About us

Welcome to the San Francisco Tongue Amusers! This
group is for anyone who enjoys cooking and wants to improve their skills or cook like a real chef, while having fun & staying active. This isn't your standard "learn a few recipes" group, but rather a group focused on learning real foundational skills so you can lose that recipe. Beginners, hobbyists, and professionals are all welcome.

Meetups will be a mix of walk-and-talks, group discussions, cooking lessons (theory and practical), and special events centered around cooking, with the core discussion groups following the same curriculum topics as many professional culinary schools. We will cover more topics as the group evolves.

Starting out, I'm planning:

Discussions on cooking techniques, using topics that follow the same curriculum as many professional culinary schools
A cooking peer support group where we can discuss culinary challenges people are facing
Potlucks
Visits to unique culinary locations around the city

*I'm currently working on the legal details of setting up practical cooking lessons.

Recommended reading for discussions:
A lot of the discussions I'm planning will be based on chapters from Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen, published by Wiley. You will not need it for the discussions, as I will provide any info needed, but it is a great book. Any edition will work, but 6th edition and newer is best. It can be expensive if you get a new one.

About myself:
I have over 30 years of cooking experience, both as a professional chef and an extreme hobbyist, along with 5 years of culinary education from multiple professional schools. Cooking is a passion of mine and something I greatly enjoy sharing with others. I am trained in French techniques but often find myself incorporating other techniques to create unique takes on comfort food.

Some of my favorite dishes include Baby Back Ribs, Lasagna Napoletana with Polpette, Chicago-Style Italian Beef, Cabbage Rolls, Cod en Papillote, Asiago Risotto, Creamed Corn and Sage Bruschetta, and some molecular gastronomy, such as Apple Caviar.