The Real Food Academy Miami homemade caesar salad recipe.
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Homemade Caesar Salad

By Chef Maria Cummins

Course
salad
Cuisine
italian-american
Servings
10

Equipment

  • Cutting Board and knife
  • Mixing bowl
  • Tongs

Ingredients

  • 5 heads romaine lettuce, washed and dried (whole leaves)
  • 2 cups croutons
  • ½ cup of mayonnaise
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Instructions

Caesar Salad Dressing
  1. In a bowl, using a fork, mix the garlic, mayo, and salt until well blended.
  2. Whisk in the lemon juice and the worcestershire sauce.
  3. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with one hand while vigorously whisking the mixture with the other.
  4. When the dressing is well combined, whisk in 2 tablespoons of the parmesan cheese.
Preparing the Greens and Assembling
  1. Separate the Romaine leaves and discard the coarse outer leaves. Wash, drain, and pat dry with paper towels or spin dry the remaining leaves.
  2. Cut them in large bite-size pieces and smother with dressing. Romaine lettuce should be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use.
  3. Serve immediately.

Chef Maria Cummins

Born in Venezuela, Maria Cummins discovered her deep-rooted passion for food from an early age. Her culinary journey led her to Lima, Peru, where she immersed herself in the rich secrets of Peruvian gastronomy during part of her childhood. In her early twenties, she embarked on a new chapter by coming to the United States and delving into the Hospitality Industry in Boston, Massachusetts.

Maria's culinary adventure continued as she relocated to San Diego, California, where she made her mark by opening the renowned El Tucan Restaurant. Her extensive travels and diverse experiences greatly influenced her innovative culinary style, shaping the unique approach she is celebrated for today.

During her time in San Diego, Chef Maria not only honed her culinary skills but also gained a profound understanding of the importance of nutrition, particularly through the use of organic and unprocessed ingredients.

Today, Maria Cummins is the proud owner, founder, and head chef of the Real Food Academy, a culinary haven nestled in the vibrant city of Miami. Here, both kids and adults come together every week to share the joy of connecting through the power of Real Food and Real Fun!

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Rave Reviews for The Real Food Academy

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  • E Sch

    Great experience! I highly recommend. Class was very fun, immersive, chef Toni was great and very helpful.
  • Eddy Garcia

    Thank you to The Real Food Academy, especially Mayra, Ray and Paolo for making my daughter’s birthday party a memorable one! You all were amazing and the kids had a great time!
  • Tashie-Ann

    We truly enjoyed our experience celebrating our friend birthday. Thank you Chef Tony & Carmen for having us.
  • Not J’ordinary

    I enjoyed this event, the atmosphere was inviting, delicious, and high energy. I recommend for those who are open minded to learning another way of cooking with real, simple ingredients!
  • Immaline Louis

    Great experience, I love it! Chef Toni was a great instructor.
  • Sharief Pereira

    Chef Toni was amazing. Her professionalism and passion totally shined through and I will come again in the future.
  • Nabil Malouli

    Amazing place for kids birthdays. The space is beautiful and the team is awesome!! 👍👍
  • Christian Altamiranda

    Chef Toni was very clear and knowledgeable. She provided us with easy to follow instructions that made this sushi class an amazing experience!
  • Miss Lucas

    I love everything about this experience at The Food Academy. Amazing staff, amazing food and great expertise customer service. I will be back!
  • Bob Bernstein

    The entire experience from start to finish was flawless. Chef Paulo was very engaging, very informative, and lots of fun, the food exceptional, and the kids had a blast learning proper knife handling technique, building their tomatoe/basil/bufalo towers, making the pasta, and watching the fire explode out of the Bananas Flambe. The adults couldn’t get over how tasty everything was, espicially the turkey meatballs. The premises are immaculate, modern, and free parking is plentiful. 5 stars doesn’t do the experience justice. Bravo!
  • Heidi Reyes

    Great place and the staff are amazing
  • Jacqueline Cabrera

    What an excellent way to start the new year by learning how to cook more healthily. It is a beautiful location and wonderful instruction.
  • Hanna Cohen

    Such a great experience! Loved it a whole lotttt
  • Sharon Somekh, MD

    Amazing evening of cooking, eating, and fun. Chefs Toni and Paolo were so knowledgeable and accommodating. We had a few people in our party with specific dietary needs and each one was treated with such care and consideration. Food was delicious and experience was really fun. Highly recommend for a party or small gathering.
  • Sharon Somekh

    What an amazing place with the BEST staff!! We came a family of 40 to celebrate birthdays. We had so much fun! We enjoyed cooking our meal. Chef Toni, Paulo and the rest of the crew were so friendly, helpful and attentive!!
  • Jenny Somekh

    We had such an awesome experience for a family of 40! Adults and kids all had a fabulous time. The food we made was delicious we all had so much fun!
  • Gillermo Molina

    Maya and Rey were super cute, very polite and professional we really enjoyed the time with them. Definitely we recommend the real food academy.
  • Heather Hudson

    I love coming to this place! I’ve taken classes here multiple times with friends, as a girls night, date night with my fiance and etc— and have always had a great time! The pasta classes are DELICIOUS! There’s more than one. I’ve done 3 different kinds so far. 10/10 :)
  • Dannielle Corpora

    Maria does an amazing job. We had such a great experience and the meals and recipes were delicious. Will be back again.
  • Rene G

    Good wholesome food, good lessons. We had the opportunity to pick our own songs. 10/10

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Real Food FAQs

No. All Payments and Deposits are non-refundable: When a payment or deposit is made, that day and time is no longer available to other customers on our calendar. For that reason, all payments and deposits are non-refundable.

In the case of a cooking class, the ingredients are shopped for and prepped in advance. Staff is also scheduled according to the number of people on the roster.

See our Wine and Beer list for your in-house kids party options. Optionally, you can bring your own wine or beer and page a corkage fee.

Corkage Fees

  • $15 per 750 ml bottle of wine
  • $30 per 1.5 L bottle of wine

Bring outside beer: $40 for beer (any quantity)

We love it when our customers decorate our place. That said, you have no idea how difficult it is to clean these types of things up. As far as noisemakers go......you will be glad you left them at home as well. So please do not bring any of those things.

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