"0"^^ . "2"^^ . "2015-12-10T00:00:00"^^ . . "7"^^ . . "I just finished the 24-week Practical Series and without a doubt it was well worth the time and money. I consider myself a pretty decent home chef, but I wanted to take my skills up a level. Classic Cooking Academy did exactly that. I look at recipes entirely differently now. I no longer view them as instructions. I view them and a source of ideas or inspiration.\n\nOne example, I was reviewing a recipe for pork tenderloin cordon bleu and got to the part containing the steps for making the sauce. I said, \"I see what they are doing here, they are making a cream sauce. But they forgot the shallots. And since it goes on pork it should probably also have some rosemary.\" Thanks to Classic Cooking Academy I now think like that.\n\nWhat you will learn in the Practical Series is methods and techniques. You learn the building blocks. You learn about saut\u00E9ing meat vs saut\u00E9ing vegetables. You will gain confidence in the kitchen. Even me, who has been cooking for ten years and consider myself an experienced home chef, I now find myself much more relaxed in the kitchen. Dishes I've been preparing for years now seem so much easier.\n\nEach session has a classroom portion at the beginning in which Chef Pascal demonstrates the technique and also explains the WHY behind it. Then you move to the kitchen for a hands-on session.\n\nChef Pascal is the perfect person to be teaching this course. A passion for food. A great sense of humor. A life of experience working in kitchens in Europe and America.\n\nI don't care if you've never cooked a meal in or life, or if you are more experienced. You will find Classic Cooking Academy's Practical Series well worth it. In fact, I've already signed up for their 12-week Pastry Series."^^ . . "5"^^ .