Cooking school presents
exquisite dining, al fresco
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| Chef Rocky Durham reveals his peach cobbler — the last and final course of the gourmet meal al fresco. |
Story and Photos by Brenna Moore / The Free Press
Food tastes better after a hike. At least, that is according to the Santa Fe School of Cooking and Santa Fe Mountain Adventures. Those present at the organizations’ collaborative Sundowner Hike and Outdoor Cooking Class last Tuesday were able to see first-hand what these local businesses meant.
The Santa Fe School of Cooking has been owned by the same family for the past 19 years, and it is striving to stay true to New Mexican traditions in addition to bringing in new and creative culinary ideas for both tourists and residents, said SFSC manager Nicole Curtis Ammerman.
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| Chef Rocky Durham makes the final preparations before serving his Southwestern dinner. |
As one of this year’s new and featured classes, the Sundowner Hike lets participants enjoy a light trek into the Santa Fe National Forest followed by a gourmet meal cooked in the wilderness.
Participants met at the school at 4:30 p.m. to be introduced to their hiking guides as well as their chef for the evening. After learning a bit about SFSC and being briefed on safety in the wilderness, the nine participants were shuttled by Santa Fe Mountain Adventures into the Santa Fe National Forest for a fairly easy hike along the Borrego and Bear Wallow Trail that lasted about two hours.
Along the way, the hikers learned about the flora and the fauna of the area, including the fact that the Borrego (meaning “lamp” in Spanish) Trail was the pathway people used for centuries to bring their sheep and their lambs to the market in Santa Fe, said Santa Fe Mountain Adventures hiking guide Georges Mally. Hikers had the option to increase their pace and make the trek down to the Big Tesuque Creek, while others could take the more-leisurely route and indulge in the views of the city.
Although the Sundowner Hike was supposed to have taken place five times before the July 15 class, three of those events were canceled because of uncooperative weather. This was the third installment of the hike and outdoor cooking class, and the first time the participants experienced the Bear Wallow Trail, said Owen Perillo, “chief adventure officer” for SFMA. The guides also utilized other trails within the Santa Fe Wilderness for the Sundowner Hike, including the Hyde Park Circle Trail and the Black Canyon Trail, Perillo said.
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| Santa Fe School of Cooking manager Nicole Curtis Ammerman rings the dinner bell. |
After the outdoor adventure, class participants were shuttled to a nearby campground, where SFSC chef and newly appointed culinary director Rocky Durham awaited to reward their efforts with a gourmet Southwestern dinner al fresco. “It’s so nice to have someone cook for you,” said Annie Desmond, a California resident who attended the event with her daughter, Jamie Lerum.
While cooking the Southwestern Paella, grilled vegetables, marinated shrimp skewers and homemade flour tortillas — with which participants helped — Durham offered up helpful outdoor cooking tips while onlookers munched on the homemade salsa fresco and guacamole.
Durham stressed the importance of a coal rake when outside, and also emphasized that one “can never have enough aluminum foil,” he said with a laugh. He also offered tips on how to cook vegetables and meat perfectly, as well as what types of ingredients to use when cooking outdoors.
Outdoor cooking tipsby Chef Rocky Durham: |
The smells of the citronella candles, the burning pine cones and the aroma of the simmering paella caused mouths to water as the group lined up to get a helping of Durham’s culinary creations. The dinner was complemented by samples of some of Santa Fe’s finest wines, with the option of choosing beer or soda instead. Throughout the meal, yummy noises emanated from every direction. The participants barely saved enough room to sample the peach cobbler, which ended the meal, and the night.
“I’m like on the tipping point of being ill I’m so full,” said Ellen Barone, a freelance writer from Ruidoso who attended the event as part of a press trip put together by Ballentine’s PR in Santa Fe.
Before participants headed back to their less-culinary-extravagant lives, they were each given a booklet titled “Cookin’ Outdoors,” that included the recipes of all of the foods they had enjoyed that evening so that they could go home and recreate the experience themselves.
To learn more about what the Santa Fe School of Cooking has to offer, including this year’s new and featured classes, visit their Web site at www.santafeschoolofcooking.com |
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| The Borrego and Bear Wallow Trail within the Santa Fe National Forest. |
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