The Cupertino Courier Sharon Shipley's 'Elegant Holiday Brunches' course offers alternatives to the usual holiday hors d'oeuvres. Course prepares cooks for holiday celebrations By PAM MARINO Part education, part entertainment, the "Elegant Holiday Brunches" course that starts next week is all easy, delicious food designed to delight guests. The University of California-Santa Cruz Extension office in Cupertino is presenting the class at the Mon Cheri Caterers/Cooking School, 461 S. Murphy Ave., starting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The class runs for four Tuesdays, ending Dec. 1. Sharon Shipley, the director of Mon Cheri, said she is teaching the course to give participants an alternative to the usual holiday hors d'oeuvres. She shows students how to make easy yet elegant recipes that make time in the kitchen as stress-free as possible. Each week Shipley will teach students how to make an entire brunch featuring 10 to 12 recipes that include an assortment of entrees and a dessert. Each week features a different theme: "classic Italian" brunch, French bistro breakfast, an "old-fashioned" Southern afternoon meal and a Southwestern meal. Some of the recipes students will learn include Smoked Salmon Hash with Red Potatoes and Fennel, Pear and Vanilla Upside-down Pancakes, Old-fashioned English Scones, and Chocolate Mousse-filled Strawberries. Class members gather around the kitchen at Mon Cheri for instruction by Shipley, and then break into small groups to start cooking. Shipley moves around, giving advice and answering questions. At the end everyone gets to eat what the class has created. According to UCSC Humanities Dean Judy Rose, the class is as much entertainment as it is education. "It's a tremendous amount of fun," Rose said. Shipley called her class "an after-five stress release." Mon Cheri Catering offers classes through both the UCSC Extension and De Anza College. Besides its catering business and cooking classes, Mon Cheri also offers "team building" sessions, where Silicon Valley companies bring in their employees to cook with each other to build relationships. Shipley was recently voted the 1998 Caterer of the Year by the International Association of Catering Professionals. The Elegant Holiday Brunches class costs $170 and includes all food and materials. For more information about the course, call UCSC Extension's Humanities Department at (831) 427-6695. The phone number for the extension office, located in Cupertino, is 342-0303. Or visit the Web site at www.ucsc-extension.edu. To contact Mon Cheri Catering/Cooking School about catering and other programs, call 736-0892. Or check the Web at www.monchericaterers.com. [ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Cupertino Courier, November 4, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.