L’École Culinaire – More Than “Just” a School

L’École Culinaire – More Than “Just” a School

Last Thursday I had dinner at L’Ecole Culinaire’s Presentation Room on the Plaza.  If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a private cooking school with locations also in Memphis and St. Louis.  They offer classes to us ordinary mortals as well (see our current wine contest for their wine class on February 12^th!) as well as degree classes and diplomas in culinary skills and restaurant management.  Students do the cooking and baking as well as the serving and hosting. 

BUT, what I want to talk about is this dinner we had.  Prepared and served by students, it was delicious and remarkably, and I mean remarkably, inexpensive.  The charcuterie board was amazing, four or so different meats and pates, grilled bread, scallions, beets, couple of difference sauces – it was, truly, a meal for two all on its own.  Seven bucks.   Entrées were $12 and you could choose from five – a fish, sirloin, lamb, and a chicken lasagna that was unusual and excellent according to my co-taster.  I had the pork chop which was perfect and served with probably the best Brussels sprouts I have ever had. There was a choice of three desserts, each at $3, which included flaming bananas foster.  The place has a bakery outlet downstairs which is open five days a week and serves coffee as well. 

You can only get dinner on Wednesdays and Thursdays and reservations are preferred of course.  Call 816-627-0100 for those.  And check out their evolving classes on chocolate, wine, pizza, and more for amateurs by first checking out our website which will take you to their classes. Or go there for lunch, Monday through Thursday.

L'Ecole Culinaire Presentation Room

310 Ward Parkway 
Kansas City, MO 64112 
Ph. 816-627-0100 

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Slurping oysters will win one lucky team $1,000

Slurping oysters will win one lucky team $1,000 at the second annual Jax Fish House oyster eating competition on February 27

Jax declares February Oyster Month and will feature weekly food and drink specials and 10 cents per oyster shucked donated to Leukemia & Lymphoma Society during the month

 Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar has declared February Oyster Month and is planning a month-long celebration, highlighted by its second annual oyster eating competition on Saturday, Feb. 27 with a grand prize of $1,000 and free crab for a year. Guests will also have the opportunity to enjoy weekly food and drink specials all month created by Chef de Cuisine Theresia Ota and Lead Bartender Kenny Cohrs. Finally, ten cents per every Emersum oyster shucked at Jax during the month of February will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Oyster Eating Competition

Jax’s second annual oyster eating competition will take place on Saturday, February 27 at 2 p.m. Teams of four will attempt to swallow the most oysters in a 2-minute battle. The team that slurps the most oysters in the given time will win $1,000 cash. The entry fee for the oyster eating competition is $400 and all proceeds will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Those who wish to enter the oyster eating competition can register by calling Jax at (816) 437-7940 and asking for Tim Roy or Margaret Adams. The last day to register is February 20. Space is limited.

Oyster Month Food & Drink Specials

Chef de Cuisine Theresia Ota has created four oyster-inspired dishes for the oyster month celebration. Each special will run for one week during February.

        Week 1 (Feb. 1-7)- Duane’s Spicy Fried Oysters $15- Sriracha hot sauce, sweet and sour fennel, yuzu aioli, toasted sesame seed, puffed rice

        Week 2 (Feb. 8-14)- Fried Oyster Biscuit and Gravy $15- Andouille, white gravy, sunny egg

        Week 3 (Feb. 15-22)- Dietzy’s Banh Mi $17- Rice flour fried oysters, Nam Pla Pickled vegetables, cilantro, sriracha mayo, chicken liver pate

        Week 4 (Feb. 23-29)- Tempura Oyster and Ahi Udon $19- Soy marinated mushrooms, ahi noodles, kimchee, miso broth, nori

Lead Bartender Kenny Cohrs has also developed a number of oyster month drinks that will run throughout February including:

        Precautionary Measures - Featuring Deveron 12 year scotch, Pimm's No.1 liqueur and Combier, the original triple sec.

Charity

Ten cents of every Emersum oyster shucked during the month of February will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Jax will also donate the registration fees from the oyster eating competition to LLS. 

4814 Roanoke Pkwy
Kansas City, MO 64112
Ph. (816) 437-7940 

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Donate to JCCC Food Pantry

Donate to JCCC Food Pantry and receive 20% off your order at The Pastry Shop

(Open every Friday when classes are in session from 3 p.m. until sold out or 5:30 p.m.)

The pastry program is partnering with the college’s food pantry and will accept items on Fridays during the sale. Please bring items from the list below and we will make sure you receive a 20% discount during checkout.

Canned meats, tuna, chicken, and meat pasta sauces, peanut butter, canned fruit, chunky meat soups, protein or whole wheat, pastas, whole grain cereals.  If possible, please no canned vegetable products particularly canned corn and bean products (we have boxes and boxes).

If you would like to make a cash donation

Let the cashier know how much you are contributing above your total and it will be donated to the pantry.

You may go to https://secure.touchnet.com/C20110_ustores/web/store_cat.jsp?STOREID=3&CATID=606&SINGLESTORE=true to make the donation.
Checks should be made out to “JCCC Foundation” then in note Food Pantry.

Send checks to
JCCC Foundation
Johnson County Community College
12345 College Blvd.
Overland Park, KS 66210-1299

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Like Travel? Like Wine? Then you'll love

If you like food & wine, you will love this...

Publisher of the Restaurant Guide of Kansas City, Kathy Denis, a French government certified tour guide in the Bordeaux area in the 1990s, decided to lead twice-yearly culinary tours three years ago. Her husband is from France, and after their marriage, they moved to Kansas City and started publishing the restaurant guide.

     “We had always given advice on travelling to France and helped people plan their vacations. While on a family trip to France in 2012, we decided to ‘officially’ share our knowledge, experience, and personal contacts in France by launching a sister-business called Global Culinary Escapades,” explained Kathy.

     The main area they focus on is the city of Bordeaux, its surrounding vineyards including the town of St. Emilion, and the Dordogne Valley, including the medieval town of Sarlat. Kathy Pelz (Kansas City) and two former Dames have been among the 15 travelers on each tour.

     “We have personally known for years many of the artisans and restaurants that we visit, so the biggest challenge in planning tours is narrowing down the places where we can actually take people on the tours because of time constraints. There are so many fantastic artisans passionate about what they do and amazing places to visit with such rich history that we could easily spend a lot more time in each area,” said Kathy.

     Unusual things sometimes happen during tours. Kathy relates, “We were having dinner in a private room of a castle that had a fire lit in the fireplace, large candelabras and candles everywhere, and it was thundering and lightening When the server left the room, we decided that the atmosphere was more authentic without the electric lights from the chandelier so we turned them off! She was surprised upon returning and thought there was a problem with the electricity. We convinced her that we were perfectly fine without the electric lights on and finished our meal in a completely medieval atmosphere. Also, I ran into French movie star Franck Dubosc when we were visiting Sarlat’s Saturday market and got my picture taken with him.”

     Foods typical of the region where Kathy takes her tours are oysters, foie gras, confit de canard, red wine, canelés (small dessert cakes from Bordeaux), black truffles (from Perigord), and cèpe mushrooms.

     Pleased guests wrote, “We saw and did so much that the trip now seems magical.” “Wow – beyond my expectations with a surprise around every corner.” “Fabulous trip of a lifetime.”

More information click here or 913.766.8067

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Happy Hour V

Bring in the New Year . . . Skipping the Bubbles

Well, I am just about there – ready to say no more alcohol!  Between the food and the drink, I’ve successfully gained a few pounds this holiday season, which of course I needed.  So maybe it’s time to kick it down a notch.  Hmmmm, where to go to have a drink that’s not a drink and not just a drink that they subtract the alcohol from?

I don’t want to talk about coffee or tea or diet coke or a green smoothie here.  I want it still to be pretty and sparkly if possible.  Like the seven Italian cream sodas, including orange or pomegranate or blackberry at Webster House.  My friend loves the Not Your Father’s Root Beer at Cleaver & Cork but they also serve Little Freshie seasonal hand crafted sodas, too. For the ultimate, perhaps, try the “Nara Cure” at the eponymous restaurant – it’s made of healing elixirs: botanicals of cucumber, thyme, lemon and orange are said to promote a youthful glow and spirit.

Of course, maybe I can get that youthful glow by returning to my inner child and just ordering a Shirley Temple (probably from someone who doesn’t know who Shirley was and why there’d be a drink named after her).  Make mine with club soda.  And extra cherries.  The low cal ones of course. 

Cheers to 2016!

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