April 5th, 2009 - Observer-Reporter - MMITK

Today's Observer-Reporter has a story about our cooking classes and the live webcast "Meet Me in the Kitchen".

Here's what they say...

Dine Online Local cooking class draws wide audience with Internet webcast
By Liz Rogers
lrogers@observer-reporter.com
Jason Capps is taking his cooking classes on the road - the Internet highway, that is.

The owner of Bella Sera by Greco's and Greco's Gourmet Catering in Cecil Township has launched "Meet Me in the Kitchen," a live webcast of his cooking classes.

Aside from a few glitches involving microphones, a beta test conducted last month during his Italian Wine and Cuisine class went off virtually (pun intended) without a hitch.

A production crew hustled around Bella Sera's elegant main dining room a few hours before the class began, running cables and setting lights.

Folks elsewhere who had been e-mailed the link for the test webcast, along with the menu and list of ingredients, were gathering in their kitchens, laptops at the ready, preparing to follow along in real time.

Camera Bartolotta, who is directing and producing the webcast, estimated that some 500 people would be watching, some from as far as South Korea, Wales, Alaska and California.

"If you can't come here to see, smell, taste, enjoy the wines - the whole thing - you can do it from the comfort of your own home in real time," she said.

Before taking his spot on the set, a calm and relaxed Capps noted that the classes, held since 2001, "are live without a net every time.

"We have an agenda; it's not random or disorganized," he said. "But we go off the cuff."

The key to his cooking classes, Capps said, is ensuring that all of the ingredients are available locally, and are for dishes that class participants will want to make at home.

"They need to be recipes you actually want to embark upon," he said. "People appreciate the simplicity of the recipes, or the little twists." As an example, he referred to a recent class on comfort foods in which he made macaroni and cheese, switching up the tried-and-true comfort dish a bit by adding potatoes and a little truffle oil.

While the spring cooking classes at Bella Sera end May 13 with the annual Grillin' & Swillin' event, Capps plans to host at least one webcast a month through the end of the year. Topics will vary, and will include healthy cooking, vegetarian cooking newlyweds and hosting wine dinners, to name a few.

As Capps, Bella Sera executive chef Adam Gooch and wine expert Roland Marandino embarked on their lesson in Italian cuisine, the image being streamed around the world via Internet was also being projected on the wall above the cooking set.

"This is our second best turnout," Capps told the class of about 75. "It's kind of like a world premiere."

With that, Marandino, ambassador for Cecchi and Sartori Italian wines, raised his glass aloft for a toast.

"At every Italian meal, how do you begin?" he asked. "Cin-cin (pronounced chin-chin)!" the class enthusiastically replied, toasting one another.

Capps, Gooch and Marandino moved seamlessly from course to course, revealing shortcuts - like substituting time-saving wonton wrappers for homemade pasta dough - and assorted cooking tips.

Midway through the class, a question came in via cell phone, prearranged by Bartolotta to test the ability to field calls from webcast viewers. A moderator will be on hand to determine which questions or comments to take, and also can be asked through e-mail or Twitter.

Bartolotta is not new to producing cooking shows. The former actress teamed up with chef and Pittsburgh native Vito DiSalvo to produce the cooking show "La Dolce Vita," which aired in 2004 and 2005 on WPXI and PCNC television networks.

She met Capps at an event at Bella Sera in November, and learned that he was interested in hosting his own cooking show.

"With the Web being what it is - this phenomenal animal that can do anything - I thought what about doing a live webcast of your cooking classes," she said of her conversation with Capps.

"You don't have to put one more day of work in. You don't have to buy more ingredients. People come to you. They click in, they pay a couple bucks. They log on, and they enjoy your cooking class with your gourmet chefs. And they can cook along with the gourmet chefs in their own kitchen."

It's a concept that Bartolotta says should "grow and grow and grow."
"People are getting back into the kitchen," she said. "And there's a whole generation of people who has no clue how to do anything but microwave. This speaks to a lot of people."
She referred to a group of friends in Tampa, Fla., who were e-mailed the menu, list of ingredients, tools and wine list and were going to use the beta webcast for an evening of entertainment.

"It's a nice, entertaining evening for nearly zero financial commitment," she said.

Webcast schedule
April 15 - How to Make Great Pizza and Drink Great Wine
April 29 - Sushi & Sake - Rockin' & Rollin'
May 5 - Cinco de Mayo with Tapas & Tequila
May 13 - Grillin' & Swillin' (10th anniversary celebration)

The price per webcast is $19.95, and is available as an archive for nearly two weeks after the live webcast airs. To register for the webcasts, visit http://www.MeetMeInTheKitchen.net or http://www.grecosgourmet.com/ .

Story -

http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/04-05-webcast-cooking