnut Biscotti can be ordered for pickup between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 20. You could then sit down to eat at 6 p.m. as you watch Paganini prepare it on Zoom. A link to the Zoom class is sent before it begins. The meal feeding four costs $75 and those who want just the Zoom class pay $45.
Instructor Stefanie Paganini,
Loretta’s daughter, offers the Down East Maine class on May 27 with an $85 meal for four of Stonington Scallop Chowder; Lobster Risotto; Chicken Mushroom Fricassee with Juniper Roasted Potatoes; and Wild Blueberry Pecan Cake with Apple Cider Crème Anglaise. Pick up the meal between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., set the table, tune into Zoom and see how to prepare it. Want just the Zoom class without the meal? Pay $45.
In-person recreational classes begin May 21 at the school’s building at 8613 Mayfield Road. During the pandemic-related closure, that structure, called the Gingerbread House, was renovated to comply with Centers of Disease Control standards for distancing, occupancy and flow. Paganini’s professional school, the International Culinary Arts & Sciences Institute, resumed classes on May 18.