Thinking about gifting an Astor Center class to the food, wine, or spirit lover in your life? We thought we’d make your holiday shopping a bit easier and highlight some of our favorite class gift ideas for everyone on your list. For a complete calendar of classes, click here, and if you’re feeling really indecisive, you can always purchase a gift card.

For The Novice Cook:
The Fundamentals of Cooking: An Introduction To Basic Cooking Techniques
The Fundamentals of Cooking Fish
Tips and Tricks From Restaurant Kitchens: Knife Skills 

For The International Food Lover:
The Cuisine of Northern India: Hands-On Cooking & Wine Pairing
The Food & Wine of Alsace
Eat, Drink, Cook: Friuli & Alto Adige

For The Seafood Lover:
A Lobster Primer: Hands-On Cooking & Wine Pairing
Aw, Shucks: A Hands-On Oyster Primer

For The Meat Lover:
Cooking Wild: The Other Big Game
The Responsible Carnivore: Hands-On Cooking with Sustainable Meat 

For The Adventurous Eater:
Strangely Delicious: Hands-On Cooking with Unusual Ingredients

For The Vegetarian:
Eat, Drink, Cook: Tuscan Vegetarian

For The Spirits Enthusiast:
Armagnac: An Introduction
Tequila and Mezcal For The Wine Lover
An Introduction To Micro-Distilling with Michael Neff

For The Cocktail Lover:
Classic Cocktails, Classic Film: NY Nightlife
Martinis, Manhattans and More 
Resurrecting Historic Cocktails (And Drinking Them With The Professor)

For The Wine & Saké Lover:
The Elements of Wine
Italian Wine: Discoveries From The Astor Cellar
French Wine: Discoveries From The Astor Cellar
Wine & Food Pairing Essentials: A Workshop
The Elements of Saké

Ginger beer is not just your average soft drink, it’s a key ingredient in some classic cocktails and can add a little zest to your cooking. We’re big fans of Barritt’s Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, which is why we’ve decided to name it the official ginger beer of Astor Center. Enjoy it on its own, mix it up in a Dark n’ Stormy, or bake it into a cake- the options are vast. If you have a great cocktail or food recipe that includes ginger beer, we’d love to hear about it! Share it below in the comments section. For those who are new to this refreshing beverage, here is a simple recipe for a Dark n’ Stormy from one of Kelly Slagle’s Mixology Bootcamp classes:

Dark n’ Stormy
2 ounces dark rum
3 ounces Barritt’s Ginger Beer
1/2 ounce lime juice

Pour the rum over ice in highball and add ginger beer and lime juice. Enjoy!

Want to learn more? Check out all of Astor Center’s mixology classes here.

Heidi and the rest of the fashionistas are at it again and they’ve kicked off season nine of Project Runway right here at Astor Center! They’ve added a cruel twist this season and eliminated four contestants on day one, but we think they did so quite gracefully in the lovely setting of our Gallery. If you want to follow in their footsteps and make your next event work (sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves), check out our site for information on private events. When you’re done perusing our venues, you can watch us on episode one right here.