Are you in a cooking rut? Looking for something fun to do with your significant other or your girlfriends? Just want to learn a new skill? Need a creative gift for a foodie? I have just the place for you – Flambé Gourmet. Flambé Gourmet is an upscale catering business on Madison’s near east side that includes a cooking school and features some of Madison’s finest chefs. It was “founded by Chef Angelo Cattaneo of Madison Sourdough, Samba, La Brioche, The Blue Marlin and Sardine.” Yum!!
image from flambegourmet.net
I purchased a groupon deal for a cooking class last year and attended my first (and certainly not my last!) class in March. I’ve been experimenting with homemade pizza but wanted to expand my skills and learn some new tricks. Having never attended a cooking class, I had no idea what to expect and was slightly intimidated because I was going solo. I was more than pleasantly surprised! Chef Angelo was a great instructor, very personable and approachable. The co-instructor was one of the bakers from Madison Sourdough. We were definitely learning from some of Madison’s best.
Throughout the two hour class, we learned how to make the dough and we each made a batch to take home. We practiced our dough handling/stretching/throwing skills – I have a long way to go! And we each made 4 mini pizzas to enjoy with our classmates – a classic pizza Margherita or a sweet nutella flatbread with fresh berries, anyone? A glass of wine made the afternoon absolutely perfect.
The current schedule includes a variety of hands-on classes, as well as demonstration dinners with “famous” local chefs and they’ve just added wine tastings. During the demonstration class, you observe a local chef as he/she walks you through the preparation and then you get to sample the menu. You do the hard work in the hands-on classes. The wine tastings sound amazing! Definitely bring a notebook to jot down tips and recipes throughout the class. Our class recipe was emailed to us but I really wish I had taken notes. Thankfully my more prepared classmates were kind enough to share.
When I told Chef Angelo that I would be writing a review of my experience, he offered to give a $10 discount to our readers! You must call Flambé Gourmet via telephone (608.320.2556) to register and get the discount (registering online will not work). You bet I will be attending again. If you need a cooking buddy, drop me a note and I’ll happily attend with you! 
They also sell gift certificates….Mother’s Day is just around the corner! (hint, hint to my husband… 
)
Flambé Gourmet
608.320.2556
Like them on Facebook to get the latest updates and class schedules!
**More classes will be added in May. Chef Angelo and his wife are expecting a beautiful baby girl this month so they are keeping the schedule open.** Congratulations to them!
Note: I was not compensated for writing this review. I attended a class and had a such a great time that I wanted to share this local gem with everyone. I love to support local businesses!
Wow this sounds really fun! I’m usually pretty skeptical of cooking classes because most of the time they are more like demonstrations, if I wanted to “watch” people cook I would just turn on the Food Network. I’m glad to hear that there are actual hands on cooking classes in Madison. I will definitely check this out.
Amanda recently posted..5 Wisconsin Food Favorites You Can Make At Home
Great article Michelle and you already know that I am game to take a cooking class with you. Can’t wait to see what their schedule looks like for May! Keep me in mind for a class.
Yes! Let’s definitely pick a class.
Hi Michelle, I am going to the art of sauteeing at the end of May, I had a few friends that were at the last sushi class and they loved it. I would love to find more events to go to, considering the Lake Geneva school of cooking as well, they have some interesting classes. I belong to the Madison Epicureans Meetup group and thought you might be interested in joining us…
Sounds fun! Thanks for the info about the meetup. I’ll definitely check it out!