I ran into my friend Roger who has just finished his stint at the Art Institute of Seattle’s Culinary School. Decked out in his apprentice chef smock and checkered pants (apparently good taste doesn’t extend to kitchen wear), he spoke reverently about the passion his instructors bring to their craft — and about the $780 he spent on a professional set of kitchen knives.

I haven’t spent that much on utensils, plates and glasses in my entire life. Unless, of course, you count shot glasses and the libations that come in them.



Anyway, we talked about things you learn in chef school: presentation, sanitation, how to chop scallions so fine they resemble green grains of sand. He said they spent two 5-hour classes just on potatoes — the Machiavellian intrigues of peeling, parsing and baking.



If you’re looking to expand your culinary knowledge but don’t want to shell out thousands, consider spending two and a half hours learning from top Northwest chefs.  Jason Wilson of Crush, Thierry Rautureau of Rovers and Jerry Traunfeld of The Herbfarm will hold court at Olympia’s Bayview School of Cooking March 19, April 4 and May 16, respectively.  The classes run 6 to 8:30 p.m. for $85 a pop.  Check it out here.