Beginner's Boot Camp: Learn to Cook in Three Days

A hands-on in-person cooking class culminating in a dinner served with wine and beer. The three dates of this workshop are: Monday, May 6th, 13th and 20th from 6:00pm-9:30 pm. This class is limited to 12 students. Review our registration and cancellation policies here.

Are you ready to level up your kitchen skills? Join us for a three week series that will leave you with the foundational knowledge and skills to chop, saute, roast, braise, poach, blanch and bake your way into a delicious new year of home cooked meals! Beginners are more than welcome in this course! These three classes must be taken as a whole, it’s time to commit to that inner chef inside of you that’s been dying to come out! 

Day one will focus primarily on utilizing the most important kitchen tool - the chef’s knife. Students will learn how to sharpen, care for and deftly use their knives. We will prepare a beautiful, colorful salad filled with freshly chopped vegetables, learn to roast and spatchcock a whole chicken, make chicken stock from our scraps and bones, make a delicious, well balanced vinaigrette and fry crispy shallots to perfection! 

On day two, students will gain a deeper understanding of the art of planning and prepping. We’ll work together to write our preplist and prepare a timeline for cooking and serving a multi course meal. This meal will include fresh, handmade focaccia, a pureed soup that utilizes the chicken stock made on day one of class, and braised Snapper with shallots, asparagus, peas and lemon served over creamy polenta. We’ll finish with a simple seasonal fruit crisp with chantilly cream. 

During day three, students will learn to perfectly season and cook a steak, make a delectable pan sauce, create an exciting fritto misto of battered and fried vegetables dipped in homemade aioli, blanch fresh greens to their ideal doneness, utilize and strengthen their knife skills to create a beautiful salad, and learn to make a decadent flourless chocolate cake. 

This three-day series is a special opportunity to grow as a home cook - both individually and as part of a team of people excited to explore the kitchen together. Beginners are encouraged! Together we will cook, we will grow, we will laugh, and we will feast!

MENUS:

Day 1: 

Knife Skills: Beautifully Cut Cabbage Salad

Vinaigrettes: Lime and Shallot Oil

Frying: Shallot Rings

Roasting: Spatchcocked and Roasted Whole Chicken

Stock: Chicken Stock
 

Day 2: 

Doughs: Fresh Herbed Focaccia

Soup: Potato and Zucchini Puree with fresh Basil Creme Fraiche 

Searing and Poaching: Fresh Snapper with Spring Peas, Asparagus and Lemon 

Braising: Braised Artichokes with Preserved Lemon and Dill Aioli 

Baking: Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Elderflower Chantilly Cream
 

Day 3:

Salad: Little Gem, Asparagus, Snap Pea, Strawberry Salad with Meyer Lemon Croutons and Green Goddess Dressing 

Frying: Vegetable Fritto Misto with Garlic Aioli

Pan Searing: Dry Rubbed and Seared Ribeye with Red Wine Pan Sauce

Blanching: Spring Greens with Garlic, Lemon and Chili

Baking: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Bi-Rite Creamery Ice Cream 

*dishes may change due to seasonal availability

This menu contains the following common allergens: Nuts, Fish, Wheat and Dairy but we can accomodate any dietary restrictions except for severe tree nut allergies. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions that concern your ability to cook along, please e-mail info@18reasons.org before purchasing a ticket.

Let’s Cook Together!

Gracie Schatz has been in the food industry for over fifteen years. In her career, Gracie has worked in a variety of places: as a baker and private chef in Eugene, OR, farming and cooking in Italy, raising pigs in the Sierra Foothills, butchering at the Fatted Calf in San Francisco, managing Avedano’s in Bernal Heights, cooking at Bay Area restaurants Molina and Cala and her own pop-up restaurant, Bread and Bones Supper. In Eugene, she started her own food justice nonprofit, Marigold Cooking Collective. After working with 18 Reasons as a guest instructor for the past 7 years, Gracie has decided to move from Eugene to San Francisco and join us as our head Chef. Her dream is to never stop learning about delicious food, to never stop exploring the many nuanced ways that food brings us joy, connection to culture, identity, seasons and community. 18 Reasons feels like the perfect place to explore this dream and she is so excited to be here!