Simply Summer: Eggplant

A hands-on in-person cooking class culminating in a dinner served with wine and beer. This class is limited to 12 students. Review our registration and cancellation policies here.

The humble eggplant gets a bad rap! There are people out there who downright hate it. This class is here to change their minds, or to invite those who are already on team eggplant to explore their repertoire and gain a better understanding of how to work with this elusive summer ingredient. 

It isn’t hard to cook eggplant well, but there are a few simple tricks to making it excellent. Join chef Gracie in celebrating the versatility of this ingredient which she considers to be a flavor sponge. We’ll smoke it, blister it, steam it, roast it, griddle it, roll it and then enjoy a bountiful eggplant feast! 

MENU 

Baba Ganoush - smoky eggplant dip with fresh pita 

Marinated Eggplant Salad with Sungold Tomatoes, Pickled Shallot and Sweet Corn Vinaigrette, Feta and Mint 

Crispy Roasted Eggplant With Walnut Dukkah, Mint and Labneh

Eggplant Rollatini with Ricotta, Basil and Early Girl Tomato Sauce 

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