For my birthday my wife bought me a cooking class at Braise Restaurant. We had eaten there once before for a friends birthday party and the food was on par. After that we had talked about going back again sometime. The time had come for the cooking class, it was the grilling class that we were signed up for. There were a few months of waiting because the classes fill up quick.
The night of, we arrived about 30 mins before the class started and we were shown a table and offered a drink while we waited for the rest of the people taking the class to arrive. I had a small beer and Shayla had a small glass of wine while we chatted and got to know some of the people taking the class. At 6pm the class started; there were 12 people in the cooking class and we took a short walk back to the training kitchen area where they had stations set up for two people per area. They had water areas for you to serve yourself, although a waiter periodically checked and took orders for other beverages, and aprons for students to wear. We got started pretty quick, at the head of the class was the teacher, who just happened to be the head chef, and owner of the restaurant. He laid out the plan for the night and what we were going to make. We also all received a copy of the recipes we would be making to look over and take home.
The chef had a great sense of humor and we quickly got to work making fresh salsa from scratch. After we had finished making that we moved on. Next was Swiss chard wrapped mozzarella with chimichurri that we cooked later in the evening. Then we worked on prepping a sauce for the bison steak we were going to grill on an open outdoor fire pit at the end of the class. Once everything was prepped and ready the instructor led us through the restaurant, upstairs and out on to an open rooftop patio.
The setting was awesome. There was a fire pit with a grate on top where we would be grilling the Swiss chard and cheese, the bison steak and then we topped everything with our salsa, chimichurri, and plated our sides (an eggplant salad almost). The food was delicious. The setting was perfect, the weather was just right. The patio was actually the restaurants garden as well so we were surrounded by fresh herbs and vegetables growing. The Chef stayed with us throughout and answered questions and chatted. All in all I thought it was a great and fun experience. I would definitely try another class and for sure go back to eat. $$, free 2 hour street parking (check signs for specifics). 5 out of 5 stars :D
1101 S 2nd St, Milwaukee, WI 53204
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