Celebrate Dongzhi in Berkeley: Hands-On Chinese Winter Solstice Cooking Experience

Duration

3 hours

Location

Berkeley Kitchen

Summary

Prepare traditional foods eaten during the annual winter solstice festival celebrated all across China.

Menu

• Wonton soup
• Pork and chive dumplings
• Mushroom and cabbage dumplings
• Tang Yuan (sesame filled rice dumplings in sweet ginger broth)

Class Format

Each class will begin with a lecture from the chef about the day’s theme and recipes. After this introduction, the group will break up into smaller teams, and start working on the recipes in the class menu. A snack will be served at the beginning of class, and you will be eating the dishes you make at the end of class. You are welcome to eat as much as you’d like in class, though unfortunately, our zoning permit does not allow us to have students take food home.

What to wear/bring to class

• Close-toed shoes are mandatory. High heels, open-toed shoes, sandals, flip flops are NOT allowed in the kitchen. • Shoulder-length hair or longer needs to be worn back and away from your face; we have plenty of hair ties in the kitchen for you to use and keep. • Feel free to bring a favorite apron or a knife you want to practice with but know that we will supply aprons and all the tools you need for use during class.

Allergies

Please take a look at the class menu. If you think you might be allergic to anything on the menu, please indicate it on your class registration and if you have a concern, get in touch and we can double-check the ingredient list classes@kitchenonfire.com.

Wine and Beer

We whole-heartedly invite class participants (who are 21 and older) to bring any wine or beer they would like to enjoy during class for personal consumption. Kitchen on Fire employees cannot open or serve beverages you bring into the kitchen. We cannot sell or distribute alcohol and we uphold ABC regulations. No minor can drink and we cannot have intoxicated students attending a class.  

Chef's Bio

Kevin Hogan is a San Francisco native who grew up far from the Bay area. The son of a US health department administrator, Kevin got an early introduction to the foods and flavors of the world while living in France, Switzerland, Nigeria and Côte D’Ivoire. Food, the gateway to culture, was a particular fascination for him while living in foreign countries, eating in restaurants, home kitchens, and market stalls, and he learned to love new and unusual flavors.

Kevin’s culinary interests always centered on the unique qualities of home cooked food, and he learned at an early age to prepare simple meals. High school years in Atlanta GA included summer jobs in restaurants, washing pizza pans, bussing tables, chopping onions, and making lots of biscuits, yet it was still the food coming from home kitchens in the American south that inspired Kevin’s passion for cooking.

In his years as the wine buyer for Berkeley specialty food retailer The Spanish Table, Kevin began sharing his repertoire of vernacular kitchen wisdom with customers, in passing conversation at first, then in printed recipes, newsletters and live demonstrations. The unique flavors of home-cooked food inspire Kevin’s classes at Kitchen On Fire where he has been teaching for over ten years. His classes mix historic context with practical advice to make shopping, preparing and serving delicious meals at home a source of pride and pleasure for cooks of all skill levels.

Happy Cooking!