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Category Archives: Local

February Tips & Tricks

The second month of 2019 is in the books. From a Chinese New Year dinner to an Italian-themed Valentine’s Day, February was full of flavorful and festive classes! We took a look back and gathered all of the best cooking tips and tricks from our visiting chefs and condensed them to these top five. Read on to learn a thing or two (or five) to add to your culinary arsenal!

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Class Recap: A Restaurant Sneak Preview with Bloomsday

Wouldn’t it be great if there was an all day café in the city where you could get coffee, natural wine, beer, breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Imagine if they also had a skylit bottle shop in the middle of it all – now that would be something! Well, imagine no more because this perfectly describes Bloomsday Café, opening this spring in Headhouse Square. Green Engine Coffee owners Zach Morris and Kelsey Bush have had the Bloomsday project in the works for a while, but soon it will become a reality. Zach and Kelsey, with the help of Tim Kweeder who they brought in to run the wine program for Bloomsday, gave our guests a sneak peek of what their all day café. Read on to see the fantastic dinner they put on and get excited for what’s coming soon to historic Headhouse Square!

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Class Recap: A Filipino Feast with LALO

The weather in Philly has been interesting, to say the least, but this week we were graced with a warm and sunny day. Coincidentally that delightful weather fell on the day that we welcomed LALO and their vibrant Filipino fare into the COOK kitchen! For our 16 guests this day truly felt like a vacation to the Philippines. LALO was created by the Pelago team, who have put on a series of pop-ups throughout Philly showcasing Filipino cuisine. You can find LALO’s Filipino comfort food at their location in the newly revamped Bourse Food Hall. Read on to get a glimpse of the food and drink from their Filipino feast at COOK, and for a pineapple pickling liquid recipe!

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Class Recap: Pumpkin BYOB & Local 130 Seafood

Fresh and local seafood may remind us of summertime on the beach, but we can enjoy it in the winter as well! Pumpkin BYOB owners Ian Moroney and Hilary Bor teamed up with Local 130 Seafood‘s Mike Kenlay to put on a fish feast in our kitchen. Local 130, named after the 130 miles of the Jersey coastline, supports small fishermen mainly along the Jersey coastline by purveying their seafood bounties. Mike discussed Local 130’s mission and where the fish came from, while Ian sliced fresh filets, scallops, shrimp and more! Read on to learn more about Local 130 Seafood and see how the Pumpkin crew transformed the beautiful catches into even more stunning dishes.

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Class Recap: Food As Medicine Vegan Brunch with Jonathan Adams of Rival Bros and William Duffy, MD

Two weeks into 2019, it’s time to check up on those resolutions. A common aspiration for the New Year is to eat healthier and become more conscious of the food we’re consuming. Enter Jonathan Adams and his healthcare advisor Dr. William Duffy. Jonathan Adams, AKA Johnny Mac, co-owner of Rival Bros. Coffee, showed our guests how to eat clean without sacrificing flavor during his vegan brunch class. William Duffy, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, aims to teach people how a plant-based diet can contribute to the prevention of disease, and lead to a healthier lifestyle. Read on to see the gorgeous food that Johnny created and learn more about Dr. Duffy’s plant-based, whole foods focused initiative, Food As Medicine!

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Shift Drink: Fireside Edition at The Twisted Tail

As an industry worker zipping around on your feet all day, the best part of the day is enjoying a shift drink: a post-work alcoholic beverage to decompress, take a load off, and yes, enjoy a nice buzz before heading home to bed. In this series, we’ll be exploring the many fantastic bar programs of Philadelphia where you can treat yourself after a hard day’s work. In this edition of shift drink we’re focusing on a place that has a fireplace – a place to warm up from the cold – and lots of bourbon, also to warm things up: The Twisted Tail, an American restaurant, bourbon house and juke joint. 

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Class Recap: An Evening with Bobby Saritsoglou of Stina

I mustache you a question. Do you like Mediterranean food, wood-fired pizza and/or funky facial hair? If so you must check out Bobby Saritsoglou’s new restaurant Stina, opening soon in the Point Breeze neighborhood. Chef Bobby and his signature ‘stache came into the COOK kitchen last week to give our guests a sneak preview of what he will be serving up at his new spot. The name Stina comes from Bobby’s nickname for his wife Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, co-founder of Philly AIDS Thrift. Christina joined Bobby at COOK to tell people about how a portion of Stina’s monthly profits will be donated to charitable causes in the area. While Stina will have a wood-fired pizza oven imported from Genoa, Bobby will also be serving Mediterranean classics such as kefta, tabouleh and more. Read on to check out some of the fare to expect at Stina and more details about Bobby’s first restaurant!

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Class Recap: Italian New Year’s Eve with Nick Macri of La Divisa Meats and Brian Kane

Felice Anno Nuovo! That’s Happy New Year in Italian. We had our very own Italian New Year’s Eve party at COOK this past week with COOK veteran Nick Macri of La Divisa Meats. Nick cooked up traditional Italian New Year’s fare while his old friend Brian Kane poured drinks for everyone. This festive class was appropriately the last dinner at COOK in 2018. We are so happy to have shared it with a great crowd, and we want to present it to you as well. Read on to see what was served at the Viglia di Capodanno (New Year’s Eve) dinner and how we rang in 2019 early at COOK – Italian style!

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Class Recap: Feast of The 7 Fishes With Damon Menapace of Le Virtù

It’s Christmas Eve and for many Italian American families, this means a fish feast is imminent! Feast of the Seven Fishes aka “The Eve” is a Southern Italian tradition which typically calls for at least seven different kinds of seafood dishes served before the stroke of midnight. Every family has their own rendition of the fish-focused spread, and the dishes served vary based on traditions and what’s been served in the past. Chef at the Abruzzo-inspired South Philly restaurant Le Virtù, Damon Menapace brought this Italian Christmas Eve tradition to COOK last week with his own interpretation of said feast. Serving seven different seafood dishes (plus dessert!) by himself was quite a feat to watch. Damon put on a show while serving up some tasty bounties of the sea. Sea for yourself what Damon Menapace cooked up and learn a bit about this fin-tastic Italian fish feast!

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Eating In A Winter Wonderland with Eric Leveillee of Marigold Kitchen

“A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland”. This famous lyric accurately describes how guests felt after attending Eric Leveillee‘s Eating in a Winter Wonderland class. Eric and the crew at Marigold Kitchen put on an extravagant 8 course dinner featuring a couple dishes that are on the menu at Marigold as well as some new dishes. Each dish was absolutely gorgeous – just check out Eric’s Instagram and see his style for yourself! Read on to see the highlights from class and learn a bit about Eric’s background and how it influences his cuisine and the menu at Marigold Kitchen.

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