Cooking Class Mixes Crab, Filet Mignon and Banter

Posted on October 2, 2008 by Gary McCarty

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Chef Henry Gonzales in his kitchen at Spaggi's Restaurant Now, Beef Wellington is not something I’d ever order in a restaurant, and I probably wouldn’t even eat it unless I were somehow invited to the White House or Buckingham Palace and it was being served.

That being said, I did venture over to Upland, Calif., Monday night for a cooking class with Chef Henry Gonzales at his Spaggi’s Restaurant. On the menu: Beef Wellington. Oh, well.

The Beef Wellington he demonstrated was actually an item from his menu, and rather than making the typical long pastry loaf of beef and then slicing it, Chef Gonzales makes individual puff pastry filets with a crab cake on top of the meat.

Since all you do is throw the filets in the oven before wrapping them in puff pastry, he mainly demonstrated making the crab cakes, which, as I mentioned, are placed on top of the filets before being wrapped in pastry for a final browning. To be honest, I couldnt really taste the crab in the final version we were each served.

As for cooking classes, I’d rather just go watch and learn cooking techniques, but the way things are run at Spaggi’s, the classes are more like social gatherings that begin with wine and appetizers in the dining room, then move into the kitchen for the actual demonstration, and finally back to the dining room to sample the results.

The problem with this approach is that you end up with regulars who form cliques and subject everyone to a lot of insider gossiping and "war stories" from past cooking classes. Spare me, please.

Anyway, I have great respect for Chef Gonzales and will probably return once again for his soups class in November. (The picture shows the chef talking with guests in the kitchen, but what struck me was how many sautee pans he has hanging for ready use.)

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