Put your barbecue learning where your mouth is

So you've always wanted to learn how barbecue is really done? If you can make it to the S.C. Farmers Market in West Columbia on Aug. 18, you can learn.

The one-day Carolina Outdoor Cooking BBQ Class is taught by pit masters Brian Teigue from Up in Smoke and Garland Hudgins from Big GQ. The class will cover Carolina-style pulled pork, Texas-style beef brisket, Memphis-style pork ribs and smoked chicken.

All this knowledge does not come cheap, of course. The full-day class, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., is $250 (although that does include lunch and all-day barbecue noshing).

Deadline for registration is Aug. 10 unless the class has already filled. Contact Garland Hudgins, 803-360-4700 or email him at garland@carolinaoutdoorcooking.com, or get details online at www.carolinaoutdoorcooking.com.

Johnson & Wales chef has cooking classes for the public

When school is out, classes are in. Johnson & Wales chef instructor Carrie Hegnauer is offering her Classical Technique Cooking Series Aug 11-25 at The Kitch, 8305-D Magnolia Estates Dr. in Cornelius.

The classes aren't cooking demos, they're hands-on experiences focused on cooking techniques that can be applied to home cooking. The lineup:

"Sauce Creation," 5-9 p.m. Aug. 11. Create basic French sauces and dishes, including chicken paillard, chateaubriand and poached fillet soubise.

"Soup Creation," 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 18. Soups including vichyssoise, creme Bretonne, French onion and smoked butternut squash.

"Sensory Analysis," 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 25. Learn to understand balance and complexity while using basic skills to separate and identify flavor elements in food.

Classes are $90 to $125 each and include a family-style meal at the end of class. Space is limited and registration is required. For details or to register, go to culinarycarrie.com.

Learn canning basics on Sunday

Kristin Davis, the family and consumer specialist for Mecklenburg Cooperative Extension, will continue her series of summer cooking classes at Harvest Moon Grille on Sunday afternoon with "Canning and Preserving the Harvest."

The class will cover the basics of food preservation, the difference between high- and low-acid foods and other preservation techniques. Every person will leave with a canning booklet including recipes and instructions.

The class is 2-5 p.m. at the Dunhill Hotel, 235 N. Tryon St., and costs $25 per person. You need to call to reserve a spot: 704-342-1193.

Learn to cook: Tacos at Paco's

Owner Frank Scibelli and big chef Tim Groody will lead a cooking (and eating) class next Wednesday, June 27, at Paco's Tacos, in the Specialty Shops at the Park, 6401 Morrison Blvd.

The class will cover three Tex-Mex courses, including Unholy Guacamole and Roasted Tomato Salsa, Angus al Pastor Tacoes with roasted pineapple slaw and peach cornbread cake with peach and tequila caramel. All courses will include beer pairings from George Allen of Carolina Premium Beverage.

The class starts at 7 p.m. and costs $40. Seating is limited, so you need a rez: 704-716-8226 (TACO).

Mecklenburg wants to help you fill those cans

Canning fans, forgive me: I've had the list of canning classes from the Mecklenburg Cooperative Extension on the top of my stack for weeks and haven't gotten it posted up on the blog.

That doesn't mean the classes aren't worthy. And while you've missed "Basics of Home Food Preservation" and "Basics of Waterbath Canning," you still have a couple of helpful classes ahead. And a whole summer's worth of food to use them on.

• "Basics of Pickling Your Harvest" is still ahead on Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Piedmont Natural Gas Technology Kitchen, 4301 Yancey Road. Cost: $15. You can sign up if you call by the end of the day Wednesday. Call 704-336-2082 and ask for Class Code 35694.
• "No Pressure! Basics of Canning Low-Acid Foods" (ie, when and how to use a pressure canner) is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 21 at the Piedmont Natural Gas kitchen, 4301 Yancey Road. Deadline for signup is also Wednesday. Cost is $15; call 704-336-2082; class code is 35692.
• "Jam Party! Canning Jams, Jellies and Fruit Spreads," is at Harvest Moon Grille at the Dunhill Hotel, 237 N. Tryon St., from 2-5 p.m. June 24. The cost is $24. Call 704-332-4141 to register.
• Finally, "Canning and Preserving the Harvest," covering both pressure and water-bath canning, will be from 2-5 p.m. July 22 at Harvest Moon Grille. Cost is $25. Call 704-332-4141.

And if canning isn't your thing, hang on for next Wednesday, when my colleague Andrea Weigl will have a story on refrigerator pickles and preserving. See? We've got you covered.

Reid's plans international cooking classes

Reid's Fine Foods, 2823 Selwyn Ave., is getting all worldly on us with the new lineup of cooking classes, taught by Heidi Billotto:

Cuban is 1-4 p.m. Sunday, April 29. Dishes: Arroz Con Pollo, Ropa Vieja, Black Beans and Rice and Capered Baked Fish. $65.

French is 9:30 a.m.-noon Monday, April 30. Dishes: Spinach Souffle, Tomato and Eggplant Timbale, Chicken With Herbs de Provence and Custard-Stuffed Profiteroles. $55.

Mediterranean is 9:30 a.m.-noon Monday, May 14. Dishes: Pita With Olive Oil, Za'tar and Sumac, White Fish poached with olive oil and pesto, Beef Kebabs With Olive Oil, Herbs and Lemon and Lemon Olive Oil Semolina Cake. $65.

Spain is 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 19. Dishes: Chorizo Tapas, Paella, Catalonian Chickpea Salad and Orange-Glazed Flan. $65.

Then it gets a little more local, with Fresh from the Farm, 9:30 a.m.-noon May 21, $55; and guest chef Ben Miles of BLT Steak, noon-2 p.m. May 26, $75.

Register for classes online, at www.reids.com.

Friday food news roundup

• Tickets are on sale for the ninth season of Taste of the World, the East Charlotte food tour of international restaurants in the area around Central Avenue. If you've never gone, the tour starts at the Van Landingham Estate on The Plaza, circles around to three restaurants and ends back at Van Landingham with a dessert reception. This year's event is on Oct. 6. Tickets are $30 at www.charlotteeast.com. Yes, it's early, but the event is popular and sells out.

• Another event is coming up closer: The next Chow Down Uptown food truck festival is next Thursday, Aug. 18, from 5-9 p.m., in the parking lot on 7th Street across from the former Reids (soon to be known as 7Venth Market). This time, the event will include A Taste of the Market, with samples from some of the vendors who will be at 7Venth Market when it opens, a promotion for "The Addams Family Musical" and a screening of the movie, and the debut of Hamilton, the inflatable mascot for BBQ And Blues. After my visit to last month's rally, I'd suggest a few things: Bring cash - tasting a bunch of stuff can run up a tab. Bring a shade umbrella. Bring hand wipes. And bring an appetite.

• Harvest Moon Grille at the Dunhill has two local-foods events next week: On Sunday from 2-4 p.m., you can take a class in Korean cooking, featuring bulgogi, pork belly and kimchi. Tickets are $20. On Monday, the restaurant hosts its second guest-chef night with Charles Taft, vice president of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The dinner showcases rare and endangered livestock breeds and heirloom vegetables. (OK, he's not exactly the same as having Joe Kwon of the Avett Brothers, but ALBC does important stuff in keeping livestock diversified.) Dinner is $55 with a portion of proceeds going to ALBC. Reservations for dinner or the class: 704-332-4141.

(Speaking of food trucks, has anyone noticed that we've now had two food trucks stolen, the Harvest Moon Grill orange cart and the Lakeview Dairy mooing dairy truck?)

Charlotte Food world: What's going on

• Cooking Uptown classes fill up fast, so they announce them early. The April schedule kicks off knife skills on April 2, and the month continues through "Spring in France" on April 30. Prices and times vary; go to http://www.cookinguptown.com/ or call 704-333-7300. Cooking Uptown is at 1707 E. 7th St. in Charlotte.




• For all of you have been asking for hands-on cooking classes for kids, Cooking Uptown is going to offer them for the first time this summer. The classes will be $195 for four days and include a chef hat, apron, take-home booklet of recipes and an awards ceremony at the end. The web site and number are above.




• "Forks Over Knives," a documentary on the health issues involved with a diet of an animal- and processed food-based diet, opens nationwide in March, but there will be an early screening in Charlotte at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 920 N. Sharon Amity. Tickets and details: www.forksoverknifes.com/screenings.




• Chef Carrie Leonard of Johnson & Wales University's Charlotte campus, will teach a 12-class series of videos on classical culinary techniques that will be available on Time Warner Cable's Video on Demand channel. The series is free and available on the Carolina On Demand channels, 199 or 1047.




• You've heard of an open house. The Inn at Celebrity Dairy is having an Open Barn from noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 12 and 13 and March 12 and 13. If you feel like taking the easy drive to Siler City, you can buy lunch and goat cheese and see the goats. $10 donations for Heifer Foundation International are requested but not required. Details and directions: http://www.celebritydairy.com/ or 919-742-5176.


• Oh, and one more I should mention: I'll be a guess on Tuesday, WFAE's "Charlotte Talks" on the subject of food in the New South. Turn in at 9 a.m.

Cows, pigs and, um, porkiness

I'm on the road for the next couple of days. Let's do a fast roundup before I go:

-- Proffitt Family Farms believes that a calf born to one of their cows is the first USDA Certified Organic beef cow born in the Carolinas. Their pastures were certified organic in September.

-- Good pork is a terrible thing to waste. So Grateful Growers Farm is adding the Porkalicious Cooking Academy, for classes specifically about cooking pork. It's a 5-week series, held from 6-8 p.m. Thursdays starting March 18 at the Friendship Trays facility near SouthEnd, 2401 Distribution St. Classes are $45 each or $200 for the series. Class size is limited and registration is required. Get information at www.ggfarm.com.

-- Fit City Challenge, the Mecklenburg County Health Department's weight-loss program, is starting its annual 12-week Lose Weight Donate program: For every pound you lose, Lowe's Foods will donate $1 for Second Harvest Food Bank. The challenge starts Thursday, but you can join any time before March 26. The person who loses the most wins a $500 gift certificate for USAirways. Get details at www.fitcitychallenge.org.

Beer Week, cooking classes and more

Get out your calendars and scribble these down. Or click and drag them. Or do whatever you Mac users do:

• Foam fans, the first Charlotte Craft Beer Week is coming March 18-28 (yes, that's more than a week, but they're very excited). It starts from 7-9 p.m. March 18 with a Tap the Keg reception at Rock Bottom Brewery and continues with events all over the city. Get the full schedule here. Personally, I'm dying to know more about Freak Fest at Common Market. Isn't that usually held every Friday night?
• Taste of the Nation isn't April 14 (7-10 p.m., in The Atrium uptown), but if you buy a ticket in February, you get a $10 discount off the ticket price of $60 or $85 for VIP. Go to charlottetasteofthenation.com and enter the code "TASTECLT" in the promotional code field. This year's event features 25 restaurants, plus a mixologist event, silent auction and live music. Money raised goes to Share Our Strength to work toward ending childhood hunger in Charlotte. Details: 704-334-6134.
• Cooking Uptown, 1707 E. 7th St., will bring back Thursday evening classes in March. Owner Karen Cooley also has her lineup of April classes, and she's added a Lebanese class for March 20. Go to cookinguptown.com for the schedule.
• Heidi Billotto will teach a special Chef's Choice class at Johnson & Wales from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 20. The theme is "Easy and Elegant Dinner Party for Four," and the cost is $140. She also has Saturday morning classes through February at Reid's Fine Foods. Go here to register for the JWU class; go here for Reids.

What's Coming Up: Cooking Classes

Looking to improve your game? Check out a cooking class:

"American Game Birds," 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at Zink, 201 N. Tryon St. $35, reservations 704-444-9001.

"Warm Your Bones," taught by Greg Balch of Ratcliffe on the Green, still has openings at Cooking Uptown on 7th Street. It's $65, and it's 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. The store also has its list of February and March classes up, so now is a good time to get a seat. Go to www.cookinguptown.com for details.

The Liberty gastropub, 1812 South Blvd., is starting classes with chef Tom Condron this Saturday, Jan. 16. Classes include wine and beer pairings and printed recipes to take home for $25. They're already got a year's worth scheduled. Call 704-332-8830 for details or go to www.thelibertycharlotte.com.