LONG ISLAND CITY — In a city where restaurant and takeout options abound, it's as common for New Yorkers to use their ovens for storage space as it is for them to cook.
That's what Dan Dolgin wants to change with CookSingleNYC, a cooking school he opened recently with the goal of helping beginners learn to make their own meals.
He said the idea came to him when he was venturing out into the social scene after a divorce and noticed many of the people he met didn't know their way around a kitchen.
"I kept finding that there was just a huge amount of people who never learned how to cook. They didn’t know how to get started," said Dolgin, 57, who runs the classes from the roomy kitchen in his Long Island City home, a block from Queensboro Plaza.
His original intent was to teach New Yorkers who live alone and are cooking for one — hence the school's name — though he says his classes now are geared for anyone who wants to learn.
"Pretty much every other cooking class out there in metro New York is for people who know how to cook and are looking for a food experience," said Dolgin, adding that such classes can be "intimidating" for those who don't have the experience.
"When people come in here, it's almost been described to me many times as a support group," he said.
"It's a very safe environment. They know that safety is important and no question is a stupid question."
Classes, which can fit up to six people, are three hours long and cost $95 for a group class. Private classes are also available.
The session covers the making of two "full meals," Dolgin says — entrees and side dishes — with an emphasis on common cooking techniques like roasting, grilling and stir-frying.
"It's a technique-driven course. I'm not here to teach someone to do specific recipes, per se, I'm trying to teach them the main techniques that drive cooking," he said, adding that participants will be directly involved in preparing the meals.
"It's all hands-on," he said.
Examples of past meals prepared during classes include things like barbeque chicken wings with roasted root vegetable hash, or a simple grilled steak — which includes learning how to tell when the meat is done — with stir-fried seasonal vegetables and mashed sweet potatoes.
Dolgin says he learned to cook having grown up in a cooking household and watching cooking shows. Before launching his classes a few months ago, he had worked in the intimate apparels industry but said he always had a passion for creating food.
"[I} Just always found cooking to be something very inviting to me, very relaxing," he said.
A list of Dolgin's recipes can be found on his website, along with some how-to videos. At the end of class, participants are sent home with an instructional booklet that includes recipes from the session as well as tips, like how long certain foods take to cook.
Students are also given a list of what Dolgin calls his "never out" inventory, essential items that every kitchen should have in stock, like olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs and lemons or limes.
"What my school is all about is enabling people to decide to want to cook on a regular basis," he said. "The whole goal is that people develop their own passion and their own sense of accomplishment."
For more on CookSingleNYC, visit the company's website. Classes are $95, according to the website.
