Chef brings 'flexible' gourmet cooking to Buzzards Bay fundraiser

Oct 14, 2015

This year’s Buzzards Bay Coalition Golf Outing had a more flavorful side with the addition of a cooking class with chef Annie B. Copps.

Held at the Bay Club on Tuesday afternoon, the event gave home cooks a how to on making fancy food without a lot of fuss.

“Let your imagination be what leads you,” said Copps, who volunteered for the event.

Based in Boston, the long-time chef was the former food editor of Boston Magazine and Yankee Magazine.

Later she got a call from Oceania Cruises asking if she would work for them.

“I’d rather drink a glass of sand. I thought I’d be on deck two making petit fours,” Copps said.

Instead it turned out to be her “Barbie dream job,” a floating hands-on culinary center where she could teach her skills to small groups of people. Copps recently returned from the job, but has continued to teach and write.

Using humor plus a dash of this and that, Copps taught the group gathered on Tuesday how to make a number of dishes, including a free form almond, apple and pear tart and seared bay scallops.

“I purposely work with ingredients and techniques that are flexible,” said Copps, who offered substitutions for many of the menu items as she prepared each recipe.

“Everybody loves someone that can make good food accessible,” said Laura Ryan Shachoy, the chair of the Coalition board and a friend of Copps. “She’s such a talented chef. She’s fantastic and she loves the bay.”

Attendees got to taste each dish, ask questions and take home the recipes. A couple of people also won tarts after Copps hosted an impromptu auction with proceeds going to the Buzzards Bay Coalition and it’s ongoing mission to preserve the watershed.

“Let’s fill the coffers so we can have clean scallops,” said Copps.

Alicia Pimental, communications and outreach manager for the Coalition, said the new event was a success.

“We wanted to offer something a little different. Not everyone’s a golfer, but we wanted a lot of people to be able to take part in this event.”

She said it also brought in new people to a Coalition event.

“It’s a good way to get to know new people,” Pimental said. “We’re always looking to grow, and who doesn’t love a delicious meal cooked by an expert chef?”

For more information on Annie B. Copps, visit her website www.intellibelly.com.