Paul Young

Educator, Designer, Culinary Explorer

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Flavor Principles of Ethnic Cooking

 

Travel the world with self-taught home cook Paul Young as he deconstructs ethnic recipes and breaks down the flavor principles of each culinary tradition. Learn how to make anything taste ethnic by following a few master recipes and utilizing simple flavor principles. By the end of the series you will be able to customize flavor profiles and adjust recipes like a pro.

 

This is a hands-on cooking class series where all students will participate in the preparation of all the dishes on the menu. Do come hungry and thirsty because the tuition includes a multi-course dinner during the second half of the class when you will be eating everything you cooked that evening. 

 

Students will leave each session with easy-to-follow recipes of all the dishes on the menu. These recipes have all been adapted for the typical home cook and contain many tips & tricks to help minimize your time in the kitchen while staying true to the spirit of the original ethnic flavors.

 

All menu items below will use locally sourced ingredients but are subject to change based on the availability of fresh ingredients at local markets.




Thai Cooking (June 5, 2025)

Steamed Fish with Garlic Chili Sauce

Thai cuisine is a harmonious blend of flavors, textures, and aromas that always taste fresh. Sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors are combined to create unbelievably mouth-watering taste experiences that come alive when properly balanced. Our menu for the evening will consist of three easy-to-make Thai favorites:




Taste of Kazakhstan (July 10, 2025)

lamb pilaf

Traditional Kazakh cuisine is focused on meat and dairy products due to the ancestral nomadic lifestyles of the people in this region. Meat in various forms has always been the primary ingredient of the Kazakhs who often preserved food by salting and drying meat so that it would last. Today, Kazakh food is starting to garner global recognition as chefs in Astana, Kazakhstan’s gleaming capital, are reviving a cuisine that was almost lost during the Soviet years. Our guest chef tonight will guide participants as we explore modern Kazakh home cooking which is influenced by flavors of Central Asian neighbors like Russia and China. Join us for a delightful home cooked meal that will include:

 

Aliya Dosmanbetova will join us as our special guest chef for this session. Aliya is a visiting scholar from Kazakhstan who is an international student in the College of Education at the University of Illinois. She comes from a big family where everyone cooked and she has fond memories of helping her mom prepare large meals for many guests in the kitchen. “Cooking, for me, is more than just preparing food,” says Aliya, “It is a way for me to connect with my heritage, my family, and the memories that shaped me. Even today, when I prepare these traditional meals, I feel the warmth of my mother’s kitchen and the joy of sharing food with loved ones.”




Vegan Soul (August 7, 2025)

Kentucky Fried Tofu Nuggets

Soul food is an immigrant cuisine that combines West African, Western European, and American culinery traditions. The expression "soul food" originated in the mid-1960s when "soul" was a common word used to describe African-American culture. Soul food is intensely seasoned and uses a variety of spices to add robust flavor to food and savory sauces. While all soul food is Southern food, not all Southern food is soul. Soul food cooking is an example of how really good African-American cooks cooked with what they had available to them. Our guest chef tonight will be Darlene Anderson who will present a healthy and tasty all-vegan menu of her favorite family recipes:

 

 

 

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