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For Valentine’s Day this year I enrolled my girlfriend and myself for a class at Los Angeles’ coolest cooking class: hipcooks. Our class was “The Surprise Guest”, the only one available when I registered. We made an endive appetizer, roasted honey pear salad with tarragon dressing, pistachio-crusted swordfish with a light curry sauce, herbed couscous, and for dessert a chocolate bark with poached pear decorated with raspberry coulis. Our instructor, Alison, was wildly perky and made the experience incredibly bouncy. We had a deliciously good time and I would gladly do it again.

• We were twenty minutes late because (a) the traffic around downtown LA is insultingly disgusting at all hours of the day, but particularly so between 5 and 8 at night and (b) Google Maps completely and inconceivably failed to provide accurate directions. If you go, heed the driving directions on the site and DO NOT try to map it online or use your GPS to get there. The streets and alleys and parking lots you must maneuver to get there are convoluted and not represented accurately on any map known to man.
• Wear comfortable shoes. You’ll be standing most of the time.
• Don’t worry about taking notes or remembering everything; Hipcooks emails you all the recipes and directions after the class.
• Try to register as close to the beginning of the month as possible. The classes are filled very quickly.
• The only drinks available are wine and water, so bring your own if you want something else.
• The class we attended had three guys (including me) and nine girls; seven were single-and-looking and all very attractive. Guys! This is a great way to meet women in LA!