Vegetarian Kitchen Confidence - How 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: Tuesday, January 7th, 14th and 21st from 6:00 pm-9:30 pm. This class is limited to 12 students. Review our registration and cancellation policies here. 

Ready to transform your cooking? This three-week series builds essential kitchen skills - from knife work to mastering key techniques like sautéing, roasting, braising, poaching, and baking. Perfect for beginners and aspiring home chefs, these progressive classes work together to build your confidence and expertise. Commit to your culinary journey and unlock the chef within!

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 marinate and roast tofu to crispy, flavorful perfection, make vegetable stock from our scraps, 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 vegetable stock made on day one of class, and braised white beans with shallots, butter, parmesan and herbs, 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 mushrooms, make a delectable pan sauce, create an exciting fritto misto of battered and fried vegetables dipped in homemade aioli, pickle seasonal vegetables, 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: Crispy Ginger Sesame Tofu 

Stock: Vegetable Stock
 

Day 2: 

Doughs: Fresh Herbed Focaccia

Salad: Kale Caesar with Vegan Cashew and Roasted Garlic Dressing 

Soup: Winter Squash Soup with Brown Butter, Fried Sage and Hazelnuts 

Braising: Braised White Beans with Preserved Lemon, Parmesan, Breadcrumbs and Herbs over Polenta

Baking: Quince and Apple Cobbler with Cardamom Chantilly Cream 
 

Day 3:

Salad: Simple Salad with Herbs, Croutons, Pickled Shallot Vinaigrette and Soft Boiled Eggs 

Frying: Vegetable Fritto Misto with Garlic Meyer Lemon Aioli

Pan Searing: Wild Mushrooms with Rosemary and White Wine 

Blanching: Rainbow Chard with Garlic, Pickled Golden Raisins, and Pine Nuts

Steaming: Saffron Rice 

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

*dishes may change due to seasonal availability

This menu contains the following common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, 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!