The Chef's Academy, a culinary school in Morrisville, is offering a three-part course called "Kitchen Skills Series" for the public.

You can sign up for one class or all three but each class builds upon the skills learned in the previous class. Individual classes cost $99 each or all three can be purchased for $250 and includes a complimentary Mercer knife set. Here is the schedule:

• March 19, "Kitchen 101: Place Everything in its Place," covers knife skills and care, sanitation and food storage, and how to prepare starches and vegetables.
• March 26, "Kitchen 102: Basic Cooking Methods Essential for any Cook," is a hands-on class covering these basic cooking methods: roasting, braising, sautéing, pan frying, steaming, poaching and grilled.
• April 2, "Kitchen 103: Interpret a Recipe to Work with Your Taste," will teach how to adapt a recipe, how to build a pantry, make substitutions and create healthier meals.

The classes are held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the school's campus at 2001 Carrington Mill Blvd.

To purchase the classes, go to bit.ly/W7hdpF or call 919-246-9044.

Tickets are still available for the Evening with Master Chefs event on Sunday, Feb. 24 to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The 5 p.m. dinner at The Carolina Club in Chapel Hill includes a reception with cocktails and appetizers, a multi-course meal and a silent auction. The chefs cooking for the event include: Dave Gaydeski of the Governor's Mansion, Walter Royal of the Angus Barn, Joe Lumbrazo of Backyard Bistro, Oscar La Fuente of The Carolina Club, Clifton Vogelsberg of Winston's Grille, Ian Sullivan of Urban Food Group, Virgil Wilson of Virgil's Jamaica and chefs from The Chef's Academy, a culinary school in Morrisville.

The silent auction includes a chance to have Chef Masatoshi Tsujimura of Waraji come to your home and prepare a sushi dinner and sake tasting for 10 guests.

Tickets cost $200. To purchase tickets or learn more about the event, go to
cff.org/Chapters/carolinas/ and click on Chapter events or call 919-845-2155

The Chef's Academy in Morrisville is hosting its second annual Triangle Chef Showdown next week to provide 100,000 meals for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Four chefs will compete in a culinary contest and try to get the public to vote for their dish. Voting costs $1 and the money will be donated to the food bank. The participating chefs include former Top Chef contestant Keith Rhodes of Catch in Wilmington, Scott Schabot of Ruckus in Raleigh and Morrisville, Ryan Payne of the Weathervane in Chapel Hill and John Mannino of Mannino's Italian Bistro in the Virginia Beach area.

The event also includes a silent auction, live music, an open bar and a buffet of student-made appetizers, pastries and desserts. The festivities happen from 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27 at the culinary school's campus at 2001 Carrington Mill Blvd. in Morrisville's Perimeter Park.

The event is free but attendees are asked to RSVP online so organizers can anticipate attendance. To do so, go to http://TCA2.pingg.com/TriChefShowdown. The public is also encouraged to bring canned goods to donate to the food bank at the event.

Last year's event raised enough money and collected enough food to provide 85,902 meals.

The Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market will celebrate bees at its "Honey Buzztival" from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. next Wednesday, Oct. 5.

The event will include free honey samples, cooking demonstrations and recipes from instructors at The Chef's Academy, observation hives and demonstrations by local beekeepers, children's activities and live music. Raleigh's Draft Carolina Burgers & Beers will sell lunches and offering samples of a honey-brewed beer.

The special event will be held at the market's usual location in City Plaza on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh.

More details can be found at www.RaleighEatLocal.com.
 

The Chef's Academy, a new culinary school in Morrisville, will celebrate its grand opening next Thursday, Sept. 29, with a Triangle chefs' showdown. The event, which is open to the public, is from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Morrisville campus at 2001 Carrington Mill Blvd.

The local chefs cooking for the event include Scott Crawford of The Umstead Hotel and Spa and Michael Chuong of án Restaurant, both in Cary, Walter Royal of Angus Barn Khoury Solomon of Irregardless Café, both in Raleigh.

The event also will feature a silent auction to raise money for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Among the items up for auction are a cooking class for up to 12 people at the school and a set of Mercer knives.

The school is asking folks to RSVP. You can do that online and see more details about the event at bit.ly/pgKayA.

Today, work began on a new $4.5 million campus for The Chef's Academy at 2001 Carrington Mill Blvd. in Morrisville.

This is a second campus for The Chef's Academy, which is part of the Culinary Division of Harrison College in Indianapolis.  Students there will study culinary arts, pastry arts and hospitality and restaurant management.

College officials looked at 20 different markets all over the country before settling on the Triangle. The 4.37 acre campus is expected to open in August 2011.