LEWISTON — The St. Mary’s Nutrition Center will offer Cliff Notes to Culinary School, a hands-on cooking series for cooks. The topic for March will be “Gourmet Creations from Your Pantry.”

The Nutrition Center’s Chef in Residence Scott Johnson, of the Blair House Inn in Greenville, will take participants on a culinary journey, disclosing tricks of the trade.

The first class, “Simple Puree Soups and Broths from the Pantry,” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 17. Johnson will cover purees, the use of herbs and spices and how to stock a pantry. Cost is $30 each person.

The second class, “Making Fresh Egg Pasta at Home,” will meet from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 24. He will move on to homemade pasta, focusing on how to make pastas from different types of flours, create sauces as well as how to dry and freeze pasta for storage. Cost is $30 each person.

The series finale, “Simple yet Elegant Main Course Meals from Your Pantry,” will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 27. It will be an in-depth course that marries and builds off of the knowledge shared in the first two classes of the series. Cost is $50 each person.

Throughout the series, Johnson will focus on technique, teaching the hows and whys of cooking, while becoming more comfortable putting chef methods into practice. Participants will sit down to taste the creations at the end of each class. Experimentation and questions will be encouraged.

Participants may register for any of the classes separately or sign up for the entire series. Cost for the three-class series if $100 each person. 

The topic for the Cliff Notes to Culinary School series during April will be “Savoring Chocolate.”

All classes will be held at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center of Maine, 208 Bates St. To register, contact the Nutrition Center at 513-3847 or e-mail [email protected].