The Art of Traditional Mexican Cooking with Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Quirina Aranda $99 for Memebers
May
18
2:00 PM14:00

The Art of Traditional Mexican Cooking with Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Quirina Aranda $99 for Memebers

The Art of Traditional mexican cooking

Chile rellenos and enchiladas rojas de queso with wines from coahuila

Featuring Luis purón and Quirina aranda

Saturday, May 18, 2024 | 2pM-4PM
$99 MEMBERS, $129 NON-MEMBER

Cooking demonstration and tasting

The ROCC, AEP Foundation Culinary Arts Kitchen

About the instructors:

Luis Purón and Quirina Aranda

Purón grew up on the Mexican side of the Texas border in the State of Coahuila; a region rich in revolutionary and gastronomic history.  Piedras Negras is where the popular food “El Nacho” was invented and celebrated with an annual festival and the setting for the critically acclaimed book and film “Like Water for Chocolate.” The state of Coahuila boasts the first wine growing region in the American Continent and the first winery founded by the Spaniards in 1597. 

 About the Class:

In this class, you will learn how to prepare two of his favorite family dishes, the laborious Chile Relleno and Enchiladas Rojas de Queso.  The tasting will be lovingly prepared by long-time family friend, Quirina Aranda, while Purón narrates anecdotes about the history of both dishes.  You will also learn how to prepare the accompanying sauces. There will be plenty of food to go around paired with exquisite red and rose wines from Parras, Coahuila.

At the end of the class, enjoy a visit to Purón’s Mexican Market.

Luis Purón is Executive Director at Rockport Center for the Arts.  His paternal grandparents are of Spanish descent, born in the northern regions of Cantabria and the Kingdom of Asturias.   For socio-economic and political reasons, they migrated and settled in Northern Mexico where they assimilated to cultural traditions.  At a young age, Purón lived with his grandmother Socorro who was a passionate cook for 19 grandchildren.  Purón initially observed and then aided in the preparation of his grandmother’s favorite recipes, which included traditional Mexican cuisine.  As it happens in families of Hispanic descent, his grandmother’s recipes were passed down through the generations allowing them to be embellished with higher quality modern ingredients.

Quirina Aranda has lovingly prepared food for Purón’s family and for family events for the past three decades. 

The Art of Traditional Mexican Cooking With Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Quirina Aranda
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The Art of Traditional Mexican Cooking With Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Quirina Aranda
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May 18th, 2024 | 2PM-4PM
$99 members, $129 non-members

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Sourdough Bread with Wine Pairing Featuring Megan Stewart $89 For Members
May
19
2:00 PM14:00

Sourdough Bread with Wine Pairing Featuring Megan Stewart $89 For Members

Sourdough Bread featuring Megan Stewart


Sunday, May 19, 2024 | 2pM-4PM
$89 MEMBERS, $110 NON-MEMBER

Cooking demonstration and tasting

The ROCC, AEP Foundation Culinary Arts Kitchen

Bread will be paired with a whipped cinnamon honey  butter, a roasted garlic butter,  and a wine pairing.

Students will take home a jar of Sour Dough starter and a copy of the recipe.

Megan Stewart fell in love with baking bread during culinary school and has been playing with dough ever since.  She spent time working in kitchens in her early 20’s and now enjoys baking for her family and friends.  As a home cook, Megan can experiment with recipes and flavors using a simple method out of Great Britain that her mother taught her.  Megan has been baking sourdough for 4 years and has always loved sharing this process with anyone willing to learn.  Over years of making sourdough, Megan has learned several tips and tricks to ensure your bread turns out great each time.  

During this class Megan will teach you how to make Sourdough bread from start to finish.  You will learn how to create your own starter, how to mix and pull the dough, how to rest it properly, when, and how to mix in flavor, and how to make beautiful designs on your loaf.  Megan will also prepare sweet and savory compound butters to pair with your bread and you will go home with recipes, notes, and links to Megan’s favorite bread making tools.  As a thank you gift for attending this class Megan will provide each participant with their very own active, six-year-old starter to continue the sourdough baking journey at home.

Sourdough Bread Featuring Megan Stewart
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Sourdough Bread Featuring Megan Stewart
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May 19, 2024 | 2PM-4PM
$89 members, $110 non-members

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Seafood Paella with Spanish Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Lucy Nye $89 For Members
Jun
9
2:00 PM14:00

Seafood Paella with Spanish Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Lucy Nye $89 For Members

Seafood Paella with spanish wine pairing featuring luis purón and lucy nye


Sunday June 9th | 2pM-4PM
$89 MEMBERS, $110 NON-MEMBER

Cooking demonstration and tasting

The ROCC, AEP Foundation Culinary Arts Kitchen

Purón and Nye have cooked paella for others and have perfected the seafood recipe that will be demonstrated. The paella tasting will be paired with Spanish wine, homemade bread and aioli for your complete enjoyment!

 Luis Purón is Executive Director at Rockport Center for the Arts.  His paternal grandparents are of Spanish descent, born in the northern regions of Cantabria and the Kingdom of Asturias.  At a young age, he lived with his grandmother Socorro who was a passionate cook for 19 grandchildren.  Purón initially observed and then aided in the preparation of his grandmother’s favorite Spanish recipes, which included paella.  As it happens in families of Spanish descent and other cultures, his grandmother’s recipes were passed down through the generations allowing them to be embellished with improved modern ingredients. Puron's travel fuel his passion for gastronomy. 

 Before retiring to Rockport in 2020, Lucy Nye was the Manager of Interiors at MD Anderson Cancer Center. In her retirement she focuses on her dream of getting back to her artwork and hosting dinner parties. Entertaining and cooking has always foremost in Lucys life. She was a part owner of a catering company in Malibu, California. After Lucy moved back to her hometown of Houston she was invited to join the esteem Houston Culinary Guild by the former food editor of the Houston Chronicle. With the guild, she served in the program development committee.  Lucy also serves on the board of directors of Rockport Center for the Arts and writes a weekly lifestyle blog to inspire others. The blog includes tips on her lifelong culinary journey.

 Buen Provecho.

Seafood Paella with Spanish Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Lucy Nye
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Seafood Paella with Spanish Wine Pairing Featuring Luis Purón and Lucy Nye
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June 9th, 2024 | 2PM-4PM
$89 members, $110 non-members

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Tastes of India - Butter Chicken and Basmati Rice with Indian Beer and Wine Pairing Featuring Jatel Bhakta $89 for Members
Apr
14
2:00 PM14:00

Tastes of India - Butter Chicken and Basmati Rice with Indian Beer and Wine Pairing Featuring Jatel Bhakta $89 for Members

Tastes of India

Indian Butter Chicken and Basmati Rice with Indian Wine and Beer Pairing

Featuring Jatel Bhakta

Sunday, April 14, 2024 | 2pM-4PM
$89 MEMBERS, $110 NON-MEMBER

Cooking demonstration and tasting

The ROCC, AEP Foundation Culinary Arts Kitchen

About the instructor:

Jatel Bhakta

My name is Jatel Bhakta. I was born in Trinidad and Tobago and migrated to the United States when I was 16. I pursue a degree in Business Management at Texas A&M Kingsville. After graduating, I married my husband Jatin Bhakta moved to Dallas, TX where I started my career in the hotel business.

In 2006, I moved to Rockport, TX to manage and own my first award winning hotel. I am currently the Regional Manager of Intrepid Hotels and oversees the operation of three hotels.

I enjoy doing yoga and cooking fusion cuisines. My love for Indian food originates from my Mother who was born and raised in India. With my tremendous passion for food, people and hospitality, I hope to inspire my two children, my friends and my community.

Tastes of India - Indian Butter Chicken and Basmati Rice with Indian Wine and Beer Pairing Featuring Jatel Bhakta
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Tastes of India - Indian Butter Chicken and Basmati Rice with Indian Wine and Beer Pairing Featuring Jatel Bhakta
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April 14, 2024 | 2PM-4PM
$89 members, $110 non-members

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German Veal (Wiener Schnitzel) with Wine and Beer Pairing Featuring Tony Legner $89 For Members
Mar
10
2:00 PM14:00
Culinary Arts

German Veal (Wiener Schnitzel) with Wine and Beer Pairing Featuring Tony Legner $89 For Members

German Veal (wIEner schnitzel) with Wine and beer Pairing

Featuring Tony Legner


Sunday, March 10, 2024 | 2pM-4PM
$89 MEMBERS, $110 NON-MEMBER

Cooking demonstration and tasting

The ROCC, AEP Foundation Culinary Arts Kitchen

In this class Tony will demonstrate how to prepare a classic Wiener Schnitzel ( Veal cutlet pounded and breaded) served with a sweet and sour German style red cabbage and apples, homemade quick pickles, and a homemade spicy mustard sauce with a German wine and beer pairing and tasting after! Tony still adds this meal to a lot of his catering menus and it’s always a crowd favorite! Grab a friend and come learn how to he makes it!

Tony Legner is a Professional Chef, Restauranteur, and Caterer with over forty years of experience.

Over the years he has consulted with restaurants, private clubs, and clients, in all food service needs. He was the Executive Chef at Key Allegro Yacht Club at it’s inception, and created the menus enjoyed by many for years to come.

Tony and his wife Maddie opened their own Restaurant in 2001, Tony Legner’s Culinary Productions, which quickly became a crowd favorite.

Known for his creativity and unique dishes, he focused on local and neighboring cuisine cultures that enable him to put his experience and knowledge of food to good use. He has won many food competitions including an International First Place Award for his Cat 5 Food Polish.

Currently, Tony is a Private Chef for a number of clients that hold many dining events locally as well as ranches from Texas, to Colorado to Idaho to name a few. In his leisure time, Tony plays Lead Guitar in the local blues band, Bluestown. He enjoys playing golf and spending time at home with his wife and puppies.

German Veal (Wiener Schnitzel) with Wine and Beer Pairing Featuring Tony Legner
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German Veal (Wiener Schnitzel) with Wine and Beer Pairing Featuring Tony Legner
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March 10, 2024 | 2PM-4PM
$89 members, $110 non-members

Member or Non-Member:
Register for the Class
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Vietnamese Cooking with Kim Nguyen – How to Make Pho Noodle Soup Demo $89 for Members
Jan
14
2:00 PM14:00

Vietnamese Cooking with Kim Nguyen – How to Make Pho Noodle Soup Demo $89 for Members

Vietnamese Cooking with Kim Nguyen

How to Make PHO Noodle soup DEMO


Sunday, January 14, 2024 | 2pM-4PM
$89 MEMBERS, $110 NON-MEMBER

Cooking demonstration and tasting

The ROCC, AEP Foundation Culinary Arts Kitchen

In this class, Kim will demonstrate the art of making food that is fresh, healthy, fun, and easy.  Students will enjoy watching Kim prepare Pho Noodle soup from start to finish and then enjoy samples.

Chef Kim Nguyen

Kim Nguyen is a local chef who founded Faifoo Café Vietnamese Restaurant here in Rockport. After Hurricane Harvey, she now focuses on providing her Vietnamese food through events and festivals.  Kim loves to cook, sew, and garden.  When she is doing what she enjoys she puts all her love and care into it and it shows.  Now Kim wants to share her passion and experience for Vietnamese food with her students.

Vietnamese Cooking Featuring Kim Nguyen – Pho Noodle Soup
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Vietnamese Cooking Featuring Kim Nguyen – Pho Noodle Soup
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January 14, 2024 | 2PM-4PM
$89 members, $110 non-members

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Viva la France-3 Course French Meal with Chef Vicki Comisso
Jun
4
11:00 AM11:00

Viva la France-3 Course French Meal with Chef Vicki Comisso

Viva la France - 3 Course French Meal
with Chef Vicki Comisso
Sunday, June 4, 2023 | 11AM-2:30PM
$95 MEMBERS, $125 NON-MEMBER

Tuition includes all ingredients for 3 courses and wine pairings (21+)

Let your artistic talents and enthusiasm open the world of Culinary Art and come join in to prepare and dine on a 3 course French luncheon meal, with wines, a hands on and demonstration class. We will be prepping and cooking a soup, an entre and dessert, all classic French dishes, made fun and easy for you. The specific menu will be selected by Chef Vicki, using the freshest ingredients available. You may work individually or as a team as you learn some techniques to elevate your cooking to restaurant quality dishes. After the preparation, we will dine on the foods that you have created in a round table, celebrating new friendships and a shared love of “Food as Art”.

If you have a favorite knife and apron, please bring along, but we will have them available for you, if needed. Please wear closed shoes for safety reasons and be you will be standing for the majority of the class, with breaks, of course! We will be cooking with wine, so anyone not wishing to use wine in their dish may omit it. Serious allergies? Please know that wish to provide a safe place to try recipes and may not be able to accommodate all allergies.

If that trip to France is not yet scheduled, why not join us for a afternoon of fun creating Culinary Art in our dishes from France, Viva la France in Rockport!

Chef Vicki Comisso

Vicki is a Certified USPCA Personal Chef and Private Chef with over 25 years experience, working as a Private Chef in New Jersey and Austin, Texas before relocating to Rockport. A love of travel and especially Italian and French Cuisines, took Vicki and her husband David Boyle to a nearly 5 year elective residence in Italy. Continuing education there consisted of working with pasta makers in Bologna, Italy and many local trattorias in Puglia, a southern region. Travel to France and England also provided opportunities to perfect many different regional dishes. On a recent trip to London and Paris, Vicki spent many hours in all the fresh markets and took a Chocolate Workshop with Paul Young, Chef and Author of The Joy of Chocolate. Vicki has used her culinary skills and donated her time to Rockport local non profits, such as Camp Aranzazu, The Rockport Education Foundation Annual Fundraiser Dinner, Boys and Girls Club Fundraiser and more. Vicki loves teaching cooking classes and is actively involved in the Culinary Arts for Kids Program at the Rockport Center for the Arts, teaching classes in the after school program that is generously funded by donations. The kids are able to attend no cost cooking classes and hopefully learn life skills or potential career choices.

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Pizza with the Blues with Tony Legner
Apr
25
2:00 PM14:00

Pizza with the Blues with Tony Legner

In this hands-on class with Chef Tony Legner, you'll discover the joy of pizza making as you learn the essential techniques that make the process a little easier as well as the art of handcrafting perfect pies at home any night of the week.

 You'll begin by learning how to make delicious sauces to elevate homemade flat bread pizza. A wide range of toppings and ingredients will be provided, and the class will be able to sample all the offerings. You can expect a fun, relaxed atmosphere as you make your perfect pizza, listen to blues music, learn new pizza making techniques, and sip on your beverage of choice.

All supplies, materials, and ingredients are included.

 Participants are welcome to bring their own beverage of choice to enjoy during the class.

 Max of 8 students

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Not Just a Casual Love Affair: How to Cultivate a Real Relationship with Chocolate Lecture by Dr. Romi Burks
Feb
12
1:00 PM13:00
Culinary Arts

Not Just a Casual Love Affair: How to Cultivate a Real Relationship with Chocolate Lecture by Dr. Romi Burks

  • The ROCC Culinary Kitchen - 106 S Austin St (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

February 12, 2023 | 1PM-2:30PM

The talk and tasting of many fine chocolates will cover what chocolate needs  to mean in today's culinary atmosphere, how to choose chocolate that meets what you want in a relationship (honesty, transparency, good taste) and where one's relationship with chocolate can lead (travel, good health).

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