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With states issuing stay-at-home orders during the novel coronavirus pandemic, many of us have been thrust into the role of full-time home chef, among many others. If you don't have experience making complete meals day after day, this task may seem overwhelming. And, it didn't help that you never knew what would be available at your local supermarket or at online grocery stores.
What is MasterClass?For $180, MasterClass gives you unlimited access to culinary arts courses from some of the top chefs in the world, including Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters. It's an expensive investment, but know that each course includes multiple lessons or episodes — one even has as many as 36 episodes.
Each class is broken up into easily-digestible lessons and supported by a full-color PDF workbook featuring recipes and tips. Additionally, there is a community forum specific to the class where you can post questions, get extra info, and potentially interact with the instructor.
Also included in your membership is access to classes in film & TV, music & entertainment, writing, business, design, sports, and more.
For a full rundown of MasterClass, read our review over here.
What to know before taking a cooking course on MasterClassIn my hours of watching and testing the cooking courses, I picked up a few tips that might enhance your experience.
First, watch the whole lesson before attempting to make a dish. You don't necessarily have to watch the previous lessons, though it often helps. However, you do need a good idea of the whole process before getting started on a recipe. I found it helped to bring my laptop into the kitchen with me, and I'd reference the workbook and the video — making frequent use of the pause button — while preparing meals.
When taking the cooking classes, don't get discouraged if you don't get it right the first time. All of the chefs are encouraging, but several stress the importance of practice. If anyone could quickly and easily produce restaurant-quality meals, these chefs would be out of a job. They break down the steps so you can easily learn them, but it may take a few tries before you can master beef wellington or perfect the fruit tart.
Fresh ingredients are also a must. Yet, the instructors understand that substitutions often need to be made based on where you live and availability, and they make recommendations.
Some chefs suggest you turn to local sources for your ingredients when possible. You'll usually find the freshest ingredients at your local farmers' market. Or, you might consider signing up for a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, which is a subscription-based service that provides you with weekly boxes of fresh local farm products. In addition to the environmental and economic benefits, CSAs can help you minimize your time in grocery stores, where social distancing is virtually impossible.
Along with watching and engaging with several episodes of every culinary arts course on MasterClass (read more about our evaluation methodology below, after our recommendations), we researched reviews and ratings of the classes from other experts.
All of the courses we recommend produced mouthwatering meals in our tests, can be followed easily in your home without special equipment or ingredients, and that are helpful to a broad range of skill levels.
Here are the 11 best culinary arts and cooking classes you can take at home with MasterClass:Click each link to go directly to our review of the class, or keep reading to learn about all of them.
Read the original article on Business Insider