In Japan, sakana are traditionally small snacks served in drinking establishments known as izakaya. Sakana dishes were originally designed to be paired with shochu or sake, but these days modern sakana can also be considered beer snacks. Often quite salty, sakana is similar to Spanish tapas and can be anything from fish to seafood to fried foods to pizza. At our upcoming "Bullet Train to Oasaka" pop-up dinner event on July 16, we'll be serving a selection of sakana as a first course paired carefully with specific sake tastings. Pan seared scallops (shown above) will be one of the featured small plates we'll be serving. Our version is derived from a classic French recipe, but translated to Japanese with the addition of spicy mayo, rice wine, and a touch of soy ( see recipe ). Our two-hour six-course tasting itinerary will also include a wide range of other Japanese delights all served with sake, highball, beer, and sochu pairings ( see the entire menu ). Seating is ext

French deserts are world-renown for their decadence, elegance, and creativity. Therefore, it goes without saying that a dessert course is required for each of the three classes. If you attend all three sessions, you'll learn how make a lemon tart, a flambéed Crêpe Suzette, and a baked custard called Crème Brûlée (shown above). Yes, making Crème Brûlée involves using a blow torch, but kitchen-size butane torches are only about $10 these days on Amazon and the investment is well worth it. My recipe is the easiest, most efficient, and fastest way to make this dish.  Learn how to make this dessert at the "A Taste of Basque Country" class on June 27 at the Common Ground Food Co-op. This class is the first of a series of three classes called "A Taste of France" which is part of my ongoing "deep dive" cooking series. Later this summer, we'll be tasting the Mediterranean flavors of Provençal cooking (July 25) and cooking up classic dishes from the Burg

Although modern Hawaiian "luaus" are held everyday for the entertainment of tourists, these ancient traditional celebrations have existed for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans. In fact, these Polynesian feasts were held to celebrate anything from the launch of a new canoe to a battle victory or a ceremony to honor Hawaiian Gods. The traditional center piece of these feasts was usually Kalua Pork , a whole pig that's wrapped in banana leaves and slow cooked with hot stones in an imu (underground oven). These days, the same dish can be recreated in a smoker, slow baked for hours in an oven, or cooked in a pressure cooker. The key ingredient is banana leaves which is available frozen at your local Asian grocer. Steaming meat with banana leaves imparts a unique subtle sweet flavor and aroma to the dish.  Learn how to make this unique pulled pork dish, plus Hawaii's famous Huli Huli chicken , an authentic tuna poke bowl, and a very tropical coconut c

Osaka is considered by many as the food capital of the world. At this private invitation-only pop-up dinner experience, we'll take a fantasy foodie safari from Tokyo to Osaka on the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line while tasting everything Japan has to offer en route. Our six-course itinerary will include a a wide range of Japanese delights including Oshizushi (Pressed Sushi), Tsukemono (Sunomono and other pickled things), Maguro Zuke Don (a marinated tuna sashimi bowl), hand-made Gyoza (pot stickers), Okonomiyaki (a grilled savory pancake), and more. Along the way, we'll also enjoy sake, highball, beer, and sochu pairings ( see the entire menu ). Seating is extremely limited. For more information about how to score a seat at this event, please join the popup_dinners_cu Facebook group, follow @popup_dinners_cu on Instagram, or subscribe to my email newsletter . More information about upcoming pop-up events and cooking classes can always be found at www.cooking-with-p

Due to a recent knee injury, there's a date change for one of the French "Deep Dive" cooking classes. The new schedule for this summer series is as follows: June 27: A Taste of Basque Country July 25: The Mediterranean Flavors of Provençal Cooking Aug 15: Classic Burgundy Wine Country Cuisine (note new date) All classes are on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8:30pm and will take place at the Common Ground Food Co-op in Urbana. These unique dinner party-style cooking classes are part demonstration and part hands-on participation. Like a Food Network cooking show, you get to see how each dish is made but with one major difference -- you also get to eat it when it's done! In each class, you get to make at least one dish yourself as well. So come hungry and be prepared to feast on a three-course dinner before class is over. Since we'll be immersing ourselves in French culture this summer, each dinner party will start with a regional charcuterie board and a champagne toas

"Hawaiian regional cuisine" can be a foodie wonderland of delightful Polynesian-influenced dishes like Huli Huli Chicken , a distinctively flavored sweet-and-sour grilled chicken dish. Start with an Asian-influenced soy-ginger-garlic marinade, add some sweet pineapple juice, a squeeze or two of citrusy lime juice, and you've got a perfectly balanced basting sauce for truly tasty grilled chicken.  Learn how to make this great summertime backyard barbecue dish, plus a very traditional roast pork dish, an authentic tuna poke bowl, and a very tropical coconut custard dessert at my "Taste of Hawaii" cooking class on June 29, 2023. This class is part of the fifth season of my "Flavor Principles of Ethnic Cooking" series at Urbana Park District's Phillips Recreation Center. This series is almost sold out, but there are just a few seats left for this luau-style dinner party which also includes an open bar with retro tropical tiki cocktails. Registration

We'll be serving this classic wilted salad on two upcoming occasions: the upcoming French pop-up dinner experience on April 16 and the first French cooking class on May 30 at the Common Ground Food Co-op.  This simple "brunch salad" was invented in the city Lyon (a.k.a. "the gastronomic capital of the world") and our version is based on Paul Bocuse's recipe, but updated and streamlined with a "secret" method for poaching egg found on Youtube.  Here's the recipe . The April 16 pop-up dinner event is called "Dinner + A Movie: France" and will feature a four-course classic French dinner with Boeuf Bourguignon as the main course, followed by Salade Lyonnaise as the salad course (yes, the French like to eat their salads after the main course), and Crêpes Suzette for dessert. The dinner experience will also include champagne toast, wine pairings, aperitifs, and digestifs. Only eight people will be invited to join us. Details are here:  c

Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy) will be the main course on two upcoming occasions: the upcoming French pop-up dinner experience on April 16 and the first French cooking class on May 30 at the Common Ground Food Co-op. This infamous classic French stew is based on Julia Child's recipe, but has been updated and streamlined to reflect today's home kitchen. But the ingredients remain the same -- tender beef is soaked in a rich red sauce and finished with a touch of cognac. Here's the recipe . The April 16 pop-up dinner event is called "Dinner + A Movie: France" and will feature a four-course classic French dinner with champagne toast, wine pairings, aperitifs, digestifs, and of course -- Boeuf Bourguignon and Crêpes Suzette. Only eight people will be invited to join us. Details are here:  cooking-with-paul.com/popups-france.html . The May 30 cooking class is the first of a series of three classes that is part of my "deep dive" series at the Common Groun

Crêpes Suzette will be the dessert course on two upcoming occasions: the upcoming French pop-up dinner experience on April 16 and the first French cooking class on May 30 at the Common Ground Food Co-op. This infamous French dessert is flambéed (flamed) at the end with Cointreau, an orange-fused French liqueur which magically transforms all the flavors in an alchemical reaction. Here's the recipe . The April 16 pop-up dinner event is called "Dinner + A Movie: France" and will feature a four-course classic French dinner with champagne toast, wine pairings, aperitifs, digestifs, and of course -- Crêpes Suzette. We're using this pop-up dinner experience as an excuse to practice cooking up some new dishes and eight people are invited to join us. Details about this very limited seating event is available here:  cooking-with-paul.com/popups-france.html . The May 30 cooking class is the first of a series of three classes that is part of my "deep dive" series at

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