Last week, America’s Test Kitchen invited “Learn To Cook” winner Ian Stanley into our studios to cook with TV’s Bridget Lancaster for a day. Ian participated in our “Learn To Cook” contest, which we hosted to celebrate the launch of our online Cooking School. With this entry, he beat out 9 other finalists to earn a trip out to Boston and a day at the Test Kitchen.
Before Ian made his way to Boston from Napa, CA, Bridget sent him an email to find out what he wanted to learn. With his wish list, Bridget assembled a challenging yet diverse menu for the day: Ciabatta Bread, Raspberry Chiffon Cake, Peruvian Garlic-Lime Chicken, Homemade Mayonnaise, Strawberry Dream Cake, Venezuelan Stuffed Corn Cakes (Arepas) along with a little lesson in knife skills.
Welcome to the Test Kitchen
After a tour of the Test Kitchen, Ian meets Bridget to start a full day of cooking.
Getting Right To Work
Bridget puts Ian to work right away on making ciabatta bread.
Knife Skills Lesson
While the bread is rising, Bridget teaches Ian some knife skills, starting with "the claw." "Stick out your elbow like you're going to knock someone out," Bridget says.
Taste Test!
Ian joins in on a recipe tasting by the Book Team.
Surprise Visit
While Bridget shows Ian how to frost a cake, Christopher Kimball drops in for a surprise visit.
Finishing Touches
After frosting the cake with delicate swirls, Ian finishes up with slices of strawberries.
Peruvian Garlic-Lime Chicken
Bridget puts the Peruvian Garlic-Lime Chicken in the oven -- just one of the many recipes Ian worked on that day.
Raspberry Chiffon Pie
Bridget and Ian work on the filling for the Raspberry Chiffon Pie while Nick Dakoulas, Senior Video Editor, films the action.
He's a Pro!
Bridget watches on while Ian fills the Raspberry Chiffon Cake.
Another Surprise Visit
Julia Collin Davison drops by to say "hi" to Ian!
Carving A Chicken
Bridget shows Ian how to carve the Peruvian Garlic-Lime Chicken. "I've carved chickens before, but they've never turned out as beautifully as this," Ian said.
Homemade Mayonnaise
Test Cook Daniel Cellucci shows Ian how to make homemade mayonnaise. "It's one of those things where, once you learn to make it, you'll wonder why you ever bought it in the first place," Daniel said.
Making Arepas
Bridget cracks jokes with Ian and Nick while she demonstrates how to make arepas.
All In A Day's Work
In one day, Ian and Bridget (with the help of Dan), made Peruvian Garlic-Lime Chicken, Ciabatta Bread, Raspberry Chiffon Pie, Strawberry Dream Cake and two kinds of arepas.
Tasting Time!
The Online Editorial and New Media teams, along with executive editor of magazines John (Doc) Willoughby, visit the Test Kitchen to sample the dishes. Smiles all around, Ian did an amazing job.
We're thinking about inviting another fan into the Test Kitchen – what do you think the contest should be? Let us know in the comments.
About the Author: Steph Yiu
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Whatever the next contest is, please let it be something I will WIN! Would love to spend a day cooking with Bridget!
You should have filmed it! Would have made a great special episode.
Hi rodalpho, you’re in luck — we did film it! You can see NIck, our senior video editor, hard at work wielding the camera. We’ll have the video of Ian’s day in the Test Kitchen hitting our YouTube channel very soon. Stay tuned!
Great, looking forward to it!
How about a “You cook for me, I cook for you” contest? Have people send in a unique recipe that is a specialty in their family. Then the person whose recipe is chosen by ATK gets to come in to cook their recipe in the Test Kitchen as well as getting a chance to learn some new recipes from the pros!
Next chance to win a day in the kitchen? How about a contest for an upcoming special occasion. My husband’s 30th birthday is at the end of the summer and he’d love it if I could master a party menu with the ATK team!!!
) Luv you guys!!!
It looks as though a very worthy person was chosen for this honor! Congrats to Ian! I’m not going to pretend I’m not envious but I’m genuinely happy for him. Thanks for offering this wonderful opportunity to dream about cooking with the staff of ATK, and meeting our favorite on-air personalities. Meanwhile, I’ll keep chugging away with the cookbooks, enjoying the results of the perfected recipes ATK produces (tried the beef and broccoli stir fry a few days ago and was blown away at how easy it was to reproduce the results, from book to stove-top.) Keep up the amazing work! And thanks, from the bottom of my oven!