Community Dinner with Alex Bitker and Chef Gracie (First Seating)
A dinner with beer and wine available for sale. This is not a cooking class. This seating is limited to 40 guests. Review our registration and cancellation policies here.
Behind the scenes at 18th Street Kitchen, you can find Alex Bitker arranging flowers, maintaining our lovely classroom, and facilitating cooking classes. If you’ve taken a class with us, you’ve likely met her and enjoyed her magnificent hospitality. What you may not know is that Alex joined us after years working as a pastry chef and is incredibly knowledgeable and skilled in the kitchen. On this lovely evening, join us in a meal that celebrates Alex’s talent and her love for collaboration. Alex will join our head chef, Gracie, in creating a nourishing, delectable dinner that showcases Eastern European flavors and lovingly baked goodies!
This ticket page is for the first seating from 6-7 pm. We do not have reserved seating and dining will take place at communal tables. For our second seating at 7:30 pm, please click here.
MENU
House Pickles, Garlic Rolls with Herbs and Salty Butter
Wild Mushroom and Caramelized Leek Cabbage Rolls with Farro and Tomato Harissa Garlic Broth
Smoked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Herb Salad
Array of Delightful Cookies: Rugelach, Russian Tea Cakes, Brown Butter & Fennel Thumbprints with Blood Orange Marmalade
This meal is vegetarian. This menu contains the following common allergens: Dairy, Eggs, Wheat, Tree Nuts. If you have allergies or dietary restrictions that concern your ability to attend, please e-mail info@18reasons.org before purchasing a ticket. Because we are cooking in large batches, we are very limited in accommodating allergens and dietary restrictions.
Alex Bitker can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t excited about food. Her father, a professional chef, brought his talents home and helped her foster a love and curiosity for all things culinary from a young age. Following in his footsteps, she began working in a small bakery in her home state of Connecticut, eventually making her way to San Francisco where she’s dabbled in everything from creating cakes and custards, handmaking fresh pastas, to curating chocolate + spirit tastings. Alex believes in the transformative powers of food, and that it is never too late to get started in the kitchen. She’s thrilled to be a part of the 18 Reasons team and share her passion for food with her Bay Area neighbors. In her free time Alex enjoys reading, exploring the city's hiking trails, discovering new music and going to live shows, and of course, cooking.
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!
