Teal VanDongen was a typical non-cooking mother and wife one year ago.
   "I hated to cook," she said. "My family could have pizza, tacos or spaghetti for dinner."
   Nowadays, she's a cooking fanatic.
   "I've learned the chemistry of cooking," she said, "and every chance I get, I watch the Food Network."
   VanDongen has learned cooking isn't so tough at Ecole Dijon, a cooking school she prodded her uncle, Chef Drew Ellsworth, to begin approximately one year ago. Now she gathers with friends and strangers alike in Ellsworth's home and classroom every Monday night to learn the art.
   More than anything, class at Ecole Dijon feels like a club: lots of wine and happy chatter about life. At least half of the class participants are regulars - some of them friends and family who use the class as an excuse to get away.
   "I come to be with friends and to have a night away from the family," joked pupil Stacie Marchessault.
   Everyone comes for the gourmet meal or to improve their cooking skills.
   "Anything I can do to make people see how much fun [cooking] is, that's very important to me," said Ellsworth.
   Students are encouraged to participate in food preparations, which include taste testing all of Ellsworth's concoctions before and after they are completed.
   On this particular night, the meal consists of whole wheat French bread, broccaflower with mornay sauce, salmon en papillote and sponge babas with grand marnier cr me.
    "Most things are not actually on the recipe," said student Melissa Genaux. "That's why you've got to pay attention."
   Ellsworth creates the menu for each class with a special purpose in mind. For the first six months of classes at Ecole Dijon, students learned cooking from the fridge, pantry and cupboards. The class was geared toward "teaching people to have basic things in their fridge," said Ellsworth.
   Since then, the classes have had various focuses, including the current one: heart-healthy food. Ellsworth hopes to teach participants that they can create a healthy meal in a reasonable amount of time.
   After more than 15 years as a chef, Ellsworth decided to leave the
   corporate world of cooking several years ago and return to his home in Utah.
   "When you work as an executive chef in a corporate kitchen, you hardly touch any food and my love is preparing food," said Ellsworth.
   

The last time he lived in Utah, he and his sister operated Restaurant Dijon on Highland Drive in Holladay. He doesn't anticipate reopening the restaurant, but said "when I do something like tonight I get a little glimmer."
   For Ellsworth, the classes from his home were a natural progression in his cooking life.
   "You have to have that almost stupid naiveté [to work in a corporate kitchen]: the older you get the harder it is to work in a real, fast paced, multitasking environment," said Ellsworth . "You have to be able to multitask and wear a lot of hats and switch hats quickly and I wasn't like that. I like to mess with my rose petals," explained Ellsworth, referring to the evening's desert topper - candied rose petals.
   Ellsworth, who was trained in Leon, France, after receiving his master's degree in French at Brigham Young University, said he wants people in this country to be able to cook a good meal for the family.
   Classes at Ecole Dijon cost $40 each with a bulk rate of $98.00 for three classes.
   "You get a gourmet meal," said VanDongen of the price. "I would spend at least this if I went to a restaurant for a gourmet meal. And, not only are you eating, but you're learning how to create it."
   
   What's cooking
   Jan 23: Chef Drew's clam chowder, French baguettes, tomato/basil/cucumber salad, and poached pears
   Jan 30: Gourmet Salisbury steaks tour kids will love, sauce financiere, great whipped potatoes, and homemade cookies