My first In-Store Demo

So, the day finally came, and I was a barrel of nerves. As I drove to the store, I thought, What the hell did I get myself into?!?!
I set up about 1/3 back in the store, right in front of the register area, and calmly got cooking.
The day actually was so beautiful, that foot traffic was on the lower side (phew). Anyways, I put out my brochure and business card, and people started to come by.

As people started asking, oooh what is this?, I got comfortable answering and it felt right.


The sandwiches came out great, and they looked beautiful, presented on a maroon dish, garnished with cilantro and scallions.

Here's a close up of one of the sandwiches:

One woman bought the book that I cooked from, so that was good.
I'd say about 10 people took the brochure and card, so we'll see.....
The manager was thrilled, and asked if I could demo once a month!
I don't know if I can swing once a month, but maybe once every 6 weeks....
We'll see!

Open for business

Check out my website:

Thyme To Cook

If the link does not work, try www.thyme-to-cook.com

Sur La Table demo

I went into Sur La Table last Friday to set up the ins and outs of my cook date, which is next Saturday, the 29th.
They are pushing "Mexican" right now, so I picked a recipe from one of Rick Bayless's cookbooks.
Rick Bayless is a guru of all things Mexican, when it comes to food. He cooks authentic Mexican.
You might be familiar with his line of products from his restaurant, Frontera Grill, in Chicago.
I'm using his book, Mexican Everyday.

I picked Crusty Black Bean Chorizo Subs to make - basically one pot, cooking black beans with Mexican chorizo (which is fresh, not cured/cooked), and serving it on a crusty roll, with Queso Fresco (a Mexican cheese like goat or feta), and avocado.
I am currently having a hard time finding Mexican chorizo, which is strange, because I live about 2 miles from JP's Latin Quarter.

I did get Portuguese chorizo and Italian sweet sausage (just in case) to practice with. However, this morning, I went into one of the Spanish markets in the area, and asked if they had Mexican fresco chorizo (fresh chorizo), and he said they were out, but would get more on Wednesday.....
In the mean time, I'll practice the recipe with the Portuguese chorizo, and hopefully, it will be similar to the Mexican.

I bought a portable electric burner to use, as Sur La Table is not set up with a cooking area. God, I hope I don't burn the place down.....

If successful, the sub should look like this:

(Picture taken from Rick Bayless's website....hope it stays up, if it's gone, than be on the lookout for my end product after Saturday)

I plan to make a whole bunch up, and slice them thin, displaying them on a couple of Sur La Table's serving platters. I will serve them with chips and tomatillo salsa from Bayless's Frontera line.
I'll post pictures of what my final end product looks like after Saturday.
Bon Appetit!

Wednesday September 28th

Thyme-To-Cook website will go live!

Test 2 Passed

Confirmed.

One more to go, it is on Culinary Theory.
It's amazing how much of the "theory" I've forgotten since I went to culinary school, many moons ago. It's all coming back to me now......
I plan to take it next week (early).

I've got my business cards, letterhead, address labels and car magnets all done. I'm working on my brochure now.
1 more week and Thyme To Cook will be "open" for biz!

Almost there

Thyme To cook is almost ready to go live; the website is just about done, business cards, letterhead and car magnets are ordered. My brochure is going to be printed soon as week.
I have 2 more exams to take (at my leisure) to complete the Personal Chef Diploma. I intend to tae them over the next 2 weeks.

I'll post when I'm ready to go live.

Look for pics, recipes and talk about whats seasonal soon!