Is it a class, a demo, a party, or a gallery exhibit? Even all that doesn’t describe my recent cooking course at the Carmel Highlands home of Chef Wendy Brodie and her husband/local hospitality maven Bob Bussinger.

Brodie was co-owner (with Bussinger) of Carmel’s Lincoln Court Restaurant, her TV show Art of Food currently airs on PBS, and she was an executive chef at the Preserve at Rancho San Carlos, Stonepine Inn and Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch, to name a few of her accomplishments.

At the stunning Brodie-Bussinger home, I had my money’s worth in the first 10 minutes, simply by enjoying the stirring views from high above the Pacific, the enveloping space, and the exotic and eclectic décor, featuring many Asian accents from our hosts’ travels.

“The first thing I do when I come to her class is look at the table,” said Jann McCool, a neighbor who with her husband has taken 25 classes with Brodie. “It’s always beautiful and is completely different each time – even the dishes.”

Classes are not pre-scheduled; rather, it’s up to you to gather some friends and request a theme, though the chef would be glad to choose one. Her range is broad – anything from a specific cuisine such as East Indian or Chinese (her mother grew up in Shanghai), to a concept-based course like “Appetizers” or “Wendy’s Favorites,” to a dish-based course such as paella or bouillabaisse.

There were seven in our class, though up to 25 can be accommodated. I’d say a maximum of 10 is ideal to give everyone a good view of the action from the comfortable, high-backed stools that surround a large granite island in Brodie’s professionally-equipped kitchen.

The dishes we made were aimed at the home cook, though a few were time-consuming due to our chosen theme: calamari and vegetarian dishes.

“This theme actually works well because one of my favorite all-time dishes is Marty’s Special at Abalonetti on the Wharf: eggplant parmesan with calamari,” Brodie said.

Our menu included a version of that, plus carrot-ginger soup, slow oven-cured tomatoes, steamed asparagus, and calamari cooked three other ways. Dessert was rhubarb, strawberries and raspberries poached in lavender simple syrup over vanilla ice cream. (Our menu would have been less extensive, but we benefited from some leftovers from a catering job Brodie had the previous day.)

Brodie does not wield measuring cups or recipes and expressed a disdain for an excess of culinary gadgets. She’ll e-mail any recipes requested, but only provided us with one for the eggplant parmesan.

“I gave you my favorite recipe, but I take great liberty with that,” Brodie said. (The girl doesn’t even follow her favorite recipe.)

“I want people to learn methods so they feel comfortable in their own kitchens and not tied to the letter of the recipe,” she said. Determining the appropriate quantities as you go is also the only way to compensate for variations in product quality, ripeness, and even equipment (10 minutes in my oven may be eight minutes in yours).

A talented chef and teacher, Brodie was as relaxed as any of us, even though the students were only required to drink Champagne, graze on delightful snacks, and watch. Guests may participate and some help is needed, but no one is obligated to work. In our case, the calamari took a few pairs of student hands for cleaning and variously pounding, slicing and dipping (in flour, egg and panko crumbs). Brodie’s assistant had the chef’s back, and Bussinger kept our Champagne glasses full and pitched in at the 12-burner, double-oven Dacor.

Brodie seasons her step-by-step instructions with anecdotes, famous chef quotes, and tips on tools, techniques, ingredients and product sources. Once we realized we had a culinary consultant held captive, we took advantage of it. Brodie had to tack often to accommodate our group, rowdy as it was with crosstalk and random questions. Somehow Brodie multi-tasked like an 18-year-old, all the while calmly producing several dishes. Quite a show.

She wedged in tips such as tightly rolling a leaf like basil or spinach, then slicing it thin to create ribbons of pretty chiffonade for garnish. Or misting tinfoil with spray-on cooking oil to prevent sticking when covering a cheese-topped casserole (she ditches the lid and uses punctured foil for eggplant parmesan so that steam escapes, preventing soggy bread crumbs). She addressed safety in dicing a carrot: trim one side so it lays flat on a surface to prevent rolling, which prevents the knife from slipping.

The daughter of two artists, Brodie is known for the aesthetic she brings to dining, from the room, to the table design, to the colors and shapes of a dish’s ingredients, to the garnishes. The carrot-ginger soup was top beauty queen with eight garnishes: three types of edible flower petals (not mixed, but from separate containers), orange, red and yellow carrots minced into tiny cubes, a swirl of chive-basil oil, and a swirl of crème fraiche. Over-the-top gorgeous and delicious.

Our feast table was adorned with skyscraping vases of gladiolus and placemats of handwoven sticks. Pretty dishes framed the fruits of our labor and fine French wines were poured. It was a dinner party to remember and a sensational experience from start to finish.

ART OF FOOD COOKING CLASSES The per-person cost is $125 for lunch, $150 for dinner, but may vary depending on ingredients desired or if there are fewer than six participants. • www.wendybrodie.com • 626-9000 • info@lincolncourt.com