Kitchen Conservatory

🍣 Birthday celebrations get even more fun when the guests get to make the food!

Birthday Sushi Party • September 20 with Jeff Friesen

This group of kids spent a fun afternoon with Jeff Friesen, celebrating a birthday while getting hands-on in the kitchen. They learned the basics of making sushi rolls with tuna and salmon, then finished the celebration with chocolate cupcakes and vanilla frosting.

It was a birthday filled with cooking, creating and plenty of opportunities to try something new.

On the menu:
🍣 Tuna sushi rolls
🐟 Salmon sushi rolls
🧁 Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting

Some of the best birthday memories are made when everyone gets to join in the fun.

Kitchen Conservatory hosts private events for corporate groups, team-building, birthday parties, anniversaries, dinner clubs, family gatherings, office parties, showers, children’s organizations and other celebrations. Bring your group into the kitchen and make your next event a hands-on experience!

Learn more:
https://www.kitchenconservatory.com/KC_CustomClasses.aspx

🥯 Breakfast can be a lot more fun when kids and parents make it together!

Heir and a Parent: Wake Up Call • September 20 with Marci Boland

Retired school teacher Marci Boland brought practical ideas and plenty of hands-on cooking to this Heir and a Parent class, showing young cooks and their parents how to prepare nutritious breakfasts that can be made ahead and enjoyed throughout the week. With no refined sugar and plenty of opportunities to customize, the class was all about making wholesome food approachable and fun.

From mixing granola and baking pumpkin loaves to shaping bagels, assembling egg muffins and rolling breakfast burritos, everyone had a chance to get involved and build useful kitchen skills.

On the menu:
🥣 Homemade maple-cinnamon granola
🎃 Pumpkin mini loaves with chocolate chips and walnuts
🥯 Protein whole wheat bagels
🌰 Almond chia pudding with a variety of mix-ins
🥚 Build-your-own breakfast egg muffins with cheese and bacon or sausage and vegetables
🌯 Make-ahead ground turkey breakfast burritos
🥜 Peanut butter balls

Cooking together gives kids more than something tasty to take home—it gives them confidence and skills they can use again and again.

Upcoming Heir and a Parent classes:
🪄 Wizards in the Kitchen — October 3
🎤 Ready for It, Swifties? — October 4
👨‍🍳 Master Cheffing — October 10

Learn more:
https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?title=heir%20and%20a%20parent&soldOut=0

🇮🇹 A little Tuscan romance, a beautiful meal and someone special across the kitchen island—that’s a date night worth savoring.

Date Night for Couples: Tuscany for Two • September 19 with Bernard Pilon

Bernard Pilon brought the flavors of Tuscany to this sold-out hands-on evening for couples. Students worked together to prepare an elegant menu, from shrimp and scallop scampi to seared rib-eye steak with rosemary and roasted garlic. Baked polenta layered with Gorgonzola, mushrooms and spinach and roasted mixed vegetables rounded out the savory courses.

The evening ended with blackberry gelato and pizzelle cookies, giving couples a sweet finish to a meal inspired by the Italian countryside.

On the menu:
🍤 Shrimp and scallop scampi
🥩 Seared rib-eye steak with rosemary and roasted garlic
🧀 Baked polenta with Gorgonzola-mushrooms-spinach
🥕 Roasted mixed vegetables
🫐 Blackberry gelato with pizzelle cookies

Cooking together has a way of turning dinner into an experience—and Tuscany makes a particularly lovely setting for it.

Upcoming Date Night classes:

🇮🇹 Truly Tuscan — October 2
🥃 Bourbon Is Wh***ey Business — October 3
🍷 Life Is a Cabernet — October 4
🍂 Great Harvest Dinner Party — October 9

Learn more:

https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?title=date%20night%20for%20couples

🎉 A great party can be about much more than good food—it can be about getting together in the kitchen and creating the meal yourselves.

This group spent a fun evening with Chef Jon Lowe on September 19, learning techniques and preparing an elegant menu that brought together rich lobster bisque, tender duck, seasonal pears and a showstopping Grand Marnier soufflé. From poaching and searing to making a classic soufflé and its accompanying crème anglaise, there was plenty to learn along the way.

On the menu:
🦞 Lobster bisque
🍐 Poached pear salad with blue cheese
🦆 Seared duck breast with cherry sauce
🥔 Hasselback potatoes
🍊 Grand Marnier soufflé with orange crème anglaise

The best parties are often the ones where everyone gets to roll up their sleeves and share the experience.

Ready to plan your own kitchen gathering? We host private events for corporate groups, team-building, birthday parties, anniversaries, family gatherings, dinner clubs, office parties, bridal or baby showers, children’s organizations and other celebrations.

Learn more:
https://www.kitchenconservatory.com/KC_CustomClasses.aspx

🇻🇪 A Date Night filled with vibrant flavors, warm spices and plenty of hands-on cooking brought the tastes of Venezuela to the Kitchen Conservatory kitchen.

Date Night for Couples: Vibrant Venezuela • September 19 with Andrew Guyton

Andrew Guyton guided couples through a flavorful Venezuelan menu, beginning with crispy tostones and guasacaca, Venezuela’s distinctive take on guacamole. Guests then learned how to bring together grilled arepas with slow-cooked shredded beef skirt steak and black beans, creating a meal full of texture and bold flavor.

Sautéed sweet plantains added a touch of sweetness before dessert and drinks took the evening in another direction with tres leches cake and a rum guarapita punch cocktail. A delicious way for couples to cook, explore a new cuisine and enjoy an evening together.

On the menu:

🍌 Tostones with guasacaca
🫓 Grilled arepas with slow-cooked shredded beef skirt steak and black beans
🍌 Plátanos — sautéed sweet plantains
🍰 Tres leches cake
🍹 Rum guarapita punch cocktail

Sharing a meal is wonderful, but creating it together makes Date Night even more memorable.

Upcoming Date Night classes:

🇮🇹 Truly Tuscan — October 2
🥃 Bourbon Is Wh***ey Business — October 3

Learn more:
https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?title=date%20night%20for%20couples

🥓 Put bourbon in the bacon, biscuits on the table and a Bloody Mary in your hand, and you have the makings of one seriously fun Southern brunch!

Bourbon. Biscuits. Bloody Mary. Brunch. • September 19 with Devon Drag

Devon Drag brought her Southern-inspired cooking to this sold-out hands-on class, showing students how to build a brunch with plenty of bold flavors and a little bourbon along the way. From making sweet potato and jalapeño biscuits with chorizo gravy to preparing buttermilk fried chicken with honey glaze, there was plenty of cooking to keep everyone busy.

A Bloody Mary bar with homemade mix and pickled vegetables added a festive touch, while pimiento cheese deviled eggs and maple bourbon-glazed bacon rounded out the savory side. Mini pecan pies with vanilla-bourbon whipped cream brought brunch to a sweet finish.

On the menu:

🥓 Maple bourbon-glazed bacon with pecans
🌶️ Sweet potato and jalapeño biscuits with chorizo gravy
🍗 Buttermilk fried chicken with honey glaze
🥚 Pimiento cheese deviled eggs
🍅 Bloody Mary bar with homemade mix and pickled vegetables
🥧 Mini pecan pies with vanilla-bourbon whipped cream

A brunch this good might just inspire you to invite a few friends over and keep the Southern spirit going at home.

Upcoming Devon Drag classes:

🥃 Date Night for Couples: Bourbon Is Wh***ey Business — October 3
🌶️ The Chili Challenge — October 11
🍷 Girls' Night Out: Bistro Seating — October 16

Learn more:
https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?chef=Devon%20Drag

🇫🇷 Classic French cooking is all about technique, attention to detail and letting carefully chosen ingredients shine—and Mickey Kitterman brought all three to the table.

French Fare — Poulet and Pignons • September 19 with Mickey Kitterman

In this month’s French Fare demonstration, Mickey shared his approach to classic French cookery while creating a lunch filled with beautiful textures and layers of flavor. Ratatouille skewers paired with tomato vinaigrette offered a bright beginning, followed by tender wine-braised chicken with olives and citron.

Couscous with fresh market vegetables rounded out the savory courses, while tart aux pignon provided an elegant finish. With a new menu each month, Mickey continues to give guests a fresh look at the techniques and traditions of French cooking.

On the menu:

🍅 Ratatouille skewers with tomato vinaigrette
🍗 Wine-braised chicken with olives and citron
🥕 Couscous with fresh market vegetables
🥧 Tart aux pignon — pine nut tart

A beautifully prepared French meal is a reminder that thoughtful technique can make every ingredient count.

Upcoming Chef Mickey Kitterman French demonstration classes:

🇫🇷 French Fare — Porc à la Normande — October 17
🇺🇸 250 Years: United Tastes of America — October 21
🇫🇷 French Fare — Gougères et Soubise — November 7

Learn more:
https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?chef=kitterman

🥐 There is something magical about watching layers of buttery dough transform into golden French pastries—and this sold-out A Day in the Kitchen gave eight students an up-close look at how it’s done.

A Day in the Kitchen: French Pastry • September 19 with Barry Marcus

Pastry chef Barry Marcus led this intimate, hands-on class from dough to pastry, teaching students how to roll, fold and build the many delicate layers that give puff pastry and croissant dough their distinctive texture. With only eight participants, everyone had the opportunity to work closely with Barry and really dig into the techniques.

Those carefully layered doughs became a tempting assortment of French favorites, from croissants and pain au chocolat to palmiers, pinwheels and cheese straws. It was a day of learning, baking and discovering just how much craftsmanship goes into these classic pastries.

On the menu:

🥐 Croissants
🍫 Pain au chocolat
🍥 Palmiers
🥨 Pinwheels
🧀 Cheese straws
🥐 Other French pastries made with homemade puff pastry and croissant dough

When you learn the technique behind great pastry, every flaky layer becomes a little more satisfying.

Upcoming A Day in the Kitchen classes:

🥩 Beef — October 2
🍝 Pasta — October 10
🥐 Puff the Magic Pastry — October 20
🍞 Bread Basket — November 13
🇫🇷 French Pastry — November 15

Learn more:
https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?title=a%20day%20in%20the%20kitchen

🥃 A little Southern charm, a splash of bourbon and a table full of autumn-ready flavors made this Girls' Night Out one to savor.

Girls' Night Out: Belles and Bourbon • September 18 with Sharon Tutko

Sharon Tutko brought some Southern sass to the kitchen with a menu that showed just how beautifully bourbon can work beyond the glass. The evening began with a porch-friendly bourbon-honey spritz, then moved into a butter lettuce and apple salad layered with pecans, Kentucky blue cheese and a bourbon-sorghum vinaigrette.

The main course paired seared sirloin with a bourbon pan sauce and grilled peach relish, alongside grilled sweet potatoes and warm green beans with mushrooms. Sharon finished the evening with light sorghum shortcakes topped with bourbon-kissed berries and cream—a sweet Southern finale.

On the menu:

🥃 Bourbon-honey spritz with fresh lemon and sparkling water
🍎 Butter lettuce and apple salad with bourbon-sorghum vinaigrette topped with pecans and Kentucky blue cheese
🥩 Seared sirloin steak with bourbon pan sauce and grilled peach relish
🍠 Grilled sweet potato medallions with smoked paprika and hot honey
🌿 Warm green beans and mushrooms with bourbon-shallot glaze
🍓 Light sorghum shortcakes with bourbon-kissed berries and cream

A little bourbon can add plenty of personality to a meal—and make for a memorable night with friends.

Upcoming Girls' Night Out classes:

🐟 Plenty of Fish in the Sea — September 26
🎃 Smashing Pumpkins — October 9
🍗 Host. Toast. Roast. — October 10

Learn more:
https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?title=Girls%27%20Night%20Out

🌮 Couples, tacos and the grill made for a pretty irresistible combination as Jeff Friesen brought a sold-out Date Night to the patio!

Date Night for Couples: Taco ’Bout Grilling • September 18 with Jeff Friesen

This hands-on evening gave couples plenty of reasons to fire up the grill. Taco expert Jeff Friesen shared his techniques for bringing out big flavor over the flames, from sweet-and-spicy grilled watermelon to chicken tacos with charred chiles and whole grilled fish with fresh pico de gallo.

The evening also included grilled salsa verde, Mexican street corn and homemade corn tortillas, with a seasonal margarita to round things out. It was a lively way to cook side by side and discover just how much flavor the grill can bring to a taco.

On the menu:

🍉 Sweet-and-spicy grilled watermelon
🌮 Grilled chicken tacos with charred chiles
🐟 Whole grilled fish tacos with fresh pico de gallo
🌶️ Grilled salsa verde
🌽 Grilled Mexican street corn
🫓 Homemade corn tortillas
🍹 Seasonal margarita

Good food tastes even better when you make it together.

Upcoming Date Night classes:

💃 Uno, Dos, Cha-Cha-Cha Dine and Dance — September 26
🌶️ Make It Spicy — September 27
🇮🇹 Truly Tuscan — October 2
🥃 Bourbon Is Wh***ey Business — October 3

Learn more:
https://kitchenconservatory.com/Cooking-Classes.aspx?title=date%20night%20for%20couples