By: Danielle Madero, Julie Lucia, and Adam Johnson
Chef Amanda Pyle chops her onions and peppers preparing for her next class. She gets all of the ingredients together; vegetables, fruits and seasonings. She is getting ready to cook meals such as egg rolls, fruit salad, corn salsa and homemade chips. Pyle and her assistant take out all the knives they have in order to host the popular class, Knife Skills 101. Chef Pyle has hosted over twenty classes about learning how to properly use a knife in the kitchen, in her storefront and culinary school, The Cookery.
Chef Pyle shows the Knife Skills 101 students all of the knives she has in her kitchen. She teaches them what each one is supposed to be used for as well as which ones are her personal favorites to use when she is in the kitchen.
Located in Morton, Illinois, Chef Pyle is the executive chef and owner of The Cookery. Chef Pyle has over 20 years of food industry experience including managing, running and cooking in multiple restaurants around the Peoria area. Chef Pyle now uses her cooking expertise to run her business which focuses on fundamental kitchen skills and full service catering.
Former student and teacher in the ICC Culinary Arts Program, she wants to share her passion for all things food. In April 2016, her passion for food and education culminated into buying the cooking school. “I love cooking but I wanted to do something a little unique and different,” says Pyle. “I happened to stumble into the opportunity to purchase the business from a fellow ICC classmate last year.”
The Cookery offers a large range of classes for all ages and a large selection of ethnic/international cuisine. With the holidays fast approaching classes and cooking techniques encompass everything pumpkin to Christmas cookies.
Chef Pyle brings the students into the kitchen and teaches them the proper way to hold a knife, and the correct motion to use when cutting your ingredients.
“My favorite class to teach is Knife Skills 101,” Pyle said. “I love working with the young and the old, and teaching them an important base for learning even more about cooking,” If you know knife skills, it can aid in the time it takes to prepare a dish. Knife skills shows you how to do different cuts that most beginner cooks aren’t aware of. Also, it can teach you how to preserve your costly knives and how to make sure you are staying safe in the kitchen.
The class got a chance to see demonstrations of how to cut the more difficult ingredients that they had to work with. Assistant Chef Christina Pearce demonstrates how to cut the ginger for the class.
“Push the knife through and then bring the knife back,” Christina Pearce, fellow cooking instructor, explains to a student. “When you pull the tip of the knife back, you’re getting ready for your next cut.” Pearce demonstrates in slow motion and gradually speeds up the process with laser precision.
The students are practicing their new cutting skills on the ingredients. They will be using these ingredients in the meals they will be making. Chef Pyle and Assistant Chef Pearce help the students to make sure they don’t mess up any of their ingredients.
“I have already been to knife skills 101 and I am here again,” says Katelyn. The 11 year-old aspiring baker brought her grandmother, Carol, to class to get The Cookery experience. “Katelyn has already been, and thought I should come.” Carol said. Katelyn uses these knife skills not just in her cooking but when she bakes.
Katelyn’s Grandma Carol watches to learn a little something about cutting technique from her granddaughter. This isn’t Katelyn’s first time in Chef Pyle’s kitchen.
Outside of the hands-on cooking classes, The Cookery offers team building exercises. For example, a big group, whether that is friends or from the office, participate in exercises such as Chopped theme workshops. They are split up into teams and are put the challenge of making a meal with very limited ingredients. They also provide private services for groups of people 8 or larger such as birthday, bridal, or bachelorette parties.
On top of cooking classes, team buildings workshops, and private groups, The Cookery is a full-scale catering company serving the community at small and large events across Illinois. Their comprehensive list of foods they cater serves anywhere between a small get together to a large wedding. They provide a gourmet to go meal service that customers are able to stop in the store and buy whatever is freshly precooked in the freezers and ready to cook at home.
Check out The Cookery website, which includes a list of services, classes, and menus. Next time you are are bored and want to do something, bring your empty stomachs and sign up for a class at The Cookery because who doesn’t like food?