The Santa Fe School of story by GORDON BUNKER p h o t o s b y K AT E R U S S E L L
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usan Curtis, founder of the Santa Fe School ooll of of C Cooking, ooking, aand nd N Nicole icole A Ammerman, mmerman, wh who ho rruns uns d dayayto-day operations, make a brilliant mother-and-daughter d d h team. “W “We love l to workk together,” h ” says Nicole with her ready smile.
Sitting on the patio in front of their building, at 125 North Guadalupe Street (which started as a Packard automobile dealership), Susan and Nicole brim with enthusiasm about the school’s new, larger location and the expanded programs it will offer. Nearby, water trickles over a massive carved granite fountain. The school’s previous location, in the Plaza Mercado on San Francisco Street, was the epitome of old Santa Fe, all vigas and adobe walls. The new place is clean-lined and contemporary, featuring ample space for sixty participants in the demonstration area and a separate kitchen for hands-on classes. Even with renovations underway and amid all the commotion of a construction site, it is clear Susan and Nicole love what they do, and their genuineness is immediately apparent. The pair are all about reaching out to the culinary community, and ingredients for classes are locally sourced. “The public support and working with small farmers—those two things are the most rewarding aspects of this business,” says Susan. Local chefs teach the classes, and the school enjoys collaborative programs with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Santa Fe restaurants. Susan recounts the beginnings of the school. “Twenty-three years ago it was a midlife crisis,” she says, “and I hate to say it that way, because now it means I’m old! I had been a commercial real estate appraiser, my youngest was off to college and it was like, ‘What do I want to do?’ My husband and I had been very fortunate to travel a lot, and what we eat is really a focus of a trip. I was sick of what I was doing, and suddenly the idea [for the school] occurred to me in the middle of the night. I flew to New Orleans to consult with Joe Cahn, of the New Orleans School of Cooking. My husband was supportive, and that’s how it all started.”
out of ed us to step has encourag ic x! As em bo e nd th pa This outside nes, and think the d he lis re ve our comfort zo r guests, we’ ou iss eate m cr e t, w much as line marke grade our on up , e) to fe ty a ni r rtu fo oppo e, others (some are fre s se as r! cl ne al ea rtu cl vi en y has never be AND our facilit
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14
AUGUST 2012
Susan Curtis, Nicole Ammerman, James Caruso, Cheryl Jameson, Culinary Director Tracy Ritter, Chef/instructor Michelle Roetzer, and Kitchen Manager Noe Cano.
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