Walking in the door to the Cooking With Rosa evening at 7 Numbers, we were immediately greeted with a glass of wine. Not in a fancy wine glass, in a cup, just like they do it in Italy.

The table was set for about 15, in a long family style setup with many of the my other classmates already in their seats. Beside me was a young couple that received the cooking class as a gift from a relative. After quickly getting familiar with my surroundings, we were invited to the kitchen to meet the special lady whom the evening was all about, Rosa.

Before she even spoke, she began looking for her wine, which someone had forgotten. “No wine, no fun!” were the first things she said, and I knew it was gonna be a fun night.

We started the night by preparing two of the appetizers for the dinner: Grilled Calamari, and Fried Artichokes. For those that wanted to get their hands dirty, they were welcome to come to the front and help Rosa get everything ready, the rest of us sit back with our cups of wine and watched, many taking notes and plenty of pictures.

Once these two dishes were ready we headed back to the table to enjoy all the appetizers, which also included Peppers with Arugula and Goat Cheese and my personal favourite, Tomatoes & Bocconcini. Every few seats there was a carafe of wine, so if you decide to try a Cooking With Rosa night, leave the car at home.

The rest of the courses operated in a similar way. First a pasta course, with some of the tastiest Lasagna I’ve ever had, then a meat course with loads of great dishes. Some of the most memorable for me were the “Sexy Duck”, Braised Lamb Shank, and the INCREDIBLE Veal Meatballs. The food seemed to never end, and I don’t think it was possible to leave there hungry.

In between eating I also spent a lot of time chatting with the staff from the restaurant and learning about how they use things like ethical veal, and mainly local suppliers for their meats. Rosa shared all sorts of cooking tips, and even gave me some advice on how to cook a great osso buco at home, something I’ve struggled with in the past. Anything you wanted to know about any of the dishes, Rosa was an open book and didn’t hold anything back as some chefs might do.

Overall the experience was excellent, and I hope to do another Cooking With Rosa class in the future. All the staff were super friendly and a wealth of knowledge about their products.

Cooking with Rosa classes cost $85 and happen once per month at their Eglinton location. The price includes all your food and wine, and likely a doggy bag to take home. To find out when the next one is, visit SevenNumbers.com and scroll until you see classes. You can also visit their Facebook & Twitter pages to chat with them online.

Here are some pictures I snapped at the event: