Culinary Getaway with the Island Gourmet Girls, Inn at Isle au Haut, June 13-15 or June 15-17

The back porch of the Inn at Isle au Haut

Every person that steps on the island–be they hiker, camper, sightseer, worker, repairman, photographer, news reporter, houseguest or whatever–becomes a member of this small community the instant their foot touches the town dock.  When you visit an island as small as ours, you don’t really have the luxury of being a casual observer.  If there is a fire, we may ask you to haul buckets.  If someone goes missing, we may sign you onto a search party.  If there is a parade, we may invite you to construct a float, or bang a drum, or honk a horn. We will encourage you to participate  in our annual talent show, or make a cameo in the island contra dance band, or just come to one of our parties. 

In return, for the time that you are here, we give you our home.  We invite you to take the memory of it with you and make it, in your own way, yours. 

It is in this spirit that my friend Diana came to me a few years ago and asked if I’d be willing to open up my home and business to her inn guests for a day of chocolate making lessons. 

Diana owns and operates the Inn at Isle au Haut, a beautiful retreat on the east side of the island.  Though I could wax poetic for several paragraphs about this place, I’ll encourage you, instead, to check it out yourself by clicking on the link.  I will say, however, that while Diana is a gracious hostess and a talented decorator, it is clear (to me, anyway) that the very soul of her inn manifests itself in her cooking. 

Diana is offering two sets of dates for the unique opportunity to pull on an apron, roll up your sleeves and work side-by-side with three of the island’s many noteworthy cooks. 

The first night, Diana will  treat you to one of her five-course meals at the inn.  On the second day, Diana will instruct guests in the art of making bread and a delicious side dish, which they will then pack up and trek on over to the home of bestselling author Linda Greenlaw, where she will give a lesson in seafood preparation.  Guests will then enjoy the fruits of their labors over dinner with the world-renowned swordboat captain.  And on the third day of their stay, guests will come on over to the Black Dinah Cafe for a hands-on lesson in chocolate making. 

For more information about the Getaway click here.  Or give Diana a call over at the inn: 207.335.5141

Just another quick note about May 9th

The classroom at the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School

 All day yesterday that I had a niggling feeling that I was going to get myself into trouble, and then it finally occurred to me that my last post may have sounded a bit snarky.  

Snark is the 00’s answer to the sarcasm of the 80’s; tomorrow’s parents will tell their teenage children that ’snark isn’t funny, it’s a sign of insecurity,’ and then their teenagers will go ahead and be snarky anyway.  Hello, they’re teenagers.  They ARE insecure.  

Which is exactly my defense for my own ‘ill-constructed’ comment about the title of  the class I will be teaching on May 9th at the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School.  If it didn’t come across in my post, I am thrilled to have been asked to teach a class at Stonewall.  A thrill that is well-tempered by just a bit of performance anxiety.  Oh, I’ll get over it.  I always do.  

Okay, enough on that subject. Right now, I want you to take a good long gander at that gorgeous classroom in the  photo above.  York isn’t all that far away, and the class is filling up fast.  We are going to have a great time, and I’d love it if you would join myself and the very nice people at the Cooking School on May 9th.  

And if you can’t make that, or if you really want to do a complete immersion in chocolate (not literally, of course), don’t forget that this coming weekend I will be teaching at the Hartstone Inn in Camden.   

“Everything you wanted to know about chocolate, and more!” at the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School, May 9th

To keep with my current theme, I’d like to begin by saying that if you have read my blog or know me at all, then you know that I did not come up up with the above title for my class on chocolate.  Be that as it may, it seems that on May 9th, I will be present in the jaw-droppingly gorgeous kitchen of the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School in York, Maine to try and deliver on this ill-constructed promise.  It should be fairly entertaining.

If I had inserted a picture of the facilities here, then you would know just about as much about this cooking school as I do.  I met the manager, a very nice lady named Patty Roche, at Harvest on the Harbor in Portland in October.  She asked me if I would be interested in teaching a class, I said yes of course, and the rest is history.  

Or will be.  The class is from 1:30-3:30 on May 9th and I imagine I will be covering, well, just about everything, as the above superlative suggests.  Or at least as much as I can get to in 2 hours.  This is a demonstration class, so if you’re squeamish about getting your hands a little sloppy, then this is the one for you.  I will demonstrate several tempering techniques, moulding, dipping and some decorating.  As always, I am happy to try and answer your questions, and am willing to let them steer the direction of the class, if there is interest.  

Check out the cooking school here, and I would love it if you would join me on May 9th.

Artisan Chocolate Making II at the Hartstone Inn, April 25th & 26th

In the heart of Camden, just about a block from the Stop N Go, and a short walk from the glittering waterfront, is the aptly-named Hartstone Inn.  Last December, innkeepers Mary Jo and Michael took a chance and asked me to teach a class on chocolate making as part of the inn’s cooking school.  I jumped at the opportunity.

If you’ve read my blog or know me at all, then you know I don’t usually think things through.  In fact, I can count on one hand the number of decisions I’ve made in my life that  I’ve actually thought long and hard about–and to good result, so one wonders why I don’t do it more often. 

In my defense, December IS a pretty busy time in the chocolate world.  After a season of doubling our retail sales, we were looking at the very real possibility of shooting through the roof for the winter holidays.  Had I, in a tiny moment of insanity back in October, really agreed to pack it all up and leave the island for two days to teach a class down the coast?

Well, I had, and I did, and while it wasn’t a flawless performance, we all had a GREAT time (evidence in the above picture, courtesy of Michael’s blog site).  Michael and the inn’s sous chef, Zeph, are two the nicest, most helpful, gracious and professional people alive, and their welcome and gentle guidance that weekend really made the whole thing a success.  If you’re interested, you can read more about that class on Michael’s blog.

To my delight, Michael and Mary Jo have asked me back for a follow up class next weekend.  I plan to cover various hand-tempering techniques, “shell” and figurine moulding, and the making of chocolate decorations, including the use of colored cocoa butter and transfer sheets.  This is a hands-on course, and though some of the techniques are quite advanced, all that’s required of participants is a willingness to have fun and get your hands a little chocolate-y.  We’ll taste our creations at the end of class and you will be able to take a box of your handmade chocolates home with you.  

The classes are from 1-3, Saturday or Sunday, and you can call the Hartstone Inn at 1.800.788.4823 to save your spot.  While you’re at it, you might as well make reservations for dinner, too.  Michael and Zeph are sure to be cooking up something fabulous.

Tomorrow: Chocolate making demonstration class at the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School in York, Maine.

Spring into chocolate

Shell moulding with white chocolate

When asked about my philosophy on life, which, admittedly, isn’t all too often, I promptly reply that MY life, at least, has been a nice meaty series of happy accidents, sandwiched between slices of ill-formed plans and near disasters.  It’s a politician’s answer, I know, but if you get me at the right time, I might admit that I feel I may have made two really good, well-thought-out decisions. They are:

1) Marrying Steve.

and 2) Ditching my rather broad “career” in food, and specializing in chocolate.  

In regards to #2, it could have been anything, I suppose.  Bagels, ice cream, fruit leather, frozen dinners. What I mean to say, is that I had no real attachment to chocolate.  I just really needed to make a living with my rather limited battalion of skills.  Thankfully, however, I was born with an overbearing streak of romantic sensibility (though that seems rather an oxymoron), and when everything was laid out in bare light on the table, chocolate was really the only option.  

To make a really long story short (and to get to my belabored point), six years after making that decision, for better or for worse, that beautiful, dark, silky and sometimes incredibly frustrating substance defines me.  And though I shudder with horror each time I am erroneously referred to as a “master chocolatier,” I must admit I have some knowledge of the subject and am thrilled that, of late, I have been asked to share it with the general public.  

Beginning April 25th, I will be teaching a series of traveling spring workshops on artisan chocolate making.  In the next four days, I will feature descriptions of the upcoming classes and their respective venues.  Who knows, maybe  you or someone you know will want to join us?  I hope so!

Tomorrow: Artisan Chocolate Making at the Hartstone Inn in the heart of Camden, Maine.