In this richest of culinary seasons, the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts is poised to guide you across two weeks of intensive hands-on instruction, complete with wine tastings, artisanal beer tastings, sessions of food songs and stories, morning walks to whet your appetite, forays into the garden to identify and gather ingredients, a cookbook to take home with you for reference all year, and many other wondrous surprises. The first week (July 11-17) of our Asheville sessions this year will be centered around experimenting with the ingredients one might find in a CSA market basket. The second week (July 18-24) will focus on creative and succulent ways to cook, both preventatively and curatively, for those around us with specific health challenges. 

 

The Sesasonal (formerly Swannanoa) School of Culinary Arts leads students of all ages and backgrounds in hands-on immersion in a variety of experiences designed to awaken and broaden the palate, lead you closer to the source of the food you prepare, and provide a panoply of skills that will help celebrate the ordinary in extraordinary fashion.  Culinary aficionados may sign up for one or both weeks in our Asheville location, or, if you have time or budget restraints, you may sign up simply for the day whose theme interests you the most. Each day consists of a 3-hour class with a master chef, a gourmet lunch, and a recreational afternoon/evening session.

 

This year’s Asheville line-up includes Grove Park Inn’s executive chef Denny Trantham, Flying Frog’s executive chef Vijay Shastri, Fig’s Bistro’s executive chef Bill Klein, Biltmore Doubletree’s executive chef Todd Levick, Table at Crestwood’s executive chef Chuck Nelson, award-winning caterer Laurey Masterton, Everyone Cooks’ Michael Gentry, Picasso’s Plate’s Chris Aquilino, Discover Italian’s Wally Maria Mazzucco, Log Cabin Cooking’s Barbara Swell, pastry expert Cynthia Pierce, Montford Walk-In Bakery’s Jennifer Thomas, private chef Dee Dee Arthur, author and food blogger Debby Maugans, Williams-Sonoma instructor Mary Collins-Shepard, caterer Karen Ferrel, Hawaiian luau specialist Patrick Landeza, edible landscape artist Nan Chase, environmental specialist Mark Brenner, wine expert Eberhard Heide, master brewer Brian Cole, herbalist and garden manager Diana Schmitt McCall, aromatics specialist Katie Keyes, ethnobotonist Marc Williams, Asheville Slow Food cornerstone Eve Davis, Warren Wilson Dean of Work Ian Robertson, and gastronomist director Susi Gott Séguret.

 

Enrolment in the Asheville sessions is $1400 per week.  A Bridge Session expedition to the Biltmore Estate Winery, with lunch at the Wine Bistro will be offered on July 17, for $250.  Opening nights, which include a lecture and reception with Chef Denny Trantham on July 11 and Chef Michael Gentry on July 18 are open to the general public.  Check out our website for details about our Ithaca, Sonoma, and Paris sessions.

 

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For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Susi Gott Séguret at 828-301-2792, email ssca@schoolofculinaryarts.org, or visit www.schoolofculinaryarts.org.