Update: The gift certificate went unclaimed, so it goes back on the block. Drawing will be Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, at 3 p.m. Same rules apply.

I have a very special giveaway this week, courtesy of Marci Arthur of Truffles & Trifles. It’s a gift certificate for a cooking class for two — a $130 value. As with all the drawings on SJO, the winner will be selected at random from the list of subscribers to my occasional newsletter. If you’re already signed up, you’re already entered. If not, just fill in the box below. Drawing is Thursday afternoon, Nov. 18 Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, at 3 p.m.

{loadposition newconstant}

If you’ve never taken a cooking class with Marci at Truffles & Trifles, you’re in for a treat.  The classes are as much fun as they are educational, and students move about the spacious kitchen, often cooking in teams, learning together, seeking help from Marci and then, in the end, sitting down at the big table to enjoy what they’ve cooked. Companies come from all of the country to have Marci conduct “team building” classes, where co-workers learn to plan together by cooking together. Some of her clients include: American Express, Bank of America, SunTrust, Bristol Myers, Exxon-Mobile, Disney, Universal, Fidelity, Zero Chaos, State Farm, Marriott, Starwood, Pulte Homes, Novaris, Wyndam Hotels and Charles Schwab (the whole company, not just Chuck himself). My former employer held several team-building classes there, and I’ve attended private cooking parties that were just for friends to get together and cook.

Truffles & Trifles is in its third decade in College Park. The little shop has grown and expanded, mostly in recent years. The cooking area, which used to be just a small space in the back of the market, behind the racks of gourmet food items and cooking utensils, has taken over one half of the building, and not sports classy countertops and top-of-the-line cooking appliances. Marci has just outfitted the area with Wolf ranges and Sub-zero refrigerators, and the ovens are high-tech with controls that appear out of nowhere. It’s all very cool.

And you have a chance to win a cooking class for you and a spouse, or a date, or a really good friend. You can choose the class you like from the Truffles & Trifles schedule. Topics include: soups, stews & breads; incredible side dishes; amazing appetizers’ canning & preserving; holiday cookies; and more. Click here to see a schedule.

Remember, all you have to do to enter is sign up to receive my newsletter. I promise to keep your information private. I do not spam, and I don’t send out a lot of newsletters — I only send them when I have things I think you’ll want to know. Just fill in the information click the button. By the way, one of the fields asks for your phone number — this isn’t required, but it’s the easiest way for me to contact winners. If you don’t want to do that, just make sure if you see a message in your in box with a subject line that reads “a message from Scott Joseph,” don’t delete it — you may be a winner!

Whether you win or not, stop by Truffles & Trifles and look around. They’re at 711 Smith St., Orlando, just west of Edgewater Drive. The phone number is 407-648-0838. Click here for the Truffles & Trifles Web site. (You’ll also want to sign up for Marci’s newsletter, which is chockfull of good stuff for people who love cooking.)

{loadposition newconstant}

{fblike}