Café Rouge Butchery Classes Start Monday with 'The Pig'

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Sign from the meat case at Café Rouge.

​The memory of butchery class in cooking school makes us shiver. We didn't mind getting our hands dirty and bloodied, but there was a definite (dis)comfort thing: class started at an ungodly hour, with a guarantee of a decidedly cold, hard stool. Info: worthwhile. Comfort: not so much.

No doubt a softer approach will prevail at the upcoming series of butchery classes at Berkeley's Café Rouge, including wine and what organizers are calling "generous and filling" food samples. Monday's first class on swine features Mac Magruder, an organic beef and pig rancher who runs Magruder Ranch in Potter Valley, Calif. Café Rouge's lead butcher, Scott Brennan, and executive chef Rick DeBeaord will preside over fuet sausage, head cheese, slow-cooked pork shoulder, and porchetta. Other beasts will be covered in future classes; check the schedule and plan accordingly. Details after the jump.

Event details:
Butchery Classes at Café Rouge
Date: First class ― The Pig, Mon., Feb. 22, 6:30-9 p.m.
Location: Café Rouge, 1782 Fourth St. (at Virginia), Berkeley, (510) 525-1440
Cost: $65
Tickets: Call, or reserve via OpenTable