By Lana Gersten for the Forward
BROOKLYN, NY — Tucked amid the shops on a busy street in Brooklyn, the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts is at first hard to find. The one-room school, located on the second floor of a housewares store, is small and unimposing. Despite its humble appearance, the center offers an impressive array of recreational classes for the home cook, from a master class in chocolate, taught by chocolatier Bruce Beck, to preparation of healthful weeknight meals, taught by cookbook author Rachel Saks.
When the school opened in the fall of 2007, it was the first culinary institute of its kind in the United States, catering to a Jewish clientele in the heavily Jewish Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. In addition to its recreational classes, the school started a professional training program last summer, where participants walk out of the six-week, $4,500 course with a joint certificate in culinary arts from Center for Kosher Culinary Arts and Kingsborough Community College. The school now offers the professional program during the day and at night, and added a new crop of seasonal recreational classes this month.