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Published by Angie. Last Updated on August 25, 2020.
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Did you know that the Giant Eagle Market District Robinson Township offers cooking classes? Before we were invited out to try a recent pie making class there, we didn't know the cooking classes existed either.
That's why we're here to give you a scoop on all of the cool things you can do at their cooking school, including lunch demos, themed classes, private classes, and events. If you are wanting to learn to cook in Pittsburgh, this really is the place to do it at!
Pies Are (Indeed) Perfect at Market District Robinson Township
Now, I consider myself a pretty decent cook, and I especially love to bake. But there is one thing that has always tripped me up when it comes to cooking, and that's pie. I've never been able to get the crust right- it's always either incredibly tough, too crumbly to roll out, or just downright soggy when baked.
That's why we when we saw the “Pies Are Perfect” cooking class, I knew we had to take it.
We weren't sure what to expect in terms of the actual facilities, but when we walked in to the cooking school area we were immediately blown away.
The space, located on the second floor of the store (up the stairs from the bar area), is huge: there is one big seating area in the middle for enjoying your creations, a huge demo station, and several smaller individual cooking stations complete with ovens and stoves at each one.
In other words, there's plenty of room for everyone to move around without feeling cramped at all.
We were offered a few snacks (including sushi and fresh baked croissants) and beverages (including wine or beer), which was a really nice touch that we appreciated.
Once everyone arrived we were given a brief overview of the class and the instructors introduced themselves. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that their instructors are actually highly trained chefs who have traveled and trained all over the world- we realized then that we were going to be in for an excellent class with tons of useful information.
Learning Where We've Gone Wrong with Pies
The first part of the class was a demo where our instructor Donna showed us how to make a double crust apple pie from scratch. I listened and watched intently as she showed us how to make the dough, and I finally felt like this was something I could do and succeed at.
We learned the proper way to measure flour, cut in the butter, add the right amount of water, roll out the dough, and form it in the pie pan. Sometimes being able to actually see someone make something first hand and ask them questions along the way is so much more helpful than just reading a recipe out of a cookbook.
This was definitely one of those situations!
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Donna showed us how to make the pie dough by hand, and then showed us a method to make it using a food processor. With this food processor dough she demonstrated how to make a savory galette with a carmelized onion, mushroom, and creme fraiche filling.
It was great to see the two different methods of making dough, and armed with this knowledge we were ready to try our own hands at making pies!
We worked together in small groups to make two types of mini pies: a triple fruit pie and a coconut cream pie. Donna and Janice were available every step of the way to provide feedback and answer questions.
I can honestly say that this was the first time I actually made a pie crust that rolled out like a dream and was exceedingly delicious and flaky! We even learned how to make a lattice crust for the fruit pie – something that has always intimidated me but turned out to be really simple.
While we waited on our mini pies to bake, we enjoyed eating the apple pie and the galette. The crusts were perfectly tender, flaky, and buttery, while the apple pie filling was just the right amount of sweet. The galette was also a dream with its earthy mushrooms and sweet caramelized onions.
We took our mini pies home for later consumption. They all turned out amazingly – the fruit pie was a delicious mix of cherries, blueberries, and peaches while the coconut pie was intensely rich and creamy. I was so proud of our crusts and how beautiful the pies were.
I am so ready to tackle making pies at home now, and it's all thanks to Donna and Janice!
An Assortment of Classes Available
There are so many different kinds of classes offered at the Market District in Robinson cooking school that there's something for everyone.
If you're new to cooking they have an introductory six-part series were you learn all of the basics, there's internationally themed classes, there's demos at lunch time, customized cooking classes designed around what you want to learn to cook, and there's even a competition style cooking class where you compete against other teams to prepare the best dishes with a common set of ingredients- we are totally coming back for this one!
Overall, we were so impressed with the instructors here and how patient and helpful they were with their teaching.
All of our pies turned out wonderfully, and we can't wait to make pies at home now armed with our new knowledge. Best of all, this class was just plain fun!
We'd like to thank the team at Market District Cooking School in Robinson Township for inviting us out for a class. As always, all opinions are our own. For those who are looking to try out their customized cooking classes, mention this review to receive your second class at 1/2 off (or bring a friend to your first one!).
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