Pavlov would have nothing on the chefs at Loews Ventana Canyon's Flying V Bar and Grill.
Chef de cuisine Alexis Martinez, "guacamolier" Elisa Blackwell and grillmaster Duwayne Hall gave a hands-on demonstration on the fine art of grilling to about 20 people who each paid $30 to attend the first in a series of grilling classes at the resort.
The fee not only included instruction, but everybody got to help with the cooking and partake of the prepared food, which included a grilled romaine lettuce salad, shrimp, steak, ribs and salmon.
And these weren't sample sizes — there was plenty to fill a plate and seconds or thirds were allowed.
Martinez is a Douglas native who started at the restaurant nine years ago as a busboy and worked his way to top.
"This was our first outside barbecue grilling class," he said. "We're going to have them every holiday through the summer."
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Cooking "lower and slower" is one of the big secrets Martinez stressed — that, and beer.
"We enjoy cooking with beer," he quipped. "You know the cook's happy, the food's happy and the customer is happy."
The grilled romaine, though, was the biggest surprise.
"I'd never heard of barbecued lettuce before," Dick Walbert said. "It's real unusual and I'm learning new methods of doing things. And the guacamole was excellent."
If You Go
What: Cooking courses taught by chef Alexis Martinez.
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Saturday of the Independence Day and Labor Day weekends.
Cost: $30, which includes lunch.
To sign up: Call the resort at 299-2020.
