The Natural Epicurean Academy Of Culinary Arts – I recently discovered a popular, vegan-friendly culinary institute a short distance from my apartment. Of course this doesn’t happen every day! The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts focuses on whole, healthy foods in a plant-based diet and, furthermore, emphasizes locally sourced ingredients. This is a vegan dream! The Natural Epicurean offers courses in five primary healing modalities: Ayurveda, Macrobiotic, Vegetarian, Vegetarian, and Raw Vegan. Many students come from all over the country, and even from abroad, to enroll in their prestigious training program for health-promoting professional chefs. Non-professional students may take multiple classes in general course offerings. Personally, I was immediately drawn to one of the grilled meat and plant-based eaters. Because I live in the South where barbecue and meat are such an essential part of the culture, I was really interested in learning how I could make the most of barbecue season! I signed up for the class then and there.
On the day of the lesson, Chef Andrew greeted me with a bright smile as I entered the classroom. With summer in Austin just getting underway, I was very excited to learn new ways to prepare and grill plant-based foods. There were only about 10 other classmates, so I knew it would be a small, intimate session. As we sat around the large table we introduced ourselves to each other and I was happy to hear that there were many vegans in the mix as well as some vegetarians and omnivores who were simply interested in eating healthier and expanding their horizons.
The Natural Epicurean Academy Of Culinary Arts
Chef Andrew began the class by explaining the basic concepts of vegetarian grilling and grilled meats. I’ve grilled my fair share of vegan burgers and kebabs, but I’ve learned that there’s so much more one can do with healthy and delicious plant-based foods! The next part of the class was practical food preparation with my classmates followed by a delicious lunch consisting of all our dishes. Overall, I honestly feel like I’ve only cracked the tip of the iceberg and that there’s a lot more I want to learn. Here are some of my favorite things I learned from Chef Andrew and my class at Natural Epicurean School!
Meet Katie Farina Of Katie’s Healing Kitchen In Mission Hills
We smoked fruits and vegetables using a smoker box. Chef Andrew lights up some apple wood chips with a blowtorch here.
To paraphrase Chef Andrew, when the weather gets warm and people are making burgers and hot dogs and firing up the grills, vegans need to know how to do it. I learned that most foods you can eat raw are good for grilling, including lots of fruit – pineapple, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, avocados, and even watermelon and whole marinated lettuce! Many plant-based foods are easy to prepare charcuterie style, and the smoky flavor adds a whole new dimension to plant-based foods. Last but not least, it pays to put a little effort into preparing the food before cooking it. (This was especially helpful for me, a rather lazy cook!)
What’s the point of trying to recall traditional foods? Food is not just nutrition, it is culture and emotion. Thus, when we eat vegetarian interpretations of familiar dishes, we are participating in comforting traditions—without the cruelty. The key here is to “recall” rather than trying to replicate: think color, coatings, and shapes using natural, whole plant ingredients, rather than processed ones. In the photo above, we used grapefruit to mimic the color of raw fish in sashimi. Some other classmates made beet rice reminiscent of traditional meat.
Grilling should give foods distinctive grill marks, but it is not intended to overcook them. Fruits and vegetables can easily become mushy and soggy when over-grilled, so make sure to grill them for just a few minutes on each side – until you see those grill marks! You can slather your fruits and vegetables in some dairy-free butter or olive oil before grilling to highlight those marks.
Nfocus March 2024 By Fw Publishing
Try a new blend of spices to spice up your tempeh salad. Smoke the mushrooms before putting them on that vegan pizza. Experiment with some different decorations or presentations and impress your friends at a dinner party. Place those fruits and veggies on a bamboo skewer and grill them for an afternoon snack. Make cauliflower steaks! I’m always looking for new ideas to use in the kitchen, especially since I often find myself so busy during the week that I have little time to get creative in this area, so I loved seeing all these new ways to prepare foods I already knew and loved.
I found this class very useful and especially appreciated the practical aspect as well as watching all my classmates make their own foods. I’m not going to lie – my favorite parts were probably seeing Chef Andrew bring out the blowtorch and later tasting all of our delicious experiences. If you would like to try their professional program or public courses, visit their website for more information. I personally can’t wait to try the next chapter!
Samantha is a tech industry professional who lives in Austin, Texas with her boyfriend. Her background is in library and information science and classical studies. She loves cooking, biking, movies, reading, sci-fi and horror genres, crafts, thrifting, and the occasional video game. Check them out on Pinterest and Google+. You can also reach her at lesersn[at]gmail[dot]com.
Culinary arts academy switzerland, academy of culinary arts, the academy of culinary arts, american academy of culinary arts, culinary arts academy switzerland fees, academy of culinary arts mays landing nj, international culinary arts academy, the culinary arts academy, culinary arts academy, natural epicurean academy of culinary arts, culinary institute of the arts, iup academy of culinary arts