It was a ton of fun!
My company arranged this as some sort of bonding exercise, I guess. 16 of us were picked to go to the class, which turned out to be in this super-swish VIP-style backroom, with a full kitchen beside the dining table. The head chef walked us through making a four course meal - shrimp cocktail, vegetable soup, chicken fricassee and creme caramel. I got to chop some of the veggies for the soup, that was it for hands-on prep
But it was cool to be able to observe all the pro cooking action up close and ask questions. Picked up some useful knife skills!
I was somewhat embarrassed at the stuff my foreigner co-workers were saying, like 'Oh my god, vanilla is a plant?!' and 'Why would anyone bother making their own mayonnaise?'. The worst was probably 'I can't eat that - look at all the oil and butter he's putting in it!'.
The Japanese co-workers were really into it though, as you'd expect. People take cooking pretty seriously in these parts. The chef didn't actually cook for all 16 of us; it was more of a 'here's one we prepared earlier' deal. It would have been impractical otherwise. The meal was excellent, although a trifle bland for my tastes. I think they set the bar a little low actually, by picking dishes that were relatively easy to prepare for the newbs. I ate bread and sugar for the first time in like 2 months - there was no way I could say no!
Overall, it was a great experience. Anytime you have a chance to see a master at work, you take it!
Someone was taking pics with a nice Nikon the whole time so I should have a few pics later. All i have for now is a few crappy iPhone pics.
