Cooking Classes

About Allan Suddaby’s Cooking Classes

Allan Suddaby instructing a sausage-making class for Metro Continuing Education.

I am a chef and food educator in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, leading several cooking classes in and around the city.

My journey through food and cooking has been a profoundly rewarding set of experiences.  In my cooking classes I share my passion for traditional food by connecting you to the stories of the ingredients, techniques, and preparations.

Despite my background in professional cooking, my classes are very much about enriching your life by preparing good food at home, from scratch, and sharing with friends and family.

How to Take my Cooking Classes

Metro Continuing Education

I am an instructor for Metro Continuing Education, the con. ed. arm of the Edmonton Public School Board.  Every couple weeks during the school season I lead classes on food crafts such as sausage-making, meat-cutting, cider-making, Austrian cuisine, and a number of other subjects geared to home cooks.  These are generally three hour sessions that take place in the food laboratory of an Edmonton high school.  I list my classes on my Events Page.  You can also check out the Metro course calendar.

Conferences and Seminars

I teach hands-on and demonstration cooking classes for conferences such as Eat Alberta, Dig-In Horticultural Festival, and the Little Brick Home School Sessions.  Again, check out my Events Page for what’s up-and-coming.

 

Sample Cooking Classes

Here are some classes that I have offered in the past.  Check out my Events Page to see what I’m running this season.

Sausage Making

A plate of sausage, toast, apple sauce, and braised red cabbage.

This class will teach you everything you need to know about making sausage at home form scratch.  Discuss how to source great local meat and then learn how to grind, mix, and stuff that meat into natural casings.  You will make two recipes: classic garlic and spicy Calabrese.  Hands-on/demonstration course.

Charcuterie at Home

Curing and smoking your own meat at home is much simpler than you might think. Chef Allan Suddaby will walk you through all the ingredients and equipment required. You’ll learn how to turn fresh pork belly into the best bacon you have ever eaten and fresh pork leg into amazing holiday ham.

Austrian Classics

Pork schnitzel with parsley potatoes, cranberry, and lemon.

Explore the cuisine of the Danube!  Prepare some classic Viennese dishes, including pancake soup, schnitzel, and even traditional apple strudel, all from scratch.

Deep-Frying Without a Deep-Fryer

From french fries to fritters, fried foods are among the most deeply satisfying treats. Learn how to deep-fry safely at home using equipment you probably already have: a pot, oil and a thermometer. We will make and taste a variety of fritters, as well as fried chicken—and french fries, of course! Hands-on course.

The Perfect Burger

The finished burger, top bun removed for full photographic affect

We’re heading into BBQ season—and that means it’s time to step up your burger game! In this class, grind high-quality beef and learn the best techniques for shaping tender, flavourful patties. Then prepare your toppings, from homemade dill pickles and chipotle mayonaise from scratch to local hothouse tomatoes and melty cheeses. The simple but profound lessons of this class will take you back to the mouth-watering basics of this North American classic.

Egg Cookery

The egg is the single most powerful and versatile ingredient in the kitchen. You’ll cover how to get great local eggs, along with best practices for scrambling, frying, poaching, hard-cooking and devilling those eggs. There will also be discussion and demonstration of egg sauces like mayonnaise, egg foams like meringue and custards like crème brûlée.

 

Testimonial

I had, through the food community, heard about Suddaby and was aware of people’s adoration of the man, but I had no idea the level of knowledge he had, nor the passion he possessed for the product… We learned about the meat, the casings, the technique of stuffing and the science behind everything sausage. About two minutes into the session I became a Suddabite. One hour was not enough to soak up this man’s wit, skill and expertise.

-Twyla Campbell, CBC Edmonton AM Restaurant Reviewer, after taking a Sausage-Making class

 

The personal website of Edmonton chef Allan Suddaby