The Power of Smoke

A hands-on in-person cooking class culminating in a dinner served with wine and beer. This class is limited to 14 students. Review our registration and cancellation policies here. 

You may think that you need to invest in a fancy pellet smoker to enjoy the benefits of home smoked food but our Chef Gracie is here to tell you that you don’t! Anyone can rig up a little smoker in the comfort of their own home with just a steamer basket or barbeque and a little tinfoil - and the benefits of cooking with smoke are infinite! Not to be underestimated or over done, smoke adds a depth and intensity to food that few other techniques can emulate.

During this class students will learn the difference between hot and cold smoking, how different wood chips, spices and sugars change the flavor and quality of smoke and how to create a well balanced dish utilizing your carefully smoked ingredients. Much of this class will be focused on how to use smoke carefully to enhance but not drown out the flavors of your ingredients. Learn how creaminess, acidity and sweetness can compliment and counterbalance your smoked ingredients. We will smoke butter, fish, duck, beets and fruit! 

Whether you already have a smoker at home or rig your own, this class will equip you with a set of inspiring, innovative recipes and techniques to help you utilize your smoker to its full potential. 

MENU

Griddled Sourdough with Smoked Butter, Radishes, Cold Smoked Trout and Lemon 

Smoked Pickled Beet Salad, Fresh Feta, Grapes, Fennel, Shallot and Mustard Vinaigrette

Tea Smoked Duck Breast with Napa Cabbage, Wasabi Aioli, Sake Pickled Huckleberries 

Smoked Stone Fruit Sundae—No-Churn Fennel Pollen Ice Cream, Caramel, Pecans 

*Menu subject to change based on seasonal availability 

This menu contains the following common allergens: Gluten, Tree Nuts and Dairy. 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!