New series of weekend culinary instructional camps led by nationally acclaimed instructors coming to Inns at St. Albans beginning May 13
St. Albans, Mo., March 21, 2022
A new series of five immersive weekend culinary instructional camps led by nationally acclaimed cooks, bakers, food professionals and best-selling authors will be presented by the International Choux Co., the cooking school of the Inns at St. Albans, beginning May 13-15 and running through November 2022. This exciting slate of weekend cooking events offers intimate and immersive experiences including overnight stays, each custom designed to give up to 16 students the opportunity to learn new skills, explore new culinary traditions and discover local producers and artisans.
The five weekend camps and their accomplished and entertaining leaders will focus on foraging edibles, artisan bread making, summertime seafood, comfortably elegant entertaining and the art of making Southern Italian-style pasta. In between cooking demonstrations, attendees will participate in group excursions, cocktail receptions and a chef’s dinner to conclude the festivities. Overnight room accommodations at The Lodge are available for each camp weekend.
The weekend camps and their instructors include:
- Foraging Edibles With Jeff Ross on May 13-15: Attendees will learn about plants and their relationship with one another as Chef Jeff Ross leads a fun and informative weekend in the nearby forests and fields to gather wild edibles and bring them to the teaching kitchen to craft useful and tasty dishes. Chef Ross has been teaching cooking and the connections between the food we eat and the plants all around us at the famed Blackberry Farm and the University of Tennessee since 2006 and recently started his own cooking venture.
- Easy Artisan Breads with Judith Fertig on July 15-17: With just a bowl of no-knead artisan dough, attendees will learn and taste the magic that just four ingredients can create for happy hour and dinner. Judith Fertig is an award-winning and bestselling cookbook author whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The London Sunday Times, Country Homes & Interiors, Bon Appetit and Food & Wine. She has appeared on the Food Network and many TV and radio programs.
- Summertime Seafood With Christine Burns Rudalevige on August 12-14: This class will walk students through the process of selecting and preparing a half dozen different types of seafood ranging from scallop lollipops and seared sesame tuna bites to a spicy lobster, calamari and summer corn salad and Maine blueberry cake with sweet ice cream. Christine currently serves as editor-in-chief of Edible MAINE magazine and has appeared in publications from The Portland Press Herald to Fine Cooking.
- Comfortably Elegant Entertaining with Sherri Castle on September 23-25: Students will up their hosting game with tips, tricks and menu inspiration covering cocktails, appetizers, entrees, desserts and some good Southern lore. Sheri Castle is the host of “The Key Ingredient,” a new cooking show on PBS as well as an award-winning professional food writer, recipe developer, and cooking teacher known for melding stories, humor and culinary expertise.
- Handmade Pasta and Sausage Ragu with Domenica Marchetti on November 11-13: Attendees will master the art of making Southern Italian-style pasta by hand and turning that pasta into a variety of shapes, including cavatelli, orecchiette and trofie and prepare a simple, hearty sausage ragù to go with the pasta. Domenica Marchetti is a food writer and author of seven books on Italian home cooking. She writes the weekly newsletter “Buona Domenica” and leads culinary tours and workshops in Italy.
For those interesting in learning more about cooking but are not able to dedicate an entire weekend, the International Choux Co. will also offer a series of six casual instructional experiences featuring cooking demonstrations, signature cocktails and great shopping on Thursday evenings from 5:30 – 7:30 beginning April 7. These events will feature different themes as follows:
- Chat & Charcuterie on April 7
- Taco Thursday on April 28
- Pastry Party on May 19
- Garden Tea Party on June 16
- Backyard BBQ on July 14
- Pizza Party on August 25
Space is limited and reservations are required for the weekend culinary camps and the two-hour evening classes. For more information and to register, visit www.innsatstalbans/events.
The International Choux Co. was recently moved to a newly renovated building at the Inns at St. Albans. Its name pays homage to Oscar Johnson, co-founder of the International Shoe Company, and his wife Irene Johnson, the visionary who cultivated St. Albans’ beauty and tradition of hospitality throughout the early 20th century.
Nestled in scenic rolling hills first charted by Lewis & Clark near the Missouri River, The Inns at St. Albans is situated on what was once considered America’s western frontier. The rich history of St. Albans is steeped in Americana culture from the 1700-1800s including Osage Indians, Daniel Boone, Lewis & Clark, Mark Twain, the International Shoe Company, and riverboat commerce. The Studio Inn was built by renowned architect Theodore Link, the designer of St. Louis Union Station. For many years, the area was the country retreat of some wealthy St. Louis families.
For more information on the Inns at St. Albans, visit www.innsatstalbans.com.