Did you know you can set up private Cooking School classes for your friends and family? Last Christmas, the Barnhill family did just that.

Cooking With Three Generations

In celebration of the children and grandchildren visiting for Christmas break, the Barnhills came up with an event the entire family would enjoy. The Barnhills, the first family to have one of these personalized events, set up a private family cooking class with Carysfort Kitchen’s Chef de Cuisine Shelby Confer.

Shelby provided the family with several menu choices and the children chose Asian. During the class, they made Rainbow Vegetable Spring Rolls, Ginger Chicken Dumplings, Shrimp Stir Fry and Dessert Sushi.

“It was truly a delightful family event and Shelby is wonderful with young and adults alike,” said Janet Barnhill. “The class was private, educational and fun! The kids talked about it as their favorite part of Christmas vacation. It’s hard to compete with Santa, but apparently Shelby and crew did just that.”

Booking a Private Cooking Class

These private Cooking School classes are smaller and more intimate events designed for a group of family or friends. A variety of cuisines are available – Mexican, Italian, French, American, Asian, Tropical (Key Largo Classics) – and Members may also customize their own menu. The Carysfort Kitchen Team can accommodate just about any request.

During the class, participants are able to go up to the Cooking School counter and make the dishes themselves. Once finished, they get to sit down and enjoy their work, leaving the class with recipe handouts detailing what they made.

Members who are interested in setting up their own private Cooking School class for friends and/or family can reach out to ORCatering at 305-367-5895. Two weeks’ notice is preferred.

Carysfort Kitchen’s Chef de Cuisine

Shelby Confer began her career at Ocean Reef seven years ago, interning as a Culinary Student Chef. After falling in love with the Club, she began working at the Islander, mastering Palm Court, Islander and the Sushi Bar. After three years, she was promoted to garde manager sous chef overseeing more than 30 cooks, and now she manages the Cooking School, doing cooking classes for Members, groups and more.

In addition, Shelby runs cooking programs for children, like yesterday’s “Cool Kids Cooking” class and Summer Camps. These offerings have proven to be very popular, filled with young children interested in learning how to cook. Shelby’s goal is to teach the kids creative ways to have fun in the kitchen.

Shelby’s popular Chef for a Week camps give children ages 8 to 12 the chance to learn from some of Ocean Reef’s culinary professionals. Each day of the camp is something different from Italian cuisine to sushi rolling to pastries. If you’re interested in learning more about this offering, contact Recreation at 305-501-5503.