May 2006

This new newsletter format and delivery system has been getting rave reviews, and I want to welcome all of you who have recently subscribed.

Top Chef is heading towards its final challenge, with just two more weeks to go. Although the Kitchen was home base for the show, the finale will be live -- in Las Vegas -- and should prove quite exciting. Bravo re-shows all of the series before the finale, and the Bravo website (bravotv.com) has lots of fun blogs, inside stories, and recipes from the show. The back story enhances the viewing experience a lot.

Classes

Lots happening in May, with new teachers and classes set to start soon. It's easy to register for any of our great classes -- just click the link and Paypal will come up; you can pay for most of them (except Piedmont Adult School) directly. We have wonderful classes scheduled to run in May: Italian classes taught by Rosetta Costantino, a series on Japanese Basics from Ayako Iino, whose Spring Root Vegetable Miso Soup is our recipe of the month this month, and Seafood Basics with Jay Harlow, who literally wrote the book on California seafood. He is author of West Coast Seafood: The Complete Cookbook, and co-author of The California Seafood Cookbook.

This summer we will also have a series of classes geared towards kids and their parents, and teens, that will be announced in the very near future. Our teacher for these classes is an accomplished cook and restaurant owner, and has taught in the Edible Schoolyard program in Berkeley. These classes will be set in the next few weeks, so check the calendar, as they will be on it prior to the next newsletter.

Events

A great deal of the activity at the kitchen centers around private parties and corporate groups, from purely social events such as birthday parties and rehearsal dinners, to team building activities. We have hosted groups from many of the companies in the area, and I thought I'd share just a few of the great comments we've had from our clients over the last year. Maybe they will inspire you to think about having your next party, corporate event, or even just group of friends for dinner, at the kitchen!

"Our team building event at Paulding and Company was an excellent opportunity to get out of the office and work side-by-side with our colleagues to cook some amazing food. The event offered a fun and creative way to accomplish something as a group. Terry took care of everything from menu suggestions to making the clean up a fun group activity!"

-- Leapfrog

"Thanks, Terry, for a wonderful event at Paulding & Company! Our annual staff holiday celebration was a huge success, in very large part due to you and your staff. We all had a great time cooking, chatting, eating, learning and competing (!) with each other. Even our 'significant others' raved about how much fun they had -- noting that usually company parties are so dull. I know we'll be back for more -- my colleagues and I insist upon it! In the meantime, please send any extra gnocchi our way."

-- Edtec