Chef Melanie Burkett, of Inner Temple Foods, will be leading a hands-on class in healthy Mediterranean cooking at the Petaluma-based Sonoma Family Meal Kitchen from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22.
The menu? Get ready to salivate. Enrolled attendees will learn how to make Tzatziki with seasonal veggie crudité, Greek chicken lemon orzo soup, whole-roasted Greek chicken, white fish with Kalofagas sauce, lemon garlic Yukon potatoes and winter spiced nut cookies.
Presented as a benefit for the local nonprofit, this hands-on, collaborative class will last 2.5 hours, including some time at the end for the class to enjoy its meal together. , Wine and N/A beverages will be available. Burkett will also demonstrate how to prep for the week by using leftovers in creative ways.
Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat
Culinary students at Sonoma Family Meal prepare meals from their homelands for a lunchtime popup Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at the Petaluma kitchen.(Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
The class will be valuable to experienced cooks and those just starting out, offering a fun, engaging learning experience while raising much-needed funds for Sonoma Family Meal’s free culinary job training and food-security programs. If you haven’t visited SFM Kitchen yet, the class will also provide an opportunity to visit and experience the place where the magic takes place and how SFM’s important work gets done.
“Chef Burkett,” reads the bio on a media release announcing the class, “was born and raised in Johannesburg South Africa before moving to California at the age of eight. She embraced the California lifestyle and cuisine, learning to cook for her family at that young age. As a teenager she went on to work at cafes, restaurants and catering companies before finding a calling as an organic school lunch chef serving several private schools in the Bay Area for almost 15 years.”
In March of 2020, she launched Inner Temple Foods, designed as a meal delivery service focusing on local produce and other healthy ingredients, as a way to support farmers and introduce them directly to the community.
The cost of the class is $125, and includes everything. The class will take place from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thursday Jan. 22 at the Sonoma Family Meal community kitchen, 1370A Redwood Way in Petaluma. To register, visit SonomaFamilyMeal.com.
Dining and Cooking