Whole Grain Primer

A hands-on cooking class culminating in dinner served with wine and beer.
 

We love whole grains, but we also understand they need solid technique and a dose of inspiration to coax out their flavor, maintain their texture, and increase their digestibility.  In this hands-on class, Michelle McKenzie will share professional tips and techniques for cooking five of her favorite grains:

Toasted Quinoa with Shiokoji-pickled Root Vegetables
Farro Piccolo with Winter Greens, Pickled Golden Raisins, Pistachio
Millet with Roasted Cauliflower, Homemade Curry Blend, and Lime
Rye Berries with Cabbage, Walnuts, Oregano
Amaranth Pudding, Coconut Milk, Date Syrup, Bee Pollen

Michelle McKenzie is the program director and chef at 18 Reasons. She teaches cooking classes, curates the course calendar, and prepares the food for wine dinners and special events. She has a knack for making simple food seem special and is full of amazing tips for making every meal memorable. Michelle’s food seems at once healthy and hedonistic, elegant and effortless, and always attainable. 

Michelle graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in nutrition and a minor in biochemistry, giving her a deep understanding of food properties and their complex implications within the human body. She later graduated from The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts, where she immersed herself in health-supportive cuisine prepared from whole, organic and seasonal foods. Michelle has worked at some of the best restaurants in the country, has been featured on the Cooking Channel, and has been a contributor for publications such as Sunset Magazine. 

Her first cookbook, Dandelion and Quince: Exploring the Wide World of Unusual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs, will be published by Roost Books in 2016.