Can Taking a MasterClass with a Chef Make You a Better Home Cook?
It depends on your level of commitment
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While the online learning industry was booming before Covid-19, it has now become a central part of our lives. More Americans are taking online classes — even when it comes to cooking.
While many classes are free, MasterClass, the Rolls-Royce of online education platforms, is one of the first to partner with iconic celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, Aaron Franklin, and Thomas Keller. The movie-like trailers showcase famous chefs sharing moments of culinary clarity and inviting us to join them for the ride.
Membership to the platform is $90 per class, with an option for an all-access pass for $180 a year ($15 a month). That annual fee is covered after taking two classes.
Do classes priced at a premium offer something different than what we can find free? Does learning to cook from some of the world’s best chefs translate to the home kitchen? I took a few classes to find out.
‘Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking I’
For beginners and those looking to build confidence in the kitchen.
“Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking” is one of the platform’s first cooking classes. The chef, who on television appears gruff with a fierce dedication to perfection, shows a gentler side and seems more joyful as he shares the fundamentals. Throughout the course, Ramsay explains each step thoroughly over 20 lessons; he addresses why skills matter, and explains his own career journey.
My favorite takeaway from the class is knife skills. I watch chefs quickly chopping vegetables and breaking down a chicken easily. I want that!
At the beginning of the 18-minute lesson, Ramsay reveals that knife skills take years to master and that precision, not speed, should be the goal. He shared elements essential to working with knives in the kitchen even before cutting anything — like proper posture and securing the cutting board.
My favorite takeaway from the…
