Sonoma County is all about great food and wine.
At these Lunch and Learn events, hosted every Wednesday from 12:00 to 1:00 PM at the Relish Culinary Center, guests will enjoy a one-hour, action-packed cooking demonstration by a talented local chef. Learn creative recipes and techniques for cooking with seasonal Sonoma ingredients, including farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, artisan cheese, locally raised meat and more, and savor a fresh and delicious wine country lunch.
Each meal includes a main course lunch (vegetarian option always available), seasonal dessert, one glass of wine and copies of all recipes.
Advanced registration is highly recommended. Call 877.759.1004 or register online. We cannot guarantee a seat for walk-ins.
Price: $39 per person (Sorry, no volume or group discounts)
October - Chef Christopher Greenwald
Wednesdays, October 7, 14, 21, 28
12:00 - 1:00 PM
We are so spoiled here in Sonoma County this time of year. Summer produce is still abundant along with warm, sunny days, yet fall goodies like squash are also ripe and especially tasty on cool October evenings. This combination results in unique dishes that unite summer flavors like mint and figs with cool weather ingredients like Delicata squash and arugula. The talented and charming Chef Christopher Greenwald will show you how to create great, flavorful wine country dishes quickly...sometimes it's as simple as adding a splash of local honey or a pinch of fresh mint from the garden. You'll enjoy Chef Christopher's delicious lunch menu paired with Michel-Schlumberger wine.
This month our featured wine is a crisp Pinot Blanc from the beautiful Michel-Schlumberger Winery in Dry Creek Valley. Jim Morris from Michel-Schlumberger will join each Lunch & Learn to pour and talk about a featured wine.
Earlier Lunch & Learns
September - Chef Victoria Blumenstein
Wednesdays, August 26,
September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Come and enjoy a unique insight into the world of the vine through this Vintage Picnic menu. Here in wine country we all love our wine but the grapevine has so much more to offer. Taste the juice of the unripened grape (ver jus), enjoy vine wrapped parcels of goats cheese and chicken, learn a simple and delicious pan sauce, taste the rich caramel flavor of cooked grape must (saba) and learn fun ways to use the vine for decorating both plate and table.
We're excited to have our neighbor Murphy-Goode pouring their popular Fumé Sauvignon Blanc with our September menu. This family favorite pairs nicely with the range of flavors in this month's menu...Don't hesitate to wander next door to the Murphy-Goode tasting room after the class to taste some of their other wonderful wines.
August - Chef Mei Ibach
Wednesdays,
August 5, 12, 19 (see September information for August 26 class)
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Combining peak-of-summer fruits and vegetables with Asian flavors results in some amazingly creative dishes. Chef Mei Ibach's August menu features fun and easy-to-make Asian recipes that take full advantage of summer produce. Guests will learn about Thai ingredients such as fish sauce, flat rice noodles and Thai basil in addition to the interesting story behind classic Thai "Drunken Noodles". Dessert features an interesting twist on poached fruit with, of course, an Asian twist using Japanese Sake, ginger and star anise.
A gorgeous 2008 Russian River Gewurtztraminer from Arista Winery is featured with the August menu. This wine could not be more perfect with our Drunken Noodles main course—the spices in the noodles complement the spicy notes in the wine. It's a revelation!
July - Chef Jennifer Lange
Wednesdays,
July 1, 8, 29 (no Lunch & Learn on July 15 & 22 because of the Kids Camps)
12:00 - 1:00 PM
July is such a wonderful month for cooking in the wine country—gorgeous summer produce creates the foundation for fresh, flavorful menus. Chef Jennifer Lange's July lunch demonstrations features this fantastic seasonal produce in a wonderfully creative menu. Guests will learn how to make a quick tart dough, a fantastic summer salad that could be a main course on its own, and ideas for grilled fruit desserts.
Scott Lindstrom-Dake from Thumbprint Cellars will join our July Lunch & Learn classes to pour and talk about his 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay. This wonderful no-oak chardonnay is the perfect bridge between the tangy salad and the creamy tart. The Thumbprint Cellars
tasting room is located one block north of Relish on North Street.
June - Chef Monica Sallouti
Wednesdays,
June 3, 10, 17, 24
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Chef Monica Sallouti’s June lunch demonstrations will feature an amazing variety of interesting cooking techniques, including “cooking” kale by massaging it with vinegar from the dressing (you'll be amazed as the kale turns vibrant green when the vinegar is worked in), intensifying flavors by roasting or toasting ingredients, cooking varieties of wild and exotic rice, using spices creatively, making luxurious crème fraiche at home, and more. These are all incredibly useful techniques that can enhance your everyday cooking. And this fresh lunch will give you energy to finish your day.
Kathleen Young from Kelley & Young Wines will join our June Lunch & Learn classes to pour and talk about her fantastic "Kathleen Rose" Rosé that is our featured wine for June. Kelley & Young Wines is one of wineries now pouring at the new In Vino Veritas tasting room on North Street across from the Raven Theatre.
