Why Offer Cooking Classes? Bring additional revenue in by offering cooking educational experience to your customers. Give more reason for customers to attend your wine pairing dinners by doing it during the class. With the recession reducing revenues generated off the wine lists, combining wine with food in cooking classes will entice customers to buy and experience tastes without spending more. If you published a cookbook, promote it through a cooking class.

Help Consumers in Downturn Times. Many restaurants turn to cooking classes to provide alternative for their customers in a downturn economy. Majority of people work from 9 till 5, and then they come home at 6 or 7 and want to be in bed at a reasonable hour. They cannot afford hours to cook meals. In a cooking class you can teach guests how to make meals ahead of time so that meals can be frozen and taken out when it’s time to eat. Use cooking classes to teach your guests how to make economical, quick, yet nutritious dishes. Create a perception of value in your customer’s eye that by learning to cook from the restaurant’s chefs, the customer can create high quality, nutritious meals yet at the same time save money by cooking at home.

Theme-Based Cooking Classes. There are endless ideas you can come up with for a cooking class. For instance, you can talk about the role of food in a history of opera; or teach cooking classes based on a really old rare-to-find recipe book, say, from 18th century; or give a class based on recipe books by past celebrities, such as Maria Callas’ cookbook “La Divina in Cucina.” You can create holiday-themed cooking classes, such as for Christmas or Valentine’s Day to teach the secrets behind your favorite Christmas or Valentine’s treats and show your customers how they can wow their friends and relatives.

Food-Based Cooking Classes. With such a variety of ingredients and cooking styles, you can never run out of the ideas for a cooking class. For instance, teach your customers how to make handmade pasta from scratch. You can even stretch your pasta lessons into several sessions, featuring a different pasta shape and the proper accompaniments each session. Or you can offer simple lessons on Italian classics with dinner to follow. It is always a good idea to offer wine pairing tips along with the dinner to maximize customer experience and raise your margins. Other ideas include cooking classes for vegetarian and vegan dishes, exploring Thai and Indian cuisines, cooking with a particular tool, such as the cast iron skillet, teaching gourmet or ethnic cooking, and so on.

Promoting Cooking Classes. Offer cooking classes at a convenient time, such as on the weekends, in the afternoon or at night. Create a class packet to include written cooking instruction and a packet of recipes for each class attendee. Promote your classes through your web-site, your e-mail distribution list, restaurant announcement boards, and have your waiters mention cooking classes to diners. Have an option for guests to buy a cooking class as a present for a friend or a gift card.

Image provided by Free Foto.

Gotham Bar & Grill, New York City. Since 1984, this restaurant has been serving the finest menu of contemporary American dishes: new menu items are added each season, and the wine selection is amazing.  The chef/owner Alfred Portale has received numerous awards, including the Most Outstanding Chef in the Nation, four consecutive three-star reviews from the New York Times, and in 2009 the restaurant was named one of the most important New York City restaurants of the past forty years by New York Magazine. The restaurant holds one Michelin star, and has top Zagat ratings.  This New Year’s Eve, the restaurant will serve a special 6-course tasting menu with Champagne toast at midnight, featuring meals like grilled rack of lamb with Swiss chard, roasted Cipollini and potato puree.

Cut at the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, Las Vegas. Cut is widely acknowledged as one of the most popular restaurants in the US and is the second location for master chef Wolfgang Puck’s award-winning Beverly Hills steakhouse.  Cut offers a classic steakhouse menu with the contemporary interpretation.    The restaurant has a traditional steak house dining room seating 160 people, and an energetic 60-seat bar and lounge, serving exclusive custom cocktails and a smaller menu while providing a perfect vantage point for guests to overlook the shops at the Palazzo.  On New Year’s Eve, the menu features items like spiced Kobe beef short ribs, scallops with caviar and champagne, and a chocolate with caramel ganache and sorbet for dessert.

Domaine Chandon – Etoile, San Francisco. It is the only fine dining restaurant in Napa Valley that is located in the winery.  This Michelin-starred restaurant features innovative California cuisine with French influence.  The restaurant, Etoile, works closely with the winery, Chandon, to pair wine and food in most exquisite ways.  Guests can dine a la carte or explore wine and food tasting menus both at lunch and dinner.   This New Year’s Eve, the restaurant offers a special 5-course tasting menu paired with Chandon wines, followed by a live band, DJ and dancing.  The holiday menu includes poached lobster salad, roasted chestnut soup, roasted prime New York braised short ribs, and a special mandarin vanilla cannelloni with caramel dome and candied citrus for dessert.

Rialto, Boston. Located in Harvard Square, Rialto serves Italian cuisine with New England ingredients.    Chef/owner Jody Adams’s restaurant received 4 stars from Boston Globe, and was named 3 times one of the “World’s Top Hotel Restaurants” by the Gourmet magazine.  For New Year’s Eve, Rialto offers an elegant four-course dinner, live band The Smoking Jackets and a complimentary toast, of course.  Menu includes Foie gras, lobster, monkfish, chestnuts, pancetta and truffles.  Dessert menu lists chocolate cake with hazelnuts, cranberry and caramel.

Le Bec-Fin, Philadelphia. Established in 1980, Le Bec-Fin has become a true Philadelphia landmark.  The restaurant has been recently redesigned and now boasts an elegant décor of 19th century elegance of a Parisian dining salon. This New Year’s Eve, the restaurant offers a la carte dining featuring Chef Georges Perrier’s signature dishes with the option of a fabulous 7 course tasting menu, with a complimentary glass of champagne and complimentary chocolates and petite pastries.   Chef Perrier continually perfects his menu, which currently includes seared diver scallop with roasted apple and sauce Perigourdine, truffle stuffed turbot (type of fish) with black trumpet marmalade, Colorado rack of lamb with red wine salsify and butter braised shallot.

35th Street Bistro, Seattle. This European style restaurant is situated right in the heart of Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, featuring cuisine and hand-picked wines typical to Spain, Italy, France, Greece and other European countries.  2010 New Year’s Eve Dinner features 4 course pre fixe menu including complimentary half glass of Prosecco upon arrival.  Special holiday menu features items like duck trio consisting of Foie Gras, Duck Breast and Duck Confit or salmon trio consisting of Salmon Tartar, House Smoked Salmon, and Pan Seared Salmon.

La Tour, Vail, Colorado. Nestled in the heart of the Vail Ski Village, La Tour Restaurant has been voted the best restaurant in Vail since 2006.  Chef Paul Ferzacca strives to exclusively use organic, natural and sustainable ingredients.  The rooms are decorated with sculptures, paintings, photographs and glass art.  For New Year’s Eve, Chef Paul Ferzacca offers a multi-course degustation dinner, plus music, dancing and party favors.   Grand seating includes exclusive table seating until close, midnight champagne toast and party favors.  Dinner courses include Ahi tuna with American sturgeon caviar, seared foie gras with bacon and apple doughnuts, and an opera torte and chocolate truffles for dessert.

Sydney, Australia. Due to time zones, Sydney is one of the first cities to welcome the New Year and is notorious for hosting one of the most spectacular New Year’s Eve celebrations. It is estimated that about 2 million people gather at Sydney Harbor for the New Year’s Eve celebration and watch the extravagant fireworks exploding over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. The fireworks are traditionally followed by the Light Parade, which features more than 50 vessels, illuminated with decorative lights, sailing around Sydney Harbor. Australians largely follow British traditions and enjoy traditional dinner dishes for New Year’s Eve, such as roast meats and ham, mince pies and fruit cakes, though it is becoming more and more popular to have seafood for New Year’s Eve due to hot weather in Australia.

Paris, France. The French usually celebrate New Year’s Eve with a special feast called le Réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre. This feast, not surprisingly, includes truly French dishes such as foie gras, crème brulee, ice cream and Champagne. It’s a tradition for the French to eat out with friends on prix fixe menus at restaurants across Paris. On New Year’s Eve, Paris has magnificent lights shows along the Champs-Elysees and other parts of the cities. The main anchor of the celebrations, however, is the Grande Parade de Chantilly, which has grown into one of the city’s most popular attractions.

Rome, Italy. Italians usually celebrate New Year’s Eve with parents and friends. Traditional New Year’s Eve dinner, called La Festa di San Silvestro, always includes lentils, which are typically served with cotechino, an extremely rich spiced Italian pork sausage, and a zampone, a stuffed pig’s trotter. Other popular dishes served are baccalà (salted dried cod fish), vermicelli, baked pasta, capon and turkey. Traditional desserts include Neapolitan honey pastry; fried pastry ribbons sprinkled with powdered sugar; dried figs, candied almonds, and marzipan fruits and vegetables. After holiday dinner, people gather in the streets to dance, drink and welcome the New Year. At midnight, fireworks are displayed across Rome and Piazza del Popolo, which traditionally hosts an outdoor classical music concert through entire evening.

London, UK. At midnight, the fireworks display begins on the river Thames, as Big Ben finishes chiming the midnight hour. Fireworks are set off from barges and boats on the River and from the London Eye, the largest Ferris wheel in Europe. About 400,000 people stand on River banks to watch the fireworks. Traditional holiday meals include roast meats, lots of wines, cakes and candies.

Madrid, Spain. Spanish New Year’s Eve is usually celebrated with family and friends. The dinner often includes shrimp, lamb or turkey, with traditional drinks like sparkling wine, champagne, cava, or cider. It is an old tradition to eat exactly twelve grapes, one on each chime of the clock, as it counts down to midnight. After family dinner, people go out and attend parties at pubs, local bars, etc. Next morning, party attendees have traditional winter breakfast of delicious hot chocolate and deep fried pastry snacks, lightly dusted with sugar, or specialty Spanish doughnuts called churros.

Berlin, Germany. Berlin hosts one of the largest celebrations in Europe, attended by over a million people. The focal point is Brandenburg Gate and the fireworks display at night over that location. Germans are notorious for creating a big glitzy show out of fireworks. At midnight everybody shoots off some type of rocket-style fireworks or firecrackers. Traditional German New Year’s Eve food includes raclette and doughnuts: raclette is a Swiss dish, where cheese is melted and scraped over pieces of potatoes; doughnuts are usually filled with jelly or other filling, such as mustard.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. New Year’s Eve in Rio, or Reveillon, is one of the biggest events of the year, with about 2 million people attending. This huge party takes place along Copacabana beach and features several music stages, fireworks, dancing, and famous Brazilian singers. The dinner typically includes traditional lentil soup, which symbolizes financial abundance for next year, turkey, vegetables, champagne and cakes. The festivities culminate with spectacular fireworks at midnight. Balls and parties are held at all major hotels along the beach; hotels are open all night, serving champagne breakfasts starting from 3 am on January 1.

Price the wine competitively. Choices are many; do your research and price accordingly.  Help your diners to get a great deal on wine by introducing them to high quality boutique wines at sensible prices.  Selling wine directly from the winemaker to the consumer bypasses the middle man, and, therefore, both the wine producer and the guests benefit.
Organizational fortitude. Anticipate the details.  Have enough staff.  Have a host greet and direct dinner guests to their tables.  Separate wine pairing diners from other guests to avoid confusion.  Plan the courses well in advance. Print detailed menus and the wine list.  Have a succession of at least 6 individual courses, if not 8 or 10, on the menu.  Be creative with your dinner courses; make them unique and different from your regular menu choices.  Pair them well.
Market the event. Use your menu, your reception area, and social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, your restaurant’s website and e-mail to inform of the upcoming wine pairing dinner.  If your restaurant is high end, non-chain restaurant, you’re likely to have a steady clientele – a following. Make it protocol for your staff to ask for clients’ e-mail.  E-mail is not as personal as a phone number, and people will give it to you.  Use e-mail to send invitations.  Have an option on your site to sign up for electronic updates.  Maintain a well-structured website where customers can easily see upcoming events; keep the site current and updated.
Make a great presentation. As a chef owner, be present during dinner to explain food choices and wine pairings.  Have the winemaker give a presentation too.   Make yourself and the winemaker visible to your guests by calling their attention to each food and wine pairing.  Chat with diners between courses.
Fixed price and pay in advance. Set an all-inclusive price.   Have customers pay in advance by authorizing their credit/debit cards to save headaches on the busy dinner day and to relax guests during dinner.
Post-event marketing. Take photos of your event; write about it on the web-site and Facebok page to promote future events.
Host wine pairing events regularly; wine and food, paired well, makes eating out an event.  Such events will build your reputation and regular clientele.  For each of your next wine pairing dinners, select and invite different winemakers to offer variety and learning experience to your guests.

Image by <a href=”http://freefoto.com”>Free Foto</a>