WKCTC Culinary Series Offers Tastes for Every Palate

By Leigh Landini Wright, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Sep. 26–When Arlene Amato married her husband, Dom, she had to learn how to cook Italian.

Amato’s mother-in-law passed along the family’s treasured recipes. Now, Amato and her husband, Dom, are teaching others the joys of cooking Italian fare through the West Kentucky Community & Technical College’s A La Carte Culinary Series. The series offers area cooks opportunities to learn about gourmet cookie baking, international cuisine and nutritious meals.

The Amatos began teaching cooking classes at the college several years ago. “We moved here in 1998, right after the Heath shootings, and we didn’t know anyone,” Amato said. “You get to know a lot of people this way. It’s been wonderful.”

Arlene Amato works in the assessment center at WKCTC, and her husband is a chemist at ISP in Calvert City. “Because he’s a chemist, he brings a lot of the chemistry into it,” she said, comparing him to the Food Network’s Alton Brown.

Dom Amato likens cooking to chemistry. He said his work involves following certain procedures, as does a recipe.

Amato said the classes have been popular because students learn the recipes and are able to sample their handiwork at the end of the evening. The trick to good Italian cooking comes from the spicing, he said.

Becky Haus, advancement director for WKCTC, said the college began offering the cooking series last year and quickly found an audience. The first dinner on Valentine’s Day sold out, as did a seminar by a guest chef and a children’s workshop. The community’s palate is expanding thanks to the artists and businesses in Lower Town and downtown and new restaurants, she added.

For those who have always wanted to learn how to make melt-in-your-mouth cookies like Kirchhoff’s, the college will offer a behind-the-scenes cookie baking class at the downtown Paducah bakery. The Kirchhoff’s cookie class already has 10 people enrolled, Haus said.

Fall classes

Kirchhoff’s Bakery Cookie Class, 6-9 p.m. Mondays in October (Oct. 1, 8, 15 and 22), Kirchhoff’s Bakery, taught by Don Barger, the cookie maker at the bakery, $65.

Date Night: French Cuisine, 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, taught by Holly Heath of At Your Table. WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, Anderson Technology Building, $30.

Kids in the Kitchen: Spoo-ookies, a hands-on cookie baking lesson for parents and children, 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, Kirchhoff’s Bakery, open to children ages 5 and up who must be accompanied by an adult, $15 for one child and parent, $10 for each additional child.

Food and Film, dine on Latino food inspired by the film “Tortilla Soup” and then view the movie, 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, Maiden Alley Cinema, $25, with proceeds to benefit the culinary arts department.

Holiday Feast, 6-9 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 7, Holly Heath of At Your Table, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, Anderson Technology Building, $30.

Holiday Hors D’oeuvres, 6-9 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 13, taught by Karla Lawrence and David Jones of Artisan Kitchen, WKCTC Bistro, $15.

Kids in the Kitchen: Holiday Gingerbread Houses, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Dec. 8, taught by Karla Lawrence and David Jones of Artisan Kitchen, WKCTC Bistro, $15 for a parent and child and $10 for each additional child.

Spring classes

Thai and Indian Cuisine, 6-9 p.m. Tuesdays in January (8, 15, 22 and 22), Karla Lawrence and David Jones of Artisan Kitchen, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $75.

Healthful Resolutions, 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, Holly Heath, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $30.

Kirchhoff’s Bakery Cookie Class, 6-9 p.m. Mondays in February (4, 11, 18 and 25), Don Barger, Kirchhoff’s Bakery, $65.

Italian Cooking I, 6-9 p.m. Tuesdays in February (12, 19 and 26) and March 4, Dom and Arleen Amato, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $75.

Freezer Meals, 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, Holly Heath, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $30.

Kids in the Kitchen, 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, children will make Valentine’s cookies under the instruction of Don Barger, $15 for one child and a parent and $10 each additional child, children must be 5 and older.

Valentine’s Dinner, 6-10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, dinner prepared by Laura Duff at Kirchhoff’s Bakery, $75 per couple.

Delightful Desserts, 6-9 p.m. Tuesdays, March 11, 18, 25 and April 1, taught by Karla Lawrence and David Jones of Artisan Kitchen, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $65.

Brunch Fare, 6-9 p.m., Wednesday, March 5, Holly Heath, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $30.

Chicken 5-Ways, 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, Holly Heath, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $30.

Mother’s Day Brunch, noon, Sunday, May 11, brunch prepared by Laura Duff of A Pampered Palate, courtyard of Max’s Brick Oven Cafe (rain location, Kirchhoff’s), $30 adults, $15 for kids ages 10 and under.

Date Night: Cooking With Wine, 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, Holly Heath, WKCTC Kitchen and Bistro, $30.

Registration

Participants must BE 19 AND OLDER. Participants 15-18 are welcome in most classes but should be accompanied by a participating adult. Participants should bring an apron and wear close-toed shoes.

To register, phone Becky Haus at 534-3086 or online at www.westkentucky.kctcs.edu/alacarte.

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