Donna Nordin just can’t get out of the kitchen.
Lucky us.
Nordin, the co-owner/chef at the now-closed-but-fondly-remembered Café Terra Cotta, has been holding intimate cooking classes at a private home since the restaurant closed in 2011.
The next series of classes starts Feb. 22 — but only 10 students are allowed in each, so they fill up quickly.
Nordin, who began her career as a cooking teacher in San Francisco in 1973, used to rely on Terra Cotta favorites for her classes.
But she doesn’t like repeating herself, so she’s branched out.
“Some classic dishes, very French, I delve into the Italian end — I’ve become eclectic,” said the Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef about what she’ll be teaching.
And don’t expect the latest food trends to show up on the menus in this series, either.
“There isn’t anything really new,” she says. Instead of trends right now — pizza and burgers have been big ones over the last several years — “Things are being redone, or reinvented.”
Her cooking classes are demonstration style — which means you won’t get your hands dirty, but you’ll get to watch the food come together and, best of all, get to eat it.
Nordin’s theory is that students have a narrow vision when it’s hands-on. “If you can see every part of the menu done, you see everything,” she says.
And that’s important to Nordin, who intends to have her students learn something new at each class. It’s what guides her when she designs the menus.
“I have to choose my recipes … to make sure I teach something, or help someone do something easier,” she says. Her goal: That students go home and cook.
Classes are $65, and include the meal. One class, with famed Chinese chef Joyce Jue, is $85. Nordin no longer holds the classes in her home; she has friends with suitable kitchens who host the two-hour classes. Most of those are in the Catalina Foothills area.
Register at donnanordincooks.com for a class. The schedule, with classes starting at 10:30 a.m.:
Feb. 22 and 25: Creme Dubarry (cauliflower soup), Paella Valencia, Pots de Crème Chocolat.
March 1 and 4: Corn Fritters, Mint and Chile Sauce, Stuffed Pork Roulades (Ricotta and bell peppers), Chocolatissmo.
March 15 and 18: Mushroom Cakes, Red Pepper Coulis and Avocado Pesto, Duck Breasts with Madeira Sauce, Blanc and Noir Cake.
March 29 and April 1: Coulibacs (salmon in puff pastry), Cauliflower and Red Bell Medley, Lady Baltimore Layer Cake.
April 5 and 15: Mediterranean Potato Tortilla, Leg of Lamb Provençal, Classic Tarte aux Fraises.
April 19 and 22: Blackened Sweet Potato, Salsa Negra, Peanut Mole Sauteed Chicken, Pay de Aquacate (avocado cheesecake).
April 29 with guest teacher Joyce Jue: Thai Lemongrass Coconut Chicken Soup, Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp, Red Curry Salmon, Green Beans and Thai Basil.
May 3 and 6: Moroccan Spiced Short Ribs, Vegetable Couscous, Semolina-Coconut Cake with Rosewater and Candied Rose Petals.
