Food and Wine: the Perfect Pairing
More than 25 years ago, Jane Langdon and her husband Joe Will took a trip to California wine country. During their travels through Napa they passed the old Christian Brothers winery, which was in the process of being converted into a chefs' training centre. It took Jane back full circle to her university days when she assisted at a Toronto cooking school. She turned to Joe and suggested they might include a cooking school at their future winery – one exclusively devoted to recreational cooks or "people who love food and wine." The idea was born.
“Our goal is to create a unique Niagara experience: fresh, locally inspired menus that participants can recreate at home – perfectly matched with Strewn VQA wines.”
The summer of 1997 saw the opening of Strewn winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the first stage of the Wine Country Cooking School, the first cooking school at a winery in Canada. Construction delays meant classes were limited to the demonstration kitchen (now used primarily for wine tasting events). The teaching kitchen was built over the next year and soon after the school switched totally to its present hands-on format.
married to each other and to the idea that great food and wine go together, Joe Will (STREWN COFOUNDER) and jane langdon are shown in front of the winery and cooking school.
Every hands-on class at the Wine Country Cooking School is designed to teach participants delicious and healthy recipes that can be consistently replicated at home. Menus are inspired by what's grown locally and use seasonal ingredients wherever possible. Recipes reflect current trends (but are not faddish!). We also teach tips and tricks to save time, improve results and otherwise make cooking at home a more rewarding experience.
What could be a better opportunity to learn about food and wine pairing than at a cooking school located within a winery? The menus provide the perfect forum with a delicious wine match for each course.
If you're a details person, check out our school's Kitchen Facility>> or learn more about the The Team>> that guides your experience.
