Chez Cherie Cooking School from “I Love New York”

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This year for Christmas, I decided to gift the Grim Cheaper with tickets to a cooking class.  The GC is an absolutely FABULOUS cook, while I, on the other hand, can hardly crack an egg, as I mentioned in my January 2010 post about the home where Julia Child grew up.   So I thought that taking a class together would be a fabulous opportunity for him to pick up some new tricks and for me to (possibly) learn some basics.  After doing extensive research online, I came across Cherie Mercer Twohy’s Chez Cherie cooking school in La Canada Flintridge and became a bit enamored of the place.  Most of Cherie’s classes are taught demonstration-style, rather than hands-on, and students are not only encouraged to bring a bottle of wine to enjoy during the lesson, but afterwards, the entire group gathers together to dine on the feast that Cherie has just created.  More than simply courses, Cherie’s lessons sounded like full-on experiences, so I immediately signed us up for her Cold Weather Cooking Class, which we attended on the evening on January 10th.  And, let me tell you, we had an absolute blast!

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The moment we walked through Chez Cherie’s front door we were greeted by Cherie’s husband, who, taking note of the champagne bottle in the GC’s hand, immediately handed over two champagne glasses.  It was then that I realized this was my kind of place.  Winking smile We were then led to the adorable kitchen area, where chairs were set up classroom-style for the 30 students in attendance.  (At the time, I did not realize that the school was a filming location, so I, unfortunately, did not take any photographs before or during the lesson.)

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When we entered the kitchen, my eye, of course, immediately went to the various celebrity photographs displayed on the wall and I just about fell over when I saw that Cherie had taken not one, but TWO pictures with the grande dame of cooking herself, Julia Child!  How incredibly cool is that??  (That is also Jacques Pepin posing with Julia and Cherie in the photograph on the right.)

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Cherie also had pictures with Paula Deen and her husband, Michael Groover;

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Season 6 Top Chef finalist Kevin Gillespie;

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and No Reservations’ Anthony Bourdain.  Love it!

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On our menu for the evening were the following dishes: Pomegranate-Braised Short Ribs, Parsnip Mashed Potatoes, Spanish Flavors Meatloaf with Romesco Glaze, Pork and Pumpkin Chili, and Sticky Caramel Pudding – the recipes for which were authored by Cherie herself.  And I have to say that, even though I am not a fan of pork or red meat, I loved ALL of the offerings  – even the short ribs!  The class, which lasted about two hours, was thoroughly entertaining, as well, and because it was demonstration-style, I was able to really pay attention and felt like I learned quite a bit – as much as any non-domestic goddess like myself could be expected to learn, anyway.  Winking smile The GC even picked up a few tricks of the trade to add to his extensive repertoire.  All in all, we had a fabulous evening and I am fairly certain that we will be attending classes at Chez Cherie on a regular basis from now on.   I am dying to enroll in the hands-on Romantic Dinner for Two lesson being offered on Valentine’s Day, but I am not sure that the GC will fork over the $170 tuition cost.  (Pictured above is Chez Cherie’s absolutely ADORABLE dining area where we ate our meal.)

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Cherie Mercer Twohy actually began her culinary career later in life.  After her three children were of school-age, she decided to enroll in the California School of Culinary Arts where she received her Professional Culinary Arts diploma.  Shortly thereafter, she went to work as an instructor at HomeChef Pasadena.  When the cooking school suddenly and unexpectedly went out of business, Cherie took matters into her own hands by leasing a demonstration kitchen (on her own dime) to finish out a 12-week cooking series, which her beloved students had paid for in advance.  She founded Chez Cherie in 2000 on the belief that cooking should be fun and relaxed, and the place has been going strong ever since.  Cherie is also a Level 1 Sommelier, the author of the wildly popular I Love Trader Joe’s cookbook series, and a member of the Certified Culinary Professional – a highly prestigious designation assigned to only 300 chefs worldwide.  After we finished eating, I, of course, just had to approach Cherie to ask if any television shows or movies had been filmed at the school and I was floored to learn that I Love New York had shot an episode there.  (I would just like to make it very clear here that I am not in any way a fan of I Love New York, but was excited to learn the information as it meant that I could blog about Chez Cherie.)

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In the Season 1 episode of I Love New York titled “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, New York (Tiffany Pollard) takes contestant Chance (Kamal Givens) on a date at Chez Cherie cooking school.  Cherie told us that her husband had handled all of the details of booking the shoot and that, prior to the filming, she had no idea what she was in store for.  Needless to say, she was, ahem, surprised – especially when Chance and New York started furiously making out in the dining area.  Before scanning through “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” to make screen captures for this post, I had never before watched an episode of I Love New York and, now that I have, I can honestly say that it was one of the most awful shows I have ever seen!  The fact that there was a second season of it is mind-boggling!  While watching, I was reminded of the scene in Billy Madison in which Billy (Adam Sandler) discusses the children’s book The Puppy Who Lost His Way at an academic contest, after which the Principal (James Downey) says, “Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard.  At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought.  Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.  I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”  (You can watch that clip by clicking above.)  I can honestly say that I am definitely now dumber for having watched an episode of I Love New York.  But I digress.

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Quite a few areas of Chez Cherie cooking school appeared in I Love New York, including the entrance;

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the kitchen;

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and the dining room.

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Cherie was even featured quite prominently in the episode.

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Martin Yan, aka “Yan Can Cook”, also filmed a video demonstration of the Master Grade Knife Sharpener at Chez Cherie.  I was especially excited to hear this as Martin had founded his Yan Can International Cooking School in Foster City, California –  the small suburb of San Francisco where I grew up.

Martin Yan–Master Grade Knife Sharpener at Chez Cherie

You can watch Martin’s Master Grade Knife Sharpener demonstration by clicking above.

Chef Ben Ford, who just so happens to be Harrison Ford’s son, also once taught a blind man how to cut a lobster while at Chez Cherie for some sort of cooking show, but I was, unfortunately, unable to find any information about it online.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Chez Cherie cooking school, from the “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” episode of I Love New York, is located at 1401 Foothill Boulevard in La Canada Flintridge.  You can visit the school’s official website here.  La Crescenta Motel, aka the Bide-A-Way Motel from Win A Date with Tad Hamilton, is located just up the road at 2413 Foothill Boulevard in La Crescenta.

Julia Child’s Childhood Home

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One of the best things about being a member of the Screen Actors Guild is that each and every January all guild members receive, often without notice, DVDs of various movies that have been nominated for an upcoming SAG award.  These DVDs are doled out “for your consideration” so that members can watch them before casting their ballots for the upcoming awards.  And, let me tell you, I can hardly stand the anticipation as I head to my mailbox each day during awards season, wondering what treasure I will find waiting for me in there. It’s like Christmas in January!  This week alone I received five different DVDs, one of which was Julie & Julia.  Ironically enough, while at a birthday celebration last Sunday night, some new friends were inquiring about my blog and asked if I had yet to see the Meryl Streep/Amy Adams movie, which I had not.  They ordered me to run right out and rent it immediately, as not only was it a fabulous flick, but its plot also centered around the true life story of an intrepid young blogger named Julie Powell who they said reminded them of me.  So, you can imagine my surprise when I opened up my mailbox just a few days later and found a copy of Julie & Julia waiting for me!  YAY!  So, I, of course, watched the movie that very night.  I honestly didn’t have high hopes for it, though, despite the glowing recommendation I had just heard, because I am not that interested in the culinary arts.  Actually, truth be told, I am not AT ALL interested in anything having to do with the culinary arts.  I am an absolutely HORRIBLE cook.  I somehow managed to ruin an entire serving of rice the other night – while using a RICE COOKER, no less!  I am very lucky, though, because my fiancé actually does all of the cooking in our household.  He LOVES to cook – says it calms him after a long day at work – and, really, who am I to argue?  😉  What can I say, he’s the perfect guy – he not only brings home the bacon, but cooks it, too!   Anyway, amazingly enough, I ended up absolutely ADORING Julie & Julia.  I pretty much loved EVERYTHING about the movie – both Meryl Streep and Amy Adam’s performances, the love both women had for their husbands, the amazing life story of the famous chef and how she inspired a young government worker to spend an entire year cooking out of one of her cookbooks and then writing a blog based on her experiences.  But what I loved the most about Julie & Julia is the fact that it is the very first movie ever to be based on a blog.  Now I just need someone to create a movie based on my blog and I’d be one happy camper!  🙂  Amazingly enough, the movie also inspired me, rice-ruining Lindsay, to cook!  I have never in my life had a desire to cook anything – ever.  But after watching Julie & Julia, I immediately ran right out and bought my very first cookbook, written by Julia Child, of course.  I opted to purchase The Way To Cook, instead of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which is the tome Julie Powell conquered in the movie, because the former is geared toward people with “little to no cooking experience”, which, let’s face it, describes me to a T!  🙂  But more on that later.  Anyway, while watching Julie & Julia, I was shocked to find out that Julia Child actually grew up in Pasadena – the same city which I now call home!  So, after watching the movie, I went on a cyberstalking mission to find her childhood house and almost immediately came across a website called Pasadena Daily Photo, which spelled it all out for me!  Thank you, Pasadena Daily Photo!  🙂  So, the next morning, I dragged my dad right out to stalk the place.

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As the daughter of John McWilliams, Jr., a successful landowner, and Julia Carolyn Weston, heir to the Weston Paper Company fortune, Julia Child grew up very wealthy.   The Colonial-style home pictured above was built for her parents in 1912 by architect Reginald Johnson, who was also responsible for designing Pasadena’s All Saints’ Church and Santa Barbara’s Biltmore Hotel, among numerous other prominent Southern California structures.  The home, which boasts five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a whopping 4,210 square feet of living space, is truly ginormous and beautiful in person and it definitely has that Old Pasadena feel to it!  It was so fascinating to be standing there decades later, imaging Julia Child as a little girl playing in the front yard, looking out the blue-shuttered windows, and walking in and out of the front door.   While living in this house, Julia attended the prominent Westridge School for Girls, which is also located in Pasadena.  While doing a bit of research on the world-famous chef, I found out that while growing up Julia’s family not only employed full-time drivers, gardeners and housekeepers, but chefs, as well.  Ironic, dontcha think?  😉    And, her parents also honeymooned at San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado, an oft-used filming location which I blogged about last summer.  🙂   So cool!!! 

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Taking a page from Julie Powell, I decided to not only cook a Julia Child meal this past Friday night, but to also blog about my experiences, as well.  Like a dolt, though, I completely forgot to take photographs of the finished feast, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it turned out beautifully.  🙂  For the meal I decided to cook Julia’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, Broccoli-Sauced Broccoli, and Chicken Breasts Meuniere: Sautéed in Butter.  And while the chicken and soup turned out simply AMAZING – so amazing that I am still finding it difficult to believe I actually cooked them – the broccoli left a bit to be desired.  But I am fairly certain that was due to me either leaving out an ingredient or misreading an instruction somewhere along the way, because the finished product did not look anything like its photograph in the book.  When I realized I had messed up the dish, I had visions of Rachel Green after she completed her English Trifle/Mincemeat Pie desert in “The One Where Ross Got High” episode of Friends.  🙂  Anyway, I’d like to share a few things that I learned while cooking on Friday.  One – my fiancé and I do not own a set of measuring spoons.  How that’s even possible I’m not sure!  Two – simmer does not mean low heat, as I had previously believed.  It actually refers to a temperature just below boiling.  And three – cooking is HARD WORK!  It’s enjoyable work, don’t get me wrong, but, wow, it’s WORK!  I had no idea how hard it was.  I truly felt like I needed a nap afterwards.  🙂  But it was also extremely fun and I am already looking forward to my next go at it.  I swear, if you had told me two weeks ago that I’d actually be able to enjoy the act of cooking in the near future, I never would have believed you in a million years.   

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Julia Child’s childhood home is located at 625 Magnolia Avenue in Pasadena.