Dancing with chickens

Roast chicken. [Photo/China Daily]

But you can't be squeamish about handling the raw bird, he says, probing with his fingers to pinpoint the thigh joint. "To cut chicken, you need feeling－let your fingers, not your eyes, find the bone."

When I first heard that Zoller planned a cooking class around roast chicken, I wasn't so keen. The Cut is famous for its steak, after all. Besides, don't most people know how to roast a chicken?

But in the end I couldn't resist. We'd also be making a pan-seared scallop as a starter. There would be strawberries Romanoff and ice cream for dessert. Plus, Zoller had a bar set up at the end of his kitchen: Free-flow prosecco and other wines before, during and after class. That could make it worth the 500-yuan ($73) class fee all by itself.

"It's the only way to do a cooking class," Zoller says.

Finally, I suspected Zoller would make a yummier roast chicken than I've been whipping up at home, and of course he did.

While he's much better-known for his beef Wellington, for example, Zoller has a practical goal for our group: Feel comfortable trying the recipes at home. (If the Swiss chef made beef Wellington standing on his head, he wouldn't convince me it was easy.)

Twenty people is a bunch of folks for a cooking class, but the chef's menu and preparation plan ensures that everybody gets to make something. The open kitchen allows everyone a close-up look at the steps for every dish. Zoller makes sure everybody hears his running commentary as well, and the recipes are printed out for us with plenty of space for note-taking. (This requires putting down your wine glass, however briefly.)