Private class menus
After booking a private cooking class with Bowen Appétit, we start discussing menu options. We can accommodate nearly any dietary restrictions or special requests and have hundreds of recipes in our teaching collection. These menus are just a starting point – tell us what you like and we can go from there! Think about cuisines (e.g. Thai), techniques (e.g. cakes), or dishes (e.g. paella) that you’d like to learn. Think about how you’d like to change your cooking style (less meat? more seasonal vegetables?) and we can consider that in suggesting options.
(Note: not all menu items are available year-round and some combinations are unavailable due to time and/or equipment constraints.)
See the bottom of this page for more general ideas!
French
- First course (choose one):
Homemade herbed ricotta on toasts
Buckwheat crêpes with ham and Gruyere- Salad: green salad with Dijon vinaigrette
- Main course (choose one):
French lentils with roasted vegetables, parsley pistou, and poached eggs
Quick coq au vin (chicken braised in red wine with mushrooms and pearl onions)
Quick cassoulet (chicken and sausage braised with white beans and bread crumbs)- Dessert (choose one):
Apple galette with thyme and créme fraîche whipped cream
Crêpes with lemon and sugar
Lemon yogurt cake with berry coulis
Crêperie at Home
- Buckwheat crêpes with ham, Gruyère, and sunny-side up eggs
- Crêpes with greens, mushrooms, and creamy herbed béchamel
- Crêpes with homemade salted caramel and ricotta cheese
- Crêpes Suzette (flambéed!)
Italian
Choose two main course categories (e.g. one gnocchi dish from option 1 and one seafood dish from option 3)
- Appetizer (choose one):
Fennel, orange, avocado salad with Kalamata olives
Prosciutto-wrapped dates stuffed with chevre or homemade ricotta
Rosemary and white bean crostini
Herbed homemade ricotta and fig tapenade with crostini- Main course option 1: Homemade gnocchi
Roasted beets and herbed chevre
Lardons, white beans, and garlicky greens
Pesto and roasted seasonal vegetables- Main course option 2: Risotto
Mushrooms and chili breadcrumbs
Spinach with lemon and nutmeg
Lemon, peas, and fresh herbs
Caramelized fennel, garlicky greens, chevre- Main course option 3: Seafood
Linguinine with squid, lemon, and chilies
Bacon-wrapped cod fillets with lemon aioli
Cioppino – seafood stew with fish, squid, and mussels
Mussels with creamy pancetta broth- Main course option 4: Meat
Pork tenderloin with pesto
Pan-roasted chicken thighs with shallots and white wine- Dessert (choose one):
Lemon-rosemary tart
Polenta olive oil cake with fruit and créme fraîche whipped cream
Salted chocolate torte with créme fraîche whipped cream
Butterscotch budino
Vanilla-orange panna cotta
Fresh pasta workshop
- Tortellini (choose one):
Roasted squash and garlic tortellini with brown butter-sage sauce
Wild mushroom tortellini with pancetta pink sauce and peas
Garlic-herb ricotta tortellini with tomato sauce- Pappardelle (choose one):
Pink sauce, pancetta, mushrooms, peas
Italian sausage, garlicky greens, chili flakes
Leeks, garlic, and lemon- Salad: Green salad with homemade vinaigrette
Lasagna from scratch
We’ll make a lasagna almost entirely from scratch, including fresh pasta, fresh homemade ricotta, and meat sauce. (The only thing we don’t have time for is homemade mozzarella!). We’ll also put together a green salad to enjoy on the side.
Mediterranean
- First course (choose two):
Butternut-tahini dip with pita chips
Toasted sesame hummus and tzatiki with pita chips
Dolma (filled grape leaves)
Spanikopita (spinach and feta baked in phyllo)- Salad (choose one):
Fattoush salad with toasted pita
Greek salad with feta and oregano- Main (choose one):
Citrus-oregano lamb and chicken kabobs with yogurt sauce
Herbed red and white quinoa with roasted eggplant and tahini
Seafood stew with saffron and peppers
Tapas
Choose four to six, depending on combination:
- Toasts with homemade ricotta and fig tapenade
- Warm marinated olives
- Rosemary white bean spread on toasts with balsamic drizzle
- Crispy baked chickpeas
- Spanish cheeses and membrillo
- Manchego crackers with cured meat and roasted peppers
- Prosciutto-wrapped dates stuffed with chevre or homemade ricotta
- Marinated goat cheese
- Flaky mushroom-thyme spirals
- Melon with chevre, prosicutto, smoked paprika, and mint
- Paprika chicken skewers with yogurt sauce
- Turkey meatballs with balsamic reduction
- Tortilla Española (frittata with potatoes and browned onions)
- Empanadas (choose one):
Tuna, sweet peppers, and melting onions
Beef and peppers
Manchego and membrillo
Spanish
- Tapas: pick two from above list
- Salad: green salad with smoky paprika vinaigrette
- Main course option 1: Spanish seafood stew with saffron and peppers plus an extra choice from the tapas list
- Main course option 2: Paella (choose one – parties of 10+ can choose two)
Chicken and chorizo with chickpeas and red peppers
Seafood with fish, squid, and mussels
Roasted vegetable and white beans- Sangria (host provides wine):
Conventional sangria
White sangria
Harvest sangria with apple cider
Spiced winter sangria
Rosewater-mint sangria with rosé- Dessert options available in place of a tapas choice!
Mexican
- Appetizer: Best-ever guacamole
- First course (choose one):
Black bean soup with chipotle crema
Tortilla soup with avocado
Corn and black bean salad with pepper confetti
Roasted beet and carrot salad with avocado and toasted pepitas
Arroz verde and ranchero beans
Chipotle chilaquiles with black beans- Main course option 1: Chile relleno stuffed with roasted mushrooms, onions, and chorizo
- Main course option 2: Tacos with roasted tomatillo salsa (choose two fillings)
Chile-roasted squash and peppers
Yucatecan marinated chicken with garlic and herbs
Roasted mushrooms, chorizo, and onions
Old-school ground beef with homemade seasoning mix- Beverage (choose one):
Homemade horchata
Watermelon-mint agua fresca
Mexican white sangria (wine provided by host)
Thai
Note: nearly all items include fish sauce and cannot be adapted to vegetarian diets
- First course (choose one):
Sesame tofu spring rolls with spicy peanut or lemon-coconut sauce
Green papaya salad
Crunchy peanut-cilantro slaw
Chicken or sesame tofu satay with peanut sauce- Main course (choose two):
Pad Thai with chicken or tofu
Pad kee mao (“drunken noodles”)
Laab lettuce rolls with ground chicken or pork
Tom kha gai chicken lemongrass soup
Red curry with tofu or chicken- Dessert (choose one, or choose an additional first course):
Coconut sticky rice with mango
Forbidden rice pudding
Vietnamese
Note: nearly all items include fish sauce and cannot be adapted to vegetarian diets
- First course (choose one):
Spring rolls with spicy peanut or lemon-coconut sauce
Green papaya salad- Main course (choose two):
Banh mi with pâté, carrot and daikon pickles, and sriracha mayo*
Bun noodle bowl with nuoc cham and fresh herbs*
Chicken pho
Clay pot braised fish with Vietnamese caramel
Banh cuon – fresh rice crepes with pork and mushrooms
Braised Vietnamese eggplant
Vietnamese lamb and green bean stir-fry- Beverage: Iced Vietnamese coffees (decaf or caffeinated)
* choose one of the following proteins: black pepper chicken, sesame tofu, lemongrass meatballs, caramelized pork, Vietnamese omelet
Brunch
- Eggs (choose one):
Eggs Benedict (canadian bacon) or Florentine (spinach)
Quiche with roasted butternut squash, greens, and Gruyere
Frittata with smoked fish, leeks, and herbed chevre- Potatoes (choose one):
Crispy breakfast potatoes with peppers
Sweet potato and apple hash with sage- Sweet (choose one):
Caramelized apple Dutch baby
Cinnamon sugar donut muffins- Salad (choose one):
Green salad with homemade vinaigrette
Fruit salad with poppyseed dressing
A few other favorites:
- First course:
Tofu “pâté” (a Bowen Appétit favorite!)
Mini mushroom quiches
Turkey zucchini meatballs with yogurt sauce- Sides:
Wild mushroom bread pudding
Creamy polenta with garlicky greens and caramelized onions
Massaged kale salad with white beans, creamy garlic dressing, and bread crumbs
Fresh mozzarella salad with radish, snap pea, and black sesame
Roasted cauliflower with salsa verde (the Italian variety – not the Mexican variety!)
Blended gazpacho with chevre croutons- Main:
Vegetable and ricotta tart with whole wheat olive oil crust
Chicken and bread salad with arugula and currants
Sausages braised in lentils- Dessert:
Beet cake with orange cream cheese frosting
Vanilla-maple baked pears with whipped cream
Bowen’s famous chocolate chip cookies
Apple rum cake