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Learning To Cook Vegetarian Style

© Tara Gillet-Liloia

The exciting world of cooking instruction can be a rewarding experience for vegetarian chefs. There are several schools dedicated to healthful, whole foods cooking classes for the public, as well as professionals. Here are just a few schools that offer vegetarian or vegan cooking courses.

The Cordon Vert Cookery School in Parkdale, England offers courses that focus on several aspects of vegetarian cooking. The school is located on the grounds of the Vegetarian Society in the United Kingdom.

Students can choose to attend day, weekend or week-long courses. Day courses are offered between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Lunch is included, vegetarian of course, as a sample of the day's lesson. Titles for the day courses include: "Around the World in 8 Dishes," "Soups and Sauces," and "Gourmet and Dinner Party Ideas."

Weekend courses offer a more thorough look at an aspect of vegetarianism. A weekend course at Cordon Vert is a relaxing way to learn the ins and outs of cooking and business in the vegetarian world. Some of the weekend courses offered include: "So You Want To Open Your Own Vegetarian Business?" "Vegetarian Cooking and Alternative Therapies" and "Far Eastern Weekend."

One particularly interesting weekend course, called "Fungus Foray," is a look into the wild world of wild mushrooms. The tantalizing and complex flavors of wild mushrooms are coaxed into the most savory of vegetarian dishes. After learning about safe collection methods, students are brought into the field and allowed to collect some specimens on their own. Students are encouraged to use their finds in the dishes created during the practical cooking class.

You can find out more about the courses, schedules and tuition at the Cordon Vert Cookery School web site.

The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts located in Austin, Texas is the place to go for seminars on vegetarian and vegan cooking. They offer recreational classes in a variety of subjects related to natural, whole foods cooking.

One of the special features of the Natural Epicurean Academy is their Natural Foods Training Program. The program includes twelve levels of specific training including: Fundamentals, Beans, Fish, Complete Meals, Seasonal Cooking, Home Remedies and The Business of Food.

The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts also offers free lectures every second Tuesday of the month. You can reserve a space by calling (512) 327-9798. More information is available at the National Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts web site.

The School of Natural Cookery in Boulder, Colorado specializes in instructing cooks in preparing unrefined vegetarian food. The school's philosophy is to focus on the potential of vegetables as meals, rather than using them as a meat substitution.