Here's an exclusive presale offer for subscribers of my monthly email newsletters: Starting today, you can be the first to register for my new summer French cooking class series. This secret registration link will be made public on Monday, March 27, 2023, so act fast. These classes sell out fast, so if you have any interest in French cooking, don't delay (psst: you have my permission to share this link with your friends). For those who have attended my cooking classes before, you already know that all my classes are "dinner party" style events. For new students, please come hungry and thirsty because you will be served a two-course dinner complete with wine pairings. Because we are doing French this summer, you can also expect tastings of imported French wines and a dessert course at the end of each class.   Arguably, French gastronomy is the most influential of European culinary traditions. The French invented haute cuisine , then turned everything upside-down

After two highly popular Ukrainian pop-up dinner experiences, my friend Marina and I have decided that we're going to France next. Our third event has been scheduled for Sunday, April 16, 2023 from 6 to 8pm and the theme is “Dinner + A Movie: France.” This two-hour private dinner experience starts at 6pm and will include a four-course classic French dinner complete with wine pairings featuring imported French wines. This event will be hosted by Marina K and Paul Young and will take place at Marina’s home in Champaign. The cost for joining this event is $75 per person. With these dinner party experiences, our goal is to bring you culinary experiences not typically available in Champaign-Urbana. As with our previous pop-up dinners, we're proud to partner with  Eatwith.com  as their first event hosts in Illinois outside of the Chicago area. With hundreds of food experiences in every major international destination, Eatwith has become the Airbnb for unique culinary adventures. We s

My summer edition of "Flavor Principles of Ethnic Cooking" series starts on June 8, 2023. But we all know how fast these classes sell out, so please mark your calendar for April 5, 2023 because that is the first day of registration for all of Urbana Park District's summer classes. This summer, we're going to be traveling to Morocco, Hawaii, and Vietnam for some tasty meals. We'll deconstructs the recipes of each ethnic cuisine and break down the flavor principles of each culinary tradition. We'll learn how to make almost anything taste Moroccan, Hawaiian, or Vietnamese by following a few master recipes and utilizing simple flavor profiles. By the end of this series you will be able to customize and adjust your favorite recipes to make tasty ethnic dishes for dinner every night. This Urbana Park District cooking class series will meet at Phillips Recreation Center on Thursdays from 6–8pm. The tuition is $40–$75 per person and includes a full two-cours

Ever since I took that riverboat cruise in Czechia last spring, French food has been on my mind. This was a CroisiEurope cruise with an itinerary designed by a French company that claimed to be the world leader in river cruises. The week-long cruise featured an all-you-can-eat French gourmet meal plan -- that's French food three times a day, every day, plus champagne, wine, and any cocktail you desired. If there was a foodie heaven, this surely must be it ( see pics from the cruise ).  When I returned home, I found myself cooking more French dishes than ever before. Then my intern Kat and I planned and taught a French cooking class a few weeks ago at Urbana Park District's Phillips Recreation Center. So now it's time to start thinking about a new French "deep dive series" for this summer at the Common Ground Food Co-op. This will be a series of three classes where we will survey all the deliciousness that France has to offer, region by region. We'll start in

Okay, this is not a movie — it's an art exhibition. More specifically, it's a series of 30 photographs made by American photographer Michael Andrews who volunteered with United States Peace Corps in 2018–19. While in Ukraine, he also worked as a photographer for Ukraine’s Baba Yelka Cultural Expedition which was formed in 2018 to preserve and share the unique cultural traditions of Ukraine’s Kirovoghad region — stories, songs, recipes and material culture, including traditional embroidery. The exhibition offers a unique window into remote village life before Russia’s invasion, and focuses on the lives of Ukrainian “babusyas” (grandmothers) and their cultural roots. The show debuted in Charlotte, NC in 2022, and is now on exhibit in Krannert Center's lobby (currently installed in the Foellinger Great Hall mezzanine). The exhibit is free and open to the public from 8am-10pm daily (except during concerts). I had the privilege of working with these images on social media and

I've never been to Japan, but if I were to ever go, Tokyo's " Yakitori Alley " would be at the top of my list of culinary destinations. There are over 7,000 yakitori restaurants in Tokyo, but the most "authentic" ones are all located in one alley near Tokyo's very busy Shinjuku station. Also affectionately called "memory lane," this strip of 81 tiny stalls sits in a narrow alley that hasn't changed much since World War II. Most of these "mom and pop" shops are so small that they seat only six or seven people. What would it be like to take a tasting tour of this alley? Well, I'm going to try to recreate that fantasy experience at the Common Ground Food Co-op on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Sorry, but this cooking class is already sold out. But since we are doing regular pop-up events, perhaps a Japanese yakitori dinner experience might be in the cards soon (send me an email if you're interested). Technically, yakitori is transla

Want to attend a pop-up dinner? Want to host a pop-up dinner? New " popup_dinners_cu " Facebook group just created for serious foodies in the Champaign-Urbana area who are passionate about food and travel. Our goal is to build a community of like-minded adventurous eaters who also want to expand our culinary horizons. Our mission is to encourage new cultural discoveries, share celebrations of diversity, and make more meaningful connections to the world with pop-up dinner experiences and cooking classes hosted by locals.  Join " popup_dinners_cu " to post, be notified of upcoming events, and to share your own food-related events like the upcoming "Dinner + A Movie: Ukraine" pop-up dinner experience. Since our original February 19 date is sold out, we have scheduled another dinner with the same menu for March 19, 2023 at 6pm. The cost for joining this event is $65 per person and all net profits will be donated to the Ukrainian war effort ( see details ). Mor

Chicken Kiev is the featured entrée at our upcoming "Dinner + A Movie: Ukraine" pop-up dinner experience. This Ukrainian variation of fried chicken is Marina's personal recipe and we'll be serving it as part of a four-course traditional home-cooked Ukrainian dinner complete with wine pairings. Since our original February 19 date is sold out, we have scheduled another dinner with the same menu for March 19, 2023 at 6pm. The cost for joining this event is $65 per person and all net profits will be donated to the Ukrainian war effort ( see details ). More recipes and information about my cooking classes can always be found on my website . For the latest news, feel free to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter. 

This is my friend Marina's personal apple cake recipe and she will be making this dessert at as part of our upcoming "Dinner + A Movie: Ukraine" pop-up dinner experience. Marina is a Ukrainian native and this fund-raising event features a four-course traditional home-cooked Ukrainian dinner complete with wine pairings. Our original February 19 date sold out within 48 hours, so we scheduled another one for March 19, 2023 at 6pm. The cost for joining this event is $65 per person and all net profits will be donated to the Ukrainian war effort ( see details ). More recipes and information about my cooking classes can always be found on my website . For the latest news, feel free to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter. 

On Sunday, February 19, 2023, my friend Marina and I will be hosting a Ukrainian pop-up dinner at her house in Champaign. Marina is a Ukrainian native and she will be making her version of Ukrainian Borscht as part of our "Dinner + A Movie: Ukraine" dinner experience. This two-hour private pop-up event starts at 6pm and will include a four-course traditional home-cooked Ukrainian dinner complete with wine pairings featuring imported Georgian wines. The cost for joining this event is $65 per person and all net profits will be donated to the Ukrainian war effort ( see details ).  More recipes and information about my cooking classes can always be found on my website . For the latest news, feel free to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter. 

We're proud to partner with Eatwith.com  to present the first pop-up dinner experience in the Champaign-Urbana area on their platform. The theme is “Dinner + A Movie: Ukraine” and the event has been scheduled for Sunday, February 19, 2023. This two-hour private dinner experience starts at 6pm and will include a four-course traditional home-cooked Ukrainian dinner complete with wine pairings featuring imported Georgian wines. This premiere event will be hosted by Marina K and Paul Young and will take place at Marina’s home in Champaign. The cost for joining this event is $65 per person and all net profits will be donated to the Ukrainian war effort. More info: cooking-with-paul.com/popups-ukraine.html Recipes, events, and information about my cooking classes can always be found on my  website . For the latest news, feel free to  subscribe  to my monthly email newsletter. 

Just about every culinary tradition in the world includes some kind of dumpling dish. This very popular Japanese version of "pot stickers" is called gyoza ( see recipe ), and it is another example of Japanese simplicity and elegance. We will be making this traditional appetizer dish from scratch at my upcoming  Japanese Noodle Cuisine  class on February 7, 2023 at Common Ground Food Co-op. This is a sold out class, but the March 7 Yakitori class still has a few seats open.  More recipes and information about my classes can always be found on my website . For the latest news, feel free to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter. 

Soba noodle making in Japan is an art. In high-end specialty soba restaurants, the noodles are made by hand in humidity-controlled rooms with 100% buckwheat flour. Typically served chilled in the summer with a simple dipping sauce, this homemade version can be assembled in about 15 minutes.  My simplified recipe tries to adhere to the Japanese aesthetic of striving for simplicity and balance. We'll be making this dish in my upcoming  Japanese Noodle Cuisine  class on February 7, 2023 at Common Ground Food Co-op. This is a sold out class, but the March 7 Yakitori class still has a few seats open.  More recipes and information about my classes can always be found on my website . For the latest news, feel free to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter. 

My first spring cooking class is coming up at the Common Ground Food Co-op. So it's recipe test time again! Udon noodle soup is a great winter treat and  this version  is seafood-based, but also chocked full of veggies. I think this subtle soup with delicate flavors and healthy ingredients is clean and soul-satisfying at the same time. It's now on the Japanese Noodle Cuisine class on February 7, 2023. This is a sold out class, but the March 7 Yakitori class still has a few seats open.  More recipes and information about my classes can always be found on my website . For the latest news, feel free to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter. 

I was amazed that the spring Urbana Park District series sold out within 24 hours. Then I found out that two of the three Common Ground Japanese "deep dive" classes have also sold out. The only class that still has a few seats left is the March 7  Yakitori cooking class . If you're interested in learning how the Japanese make amazing barbecue skewers, do register soon. This one's for adventurous eaters! We now have all the details worked out for the next Ethnic Cooking series at Urbana Park District. You can look forward to tasting some great dishes from  Morocco, Hawaii, and Vietnam  this summer. I've also started experimenting with some retro tiki cocktail recipes for the Hawaiian cooking class on June 29, 2023. I know that's a long time away, but do mark your calendars because registration for summer classes starts on April 5, 2023. And they do sell out fast. Thanks for all your support as we embark on our second year of international culinary e

Over the holidays, I had some time on my hands, so I rebuilt  my website  from scratch. There are now more pages, more pictures, more recipes and coming soon -- pop-up events. Details coming soon! As you know, I love to cook, so I do a lot of cooking at home. Since starting my cooking classes, I'm now also doing a lot of experimentation and recipe tests. Some dishes turn out okay, others need more work, but a few turn out great. So starting this month, I will post at least one new recipe every month when the results were worth sharing. This month, I have a new  rack of lamb  recipe to share. This dish will also go great with this easy  broccoli and hollandaise sauce  side dish. These French-inspired dishes aren't on any menus for this spring's classes, but they might appear on a summer menu. If you decide to make any of these recipes at home, please let me know via email. I would love to hear how it turned out as well as your comments and suggestions. You'll f

It's been a long time since I've had an omakase sushi experience and I have forgotten how special they are. Since I will be teaching a sushi making class this spring at the Common Ground Food Co-op, I thought it was high time to revisit this big-city experience. But this time, we didn't have to travel very far because Champaign-Urbana now has a sushi bar that specializes in offering a unique and informal prix fixe sushi feast that may be better than what you can get in a big cities like Chicago. The name of this unique local sushi joint is  ISHI  and it is run by Ken and Kaori Ishibashi, a husband-and-wife team of entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity and jumped right in. Japan is well known for small mom-and-pop restaurants who focus on only one thing and strive for perfection in their chosen craft. It is in this tradition that Ken and Kaori opened ISHI and Kaori's Oven about a year ago. While other restaurants offer daily specials, Japanese sushi chefs like to o

Starting February 7, 2023, Common Ground Food Co-op will host the first of three Japanese "deep dive" cooking classes scheduled for the spring season. The Japanese have elevated noodle cuisine to new heights with a wide range of broths and dipping sauces as well as an infinite variety of soup ingredients and toppings. In this first session, we'll examine three different approaches to eating noodles the Japanese way by cooking up some miso ramen, a seafood udon noodle soup, and a cold soba noodle appetizer dish. We'll also be making some gyoza (potstickers) from scratch. In this hands-on series, students will participate in the cooking of their own dinner under the guidance of the instructor. Later in the season, we'll be focusing on yakitori, kushiyaki, shioyaki, sushi, sashimi, and chirashi. We'll also be tasting a variety of Japanese sake and beers during each class. Detailed descriptions and menus are posted on  my website  and you can register now on

Technically, spring doesn't start until March, but we can't wait to get back into the kitchen. So we're going to start the 4th season of "Flavor Principles of Ethnic Cooking" series on February 16, 2023 with a classic French dinner party. On the menu is my easy streamlined coq au vin recipe served with ratatouille and potatoes au gratin. We'll start the evening with a bowl of French onion soup, a selection of imported cheeses, and a tasting of imported French wines. After dinner, we'll enjoy a few digestifs. This series sells out fast, so mark your calendars and  register here  as soon as the link becomes available on December 7 (or check  my website  for a direct registration link). Later this spring, we will also be eating our way through Thailand and Russia. Each session of this fun dinner-party-style demo series will include a two-course dinner complete with wine, beer, and/or special cocktails. All classes in this series will take place at Urban

In spring 2023, Common Ground Food Co-op will host my second "deep dive" series and we're going to Japan next. In this hands-on series, students will participate in the cooking of their own dinner under the guidance of the instructor. Each session in this three-class series will focus on a different Japanese specialty: noodles, soups, and sushi. By the end of the season, we will have covered ramen, udon, soba, gyoza, yakitori, kushiyaki, shioyaki, edamame, sushi, sashimi, chirashi, chawanmushi, and more. We'll also be tasting a variety of Japanese sake and beers during each class. Detailed descriptions and menus are posted on  my website  and you can register now on the  Common Ground website . 

  This fall, I taught a total of seven ethnic cooking classes around town (three at Urbana Park District and four at Common Ground Food Co-op). Every class was filled and we had some great dinner parties, ate a lot of good food and drank a lot of wine, beer, sake, soju, and even grappa. We traveled the world and tasted delightful treats from China, Greece, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. We cooked up classic dishes like Sichuan-style Kung Pao Chicken, Korean bibimbap, Indian tandoori chicken as well as more challenging delights like Greek-style grilled octopus, pig ears in hot oil, and braised pork belly (see more pictures on  Instagram  or  Facebook ). But there's more to come: In the spring, we've planned six more classes with all new menu items. I've also committed to teaching 18 classes per year with six brand new classes planned for the summer and six more coming next fall. In each season, my "deep dive" series will continue at the Common Gr

In spring 2023, my fourth season of "Flavor Principles of Ethnic Cooking" series will continue at Urbana Park District's Phillips Recreation Center. In the tradition of these dinner party "classes," guests will have the opportunity to watch demos and/or participate in the preparation of our feast. You'll learn the secrets of how to make anything taste French, Thai, or Russian by following simple streamlined recipes. By the end of the series you will be able to adjust flavor profiles and customize recipes like a pro. Each class will include a full two-course dinner complete with beer, wine and/or special cocktails.  Here's a preview of what we're planning . Registration for this series opens on December 7. Mark your calendar because these classes sell out fast!

  On Thursday, September 22, the third season of my "Flavor Principles of Ethnic Cooking" series will premiere at Urbana Park District's Phillips Recreation Center. In our first session, we will travel to Greece and enjoy an authentic Greek dinner complete with Greek wines and grappa tastings. If you've already registered, you're all set: the menu and recipes are all linked from my  website . To save on paper, we will only print out recipes for you upon request (please send me an email at info@cooking-with-paul.com if you need paper copies). Otherwise, come hungry and thirsty. But to get the most out of this class, read  this article  first and watch the recommended movie for homework ;) (Sorry, the entire fall season of this series is sold out, but you can call 217-367-1544 to be added to the wait list).

  On Tuesday, September 20, Common Ground Food Co-op will host my first "Taste of China" cooking class. In this class, we will focus on Cantonese cuisine, also known as the most popular style of Chinese cooking outside of China. This is the first session of my "deep dive" series, where we will focus on a different region of China for each class. The Cantonese session is sold out, but there are still seats available for the upcoming Sichuan and Shanghai classes. We will also be tasting a selection of Southeast Asian beers during the entire series.  More info is available here .