Kids Review: Aux Delices Cooking School

And now a word from our 10 yrs old food critic....

Cake, bacon, and cinnamon; these are the words that my nose told my brain as soon as I walked into the kitchen at Aux Delices. I was so delighted that I was going to be cooking a scrumptious meal and not trying something that a professional chef created.

The cooking class that I went to was instructed by Lynn Manheim. She is also the cooking school director. The first recipe that we made was scones. Most of the ingredients were out on the table but the sugar and the flour were in two big bins. Mrs. Manheim shows everyone exactly how to do each step and how much of each ingredient to use. She will wait for everyone to finish one step before she goes onto the next, and if you need some help Mrs. Manheim will always give you a hand (especially if you’re grating butter like I was). 

As in any kitchen once you’re done with one treat you have to clean up your work space before you start the next.  After we made scones we made mini blueberry muffins. The dough was made with almost all the same ingredients as the dough for the scones. We put the blueberries on the dough after it was already in the tray. I had no idea what blueberry muffins tasted like because I’ve never liked them before.

Then we made egg frittatas which were filled with crunchy, crispy bacon. I did not know what an egg frittata was before I made one. Now I know that it is a little like an omelet because it is a mixture of eggs, bacon, grated cheese, and heavy cream but it is baked instead of being cooked on the stove.

With each dish we started from scratch except for the cinnamon buns which we made from puff pastry dough.  If you like cooking of course you will love this class. But, if you are creative you will also love this class because you get freedom to choose how big or small things are.  You get to use tools that are meant for one thing but we use for another; such as using an ice cream scooper for putting dough into a muffin tray. 

When all my dishes were out on the table I was excited to know that I had made them all. The class sizes can be anywhere from 6 kids to 24 kids and ages 7 to 14 are allowed to come. At the end of a class you receive a packet with the recipes for everything that you made so that you can make it again and again at home. You get a giant box to take home you’re delicious meal.

When I got home I finally got to taste my treats (they has smelled so good in the car I could hardly resist). First I tried the blueberry muffins. They were fluffy, and the blueberries flavor ran into the dough as it baked. Over all they tasted really good. Next I tried my chocolate chip scones which tasted buttery, sweet, and delicious. They were hard on the outside but the inside fell apart in my mouth. Then I tasted my self-cooked cinnamon buns. Even before I took a bite I knew they would be delicious because of the wonderful scent. They tasted citrusy from the lemon glaze; they were flaky, chewy, and loaded with cinnamon. Last but not least I nibbled on my egg frittatas. They were cheesy, light, soft, and the bacon was crunchy. The little frittatas were kind of like delectable egg cheese and bacon breakfast sandwich 

At first I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the cooking class but in the end I thought that Aux Delices was a great place to learn how to cook food while having fun.  I loved it!

I give Aux Delices 5 “home made” pickles.

Aux Delices's complete cooking class schedule can be found on their web site. 

Aux Delices 3 West Elm Street, Greenwich 203.622.6644