I discovered an interesting find while walking around the streets of Vancouver earlier this month. The Dirty Apron Cooking School is attached to a high-end deli and offers four-hour hands on classes starting at $145 Canadian.
It is a place for amateur cooks as well as professionals to learn, explore, and unleash their inner chef. Born out of a passion for great food the school is a joint venture between Karri and Nico Schuermans and former Chambar Sous-Chef David Robertson. David has a formidable background in classic French cuisines and will teach the majority of the classes, with guest and celebrity chef appearances peppered throughout the year. Instruction focuses on popular regional cuisines as well as basic skill sets for ingredient-focused cooking.
Some of the class options include: A Taste of Summer in France, a Seafood class, Thai Cuisine, the Ultimate Grilling Class, Kids and Teen Cooking Camp, Japanese Tasting and Cooking, Hands on with Pastry Chefs, Hooked on Italy for the best tips on Italian Cuisine, A Class for Couples, the Vegetarian Class and more. Below is a two-part video of an interview and background on both sides of Dirty Apron (the classroom and the adjacent deli which also sells unusual and hard-to-find oils, sauces and spices).
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
