Execs embrace creativity, taste during culinary courses

Execs embrace creativity, taste during culinary courses

Leisure & Lifestyle
By Sherri Dauskurdas
Associate Editor

By day, McCauley Design Kitchens of Barrington is filled with home builders and interior designers, checking out the latest designs. But by night, it is filled with laughter, camaraderie and the aroma of a delicious home-cooked meal.

That’s because McCauley Design also is home to the Cucina Della Rosa Cooking School, where “foodies” from around the northwest suburbs come to learn a little more about the pleasures of preparing a meal.

“My passion is getting people excited about cooking, not necessarily the actual cooking,” said Mary Rose Hoover, owner of the Cucina Della Rosa Cooking School. “I tell my students that if they’re here to learn how to make some real fancy, exotic French dish, they’re in the wrong place. I teach what I eat, and I want to demystify a lot of the simple things about cooking, and show how much fun it can be.”

In business for close to five years, Hoover began her journey into teaching at a crossroads in her professional life. Then a buyer for Sam’s Club, she found herself at a point where she could no longer do all the traveling required of the position. For a while, she went to work for Trader Joe’s, writing recipes and teaching staff about the food items on the shelves.

“That gave me the wherewithal to set out on my own,” she said.

Today her business has grown to include not only classes for individual home cooks, but also corporate functions and teambuilding events, parties, and in-home classes.

Mike Colombo is one of her students. The principal and vice president with JTS Architects in Elk Grove Village attended the Cucina Della Rosa School in October.

“I love to cook at home, it’s my Sunday afternoon thing,” Colombo said. “With my Italian heritage, there was always a big Sunday meal, and my mother would start cooking at eight o’clock in the morning.”

But it wasn’t until a few years ago that Colombo himself got into cooking, when his daughters started getting interested. They began bonding over the experience, cooking at home and taking classes together. Since then, cooking has become a regular family endeavor.

One daughter went to culinary school, and currently works for Marriott. His younger daughter enjoyed cooking as well, attending several Kendall College cooking and baking camps in her spare time. For awhile, she was even the Colombo family “private chef,” he said.

“After taking the camps, she decided she needed to make some money to pay for gas so she offered to cook our meals each night,” he said. “She did it instead of an after-school job. She cooked for the family and we gave her some cash.”

But the position was short-lived, and after three months, the priorities of his teenaged daughter shifted, and they lost their personal chef. That’s when Mike took over, leading him back to cooking classes.

“My family got tired of me making the same stuff over and over,” he said, “so I had to diversify.”

Last month involved Hoover’s class in Italian comfort foods, a niche in which Colombo is quite comfortable. And despite his history with home cooking—he describes his mother, mother-in-law and his father all as excellent cooks and bakers—he says he still has a lot to learn.

“We made a lasagna in the class, and the instructor commented that I probably already knew how to make it,” he said. “But we actually made the pasta itself, and I have never made it before.”

That learning process, and the process of cooking itself, is something Colombo says he finds parallels to in his work life.

“Being an architect, you not only have to be organized but you also have to be creative. That side of the brain functions almost the same way in cooking,” he said. “You have to be somewhat precise with the directions and the recipes, but you also have to be creative and think of how you can use, for instance, the broth from the mushrooms to make another dish or to save for next time.”

It’s the creative side Colombo says he finds most enjoyable.

“There’s no stress to it. There’s nobody saying that you’ve got to have this meal made at a certain time,” he said. “That’s why I like it. It’s something fun to do on a Sunday afternoon. It takes up three or four hours and we have nice meals for the week. Every new dish becomes my favorite.”

Also in the class was first-timer Patricia Piech, principal at Armstrong School in Schaumburg.

“I am new to ‘real’ cooking,” Piech said. “With my children grown and a bit more time for myself, I enjoy trying out new recipes and cooking for others. I have a very busy work life as a school principal. Cooking is creative and relaxing for me.”

“That’s the beauty of what I do,” Hoover said. “It’s a wonderful escape for people. They don’t have to be in control.”

Posted on Thursday, November 12, 2009 (Archive on Thursday, November 19, 2009)
Posted by jstoltz Contributed by jstoltz

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