Inspired by Grandma

Chef Reylon Agustin, executive sous-chef at the Rosewood Hotel’s Madera Restaurant – visited Juana Briones Elementary school today. He shared a recipe that he learned from his grandmother when he was a child – a simple home-made apple sauce. Starting from several apple varieties (namely the tart Belle de Boskoop and the sweet Hudson golden gem), chef Reylon steamed the apples in a small amount of water and blenagustin-gem-appleded them with absolutely nothing else added! The kids smelled several spices that can be added to enhance the flavor – such as cinnamon, allspice, clove and star anise, but the plain natural apple sauce was a big hit on its own, warm directly from the blender.

Magical Spices and Food

lavender-coucous-saladChef Ellie Lavender wowed the students at Palo Verde Elementary School with her workshop on vegetarian Mediterranean foods. The children journeyed to Morocco with Chef Ellie, explored this land of magical spices and food, and then feasted on a Vegan Moroccan Couscous Salad with Lavender Tahini Dressing. To read more about the workshop, see more pictures, and get the recipe for yourself  – visit Chef Ellie’s Blog.

A Culinary Journey Through France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Tunisia

Castilleja School’s AP French students were treated to a special visit from talented Bay Area Chef Guillemette, owner of  the mobile French pastry school L’Ecole Gourmande. Chef Guillemette began with a tasting of several homemade cookies to see if students could guess the secret spices in each. guillemette-workshop-1-1She shared a bit of her own journey, having grown up in France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Tunisia. Students had a chance to ask her about her experiences and favorite French pastries, and were able to make several cultural comparisons between attitudes towards food in France and the United States. The class ended with a hands-on cooking lesson to learn how to make crème Chantilly. The students were absolutely delighted by Chef Guillemette’s visit. One remarked on her way out that she couldn’t wait to get home to make her own crème Chantilly! Special thanks to Rebecca Scholl, organizer extraordinaire of Tasting Week in the Bay Area. It brings incredible richness to our cultural understanding of other cultures.

Pears that Taste like Apple Pie

Tom Culbertson is a very unique Tasting Week chef.  He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena with a Baking and Pastry Certificate.  Tom CulbertsonHe had many jobs in food: Cheese monger at Dean and Deluca, Pastry Cook, and even Pastry Chef.  After following his passion for food – he developed a new passion for education, and is now a fourth grade teacher at Juana Briones Elementary school in Palo Alto! This made him the perfect choice for this week’s workshop at his own school. He changed his teacher clothes for an apron and prepared the most delicious pears dipped in a syrup composed Poached Pearsof star anis, cinnamon and cloves. The multipurpose room smelled so good! The kids said they could not believe that pears could take so much like apple pie.

Secret Ingredients

Kindergartners at Laurel Elementary school in Menlo Park received a special visit from Tasting Week volunteer Judith Vacchino. They discovered 5 special ingredients that add flavor to many dishes: cinnamon, lemon, verbena, basil and orange blossom water. Judith's DemoThe kids had to guess which one of the five special dishes prepared by Judith contained which secret ingredient – pesto pasta, apple sauce, cake, tea and persimmons.  Our favorite quotes today were “it’s a stick!” (referring to the cinnamon) and “where do you put lemons? On lemon trees”. The smell of the orange blossom water was too strong for many kids, but they appreciated it a lot more when it was added to a persimmon. The hero of the day was definitely the lemon cake!