Going on a date in Los Angeles can mean having to make a lot of choices. Thanks to the range of excellent restaurants, you might spend hours trying to decide what kind of ethnic food you’re in the mood for only to conclude that you’d love to just hit the trattoria down the street if only the dining atmosphere were a little more…hip and off-beat. Before you furiously scour the Zagat guide, consider this: an Italian chef at your service, ready to guide you and your date in preparing a savory Tuscan feast. Work for food? You might ask. But don’t be mistaken. Date Night at Chefmakers Cooking Academy in Pacific Palisades is an example of what founder and CEO Richard Klein calls “edutainment”‘part interactive cooking instruction, part entertainment and social interaction. And together, those ingredients make a distinct and enjoyable evening. At this particular Date Night (there are a variety to choose from depending on the type of cuisine you prefer), Chef Valerio Castellano greets guests as they enter the kitchen following a pre-dinner champagne at 6:30 p.m. He wears a pink hankerchief around his neck and sarcastically jokes about everything but cooking. Originally from Rome, Castellano says his family had a beach house on the Tuscan coast, so “I had to spend 30 summers there.” He’s one of Chefmakers’ popular instructors and also a private chef. The menu for this Friday evening event, appropriately called “My Love for Tuscany,” includes two kinds of bruschetta; an original bread salad recipe from Siena; spaghetti with a zucchini sauce; chicken cacciatore, and a Florentine version of panna cotta for dessert. Red and white wine are served throughout the evening, though many of the couples bring their own bottles to enjoy. Most of the people who have turned out for this particular Date Night are married, including newlyweds. One couple recently returned from Tuscany, where they learned to make bruschetta, so they thought they’d pursue their interest in Italian cooking. Another couple was there as part of a birthday gift, and for the sake of doing something “grown up.” And a group of friends decided that this was a great alternative to their usual night out on the town. Castellano tells the group of 24 (the maximum number of people for these events) that his goal is to have them complete the menu, or follow through with the recipes to the end. How much or little each person participates is up to the individual. “We have to make our own salads?” one woman asks as she sets down her glass of wine and joins the group gathered around the kitchen island. Others roll up their sleeves and survey the countertop, which is divided into two work stations, each with bowls of pre-prepared and measured ingredients. Hands-on participation is encouraged, but it’s not mandatory. You might have to pass a ramekin of dark chocolate shavings to someone across the table, but you won’t have to squeeze the vinegar-water out of the bread with your own two hands unless you want to. After all, some like to be in the driver’s seat and others prefer to observe and enjoy the ride, asking a few questions here and there. What kind of bread should we use for the bruschetta? How long should we marinate the cherry tomatoes? Why does the milk need to boil before we add it to the egg-yolk mixture? Castellano is as comfortable answering everybody’s questions as the participants are snacking on the fresh ingredients. While some find comfort in reading out loud the recipes conveniently printed on large notecards, others prefer to take orders’pouring, stirring and mixing under Castellano’s watchful eye. Taking additional notes on the cards might be helpful for those who plan to try out these recipes in their own kitchens. Castellano encourages them to follow the recipes, but adds that the recipes are only a guideline; preparing the ingredients correctly and following the order of putting them in is key. Tips like this, or Castellano’s advice to use chunks of garlic instead of chopped garlic to flavor olive oil, are helpful, especially to the non-cooks. When the participants realize that the spaghetti forte dei Marmi and the pollo alla cacciatora di Montalcino require time to saut’ and cook, some voluntarily see these dishes through while others return to their elegantly dressed tables to chat with friends’new and old. Two participants (one man, one woman) who have assumed control of the cooking appear completely relaxed and even a bit daring as they stir and taste the simmering sauces and continually check the pieces of chicken for doneness. Their spouses seem content watching from a distance. When the food is ready to be served, the rest of the group instantly forms a well-organized assembly line, not unlike kids at camp who know the mess-hall routine. Castellano and his sous chefs are at the end to implement the final gourmet touches, adding a basil leaf to the spaghetti or wiping sauce stains off the gleaming white plates for presentation. “Buon appetito,” says Castellano. The next Date Night is Caribbean Fever, September 16. Contact: 459-9444, www.chefmakers.com or stop in at Chefmakers, 872 Via de la Paz.
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