By Liz Bernier aka "Liz-tastic'"
On Tuesday I answered a phone call from Courtney, when I picked up all she said on the other end of the line was, “we made the cover!” No time from hello, just incredibly exciting news. She was talking, of course, about Food & Wine magazine, they had just delivered advanced copies of it and right on the front cover was Courtney’s Tacos al Pastor. We have been working with them since early fall of 2014, after they contacted Courtney about the cooking school issue and how they wanted us to be part of it. The rest of that day were mostly text messages back in forth, varying from ‘omg’ to ‘holy shit,’ excuse the swearing, but it’s national press for a small Vermont business and if there was ever an appropriate moment for excited swearing, this was it! That night we celebrated at Hen of the Wood with an amazing dinner and drinks, thank you Eric!
We kept it a secret until the end of January, you never know with these kinds of things. We didn’t want to get our hopes up and tell everyone, and then when the issue came out we weren’t in it.
They first contacted Courtney when she was in the Yucatan, researching and preparing for our culinary tour. She texted me that night, in utter shock, and then got right to work figuring out what recipes to send. Those recipes were made about a dozen times, if not more, so they were perfect. Changing a little thing each time, until the combination of flavors was where she wanted it. The tacos were chosen because of the excitement over our culinary tours, and the fact that Courtney was there when she got the news. And the cake as a tribute to Courtney’s Irish heritage. This is what Courtney had worked up to for her entire culinary career, and for it to come to fruition after less than two years after opening the school is incredible.
We cannot thank Food & Wine enough for seeing what we all already know, that this little cooking school in Shelburne, Vermont is doing amazing things. We also cannot thank YOU, our amazing community, customers, and friends, for being part of CCKS. For being at every class, every cook-off, and every party, for helping us make CCKS what it is. We couldn’t do it without your support in creating this hub for food lovers in the middle of Shelburne.
The issue will hit stands on February 20th, we will be carrying this issue in the store so stop by to pick it up (I bet you can even get it signed if you wish)!
