Amelie's Cooking Courses


Beginning in the spring of 2008, Chef Amelie Benoit is teaching a variety of culinary courses for the Community Education Division of the St. Charles Parish Public School system. These continuing education courses are detailed below and are taught evenings at Destrehan High School. For more information on these particular courses, call 985-785-7268.

Sushi 101
Sushi is a healthy and nutritious food that can be enjoyed as an appetizer or a meal. Learn from Chef Amelie Benoit how to prepare sushi, sushi rice, selecting sushi grade seafood, and seaweed, and how to prepare vegetables and other ingredients to make your sushi a success. The chef will prepare both a vegetarian roll and seafood roll in this demonstration class. Chef Benoit has BSCA (Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts) and is new to the St. Charles Parish Community Education program. Moreover, she has an impressive resume including a year at Commander’s Palace and work with William Sonoma!

Light Salads and Dressings
This class is designed for the health-conscious individual who lives inside us all. Learn how to cut calories by making your dressings from scratch without losing the taste—just the calories.

Barbecue Shrimp and Saute Shrimp
There is nothing that can compare in taste to the delicious New Orleans barbequed shrimp! Learn from start to finish how to prepare this Louisiana favorite from Chef Benoit. To pass some time while the shrimp is cooking students also learn some tips on how to sauté shrimp, as well as light—and not so light—recipes included. Bring your appetite as you will enjoy all the finished products.

Crawfish Monica
Impress your guests with this simple and elegant dish. Crawfish Monica is one of the most popular dishes in the New Orleans area. Chef Benoit will walk us through the process, and you will enjoy the finished product at the end of the class.

Light Sausage and Seafood Gumbo
Who doesn't love the taste of gumbo? Learn tips from Chef Benoit on how to make this delicious Louisiana dish with fewer calories. In this course you will make the roux from scratch in this low calorie sausage and seafood gumbo recipe. Moreover, you will sample this product at the end of class.

Pastalaya
Jambalaya is one of the oldest rice dishes in Louisiana. The dish traces its roots back to paella—that great Mediterranean rice dish. With the Italian influence in South Louisiana, it is quite easy to understand how the ingredients of seafood jambalaya made their way onto the pasta platter.

Easy Appetizers
Hummus is the delicious dip of Middle Eastern decent. It also is a healthy snack and a great alternative to traditional chips and dip. In this course you will learn how to make hummus from scratch and healthy choices that go with it. You also will make a spinach and artichoke dip from scratch. Impress your guests by adding these easy appetizers to your repertoire.

Meatless Lasagna
Enjoy adding this light lasagna to your cooking repertoire. Cut out the meat but not the taste. Learn healthy substitutes in this course to make your lasagna stand alone without the red meat.

Crawfish Etouffee
Crawfish is a staple of the Cajun diet and nothing compares to the taste of Louisiana crawfish. This course is designed for the transplants who have no idea how to make such traditional dishes as Crawfish etouffee, or for the locals who want to pick up some tips from Chef Benoit, or even those who just want to enjoy eating the finished product. In this course you will make this product from scratch!

Vegetables 101
Everyone loves going to restaurants and enjoying their delicious vegetables that are grilled, sautéed, or however prepared! Chef Benoit teaches you how to prepare delicious vegetables that you can enjoy whenever we want. Learn how to shop for vegetables, and what you need to look for in fresh vegetables for cooking.

Chicken Deboning with Crawfish Cornbread Dressing
Chef Benoit will teach you how to debone a whole chicken, leaving it whole so you can stuff it with a crawfish cornbread dressing. Impress your guests with this dish at your next entertaining event that you will learn from start to finish. And don’t forget, you will be sampling the product at end of class!

Amelie's Cuisine

About Chef Amelie Benoit