This September, COOK is featuring a number of first-time instructors who are all bringing something new (and delicious) to the table. Here are some of COOK’s not-to-be-missed fall newbies:
Thursday 9/5 7PM Summer Corn Dinner with Jason Hook of H20 Kitchen
Local chef Jason Hook is making his COOK debut by partnering with Blue Moon Acres Farm to present a cornucopia of corn dishes. After years working in the elite kitchens of Alain Ducasse, Jean-Georges, Christian Delouvier and Philip Legendre, Hook has returned to the Berks County region, bringing with him his style of avant-garde fine dining. His H2O Kitchen special tasting events provide a full spectrum experience for local residents, with a taste of both the local and fresh and the international and rare. In September, each of the courses on Hook’s menu will include organic corn from Blue Moon Acres Farm in Pennington, NJ. Other local ingredients will be included on the menu, which also fuses exotic tastes and ingredients. Please note: this class is not vegetarian.
Sunday 9/15 5 & 7:30PM (PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE TWO SEATINGS) Shiprock – A Taste of The Reservation with Lucio Palazzo of La Calaca Feliz and Marcos Espinoza of Side Project Jerky
Ever had a Navajo Taco? A cousin of the puffy taco, Navajo Tacos start with a funnel-cake-esque base of frybread, topped with “chili beans”, lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese, and can be found at state fairs and reservations across the southwest. Nearly impossible to find outside of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, though, Philadelphians can savor them at two dinner seatings taking place at COOK in September. Shiprock is the brainchild of Marcos Espinoza, the head honcho of Side Project Jerky, a small-batch producer of beef jerky (available for purchase at COOK). His parents run Navajo Hogan, a frybread taco restaurant in Utah. Lucio Palazzo, chef of La Calaca Feliz, will be joining Espinoza serving up savory frybread tacos with assorted toppings and then a sweet frybread for dessert. Guests will also enjoy beer from the frybread taco region to go with the tacos.
Friday 9/20 7PM Cooking with Leftovers with Mary Rolph Lamontagne, author of EATS: Enjoy All the Seconds
South Africa-based Mary Rolph Lamontagne is the author of EATS: Enjoy All the Seconds. In the new book Lamontagne tackles the mind-boggling statistic that in most Western homes we waste, on average, 40% of the food we bring into the house. Through actual spoilage or inaccurate expiration dates we are the largest wasters of food in a world. In EATS, Lamontagne guides readers to use ALL of the food in the home and offers up 135 delicious recipes that will ensure readers will never be faced with tossing away the healthiest foods again. Divided into sections by color (broccoli and spinach under The Greens, corn and pineapple under The Yellows, mushroom and pear under The Whites, etc.), each food has a master recipe to teach home cooks how to make a basic dish with the ingredient, and also several alternate recipes to stretch the ingredient even more. Join Lamontagne at COOK and learn some of the ways to save food and money in a most delicious way!
Tuesday 9/24 7PM An Early Fall Feast with Marshall Green of Jerry’s Bar
Have you been to Jerry’s Bar in Northern Liberties yet? If the answer is no, you are seriously missing out. Executive Chef Marshall Green succeeds at creating meals that inspire, with sustainable local meats and produce, handcrafting everything and adding a dash of surprise in even the most usual of dishes. It’s a lesson he gleaned from his grandmothers, who gave him his first cooking lessons on the family farm, and that he honed in some of the city’s finest restaurants, like Fork, Django and Ansill. Before Jerry’s Bar, Green helmed the popular Cafe Estelle, a city treasure hailed by both the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Craig Laban and Philadelphia Magazine until its closing in 2012. Join Green for his COOK debut when he will be whipping up simple yet unbelievably delicious mussels, gnocchi and more.
Friday 9/27 7PM Keep On Truckin’: A Night with The Cow & The Curd and SPOT Gourmet Burgers
The food truck revolution is upon us in Philadelphia – and we at COOK couldn’t be happier! Join two of Philly’s finest “meals on wheels” and sample some of the roaming food craze for yourselves. First up, the 2013 Vendy Award winner of “The People’s Taste Award”, The Cow & The Curd. A Wisconsin culinary staple, cheese curds are as common and indispensable in the Midwest as the cheesesteak is in Philadelphia. Despite their ranking as one of the world’s most craved regional foods, cheese curds are relatively unknown in places without cheese factories. Until now… Joining husband and wife owners Rob Mitchell and Laura Windham of TC&TC will be Josh Kim of SPOT Burgers who will be grilling up the best-selling burger on his truck, which has bacon, cheddar, homemade slaw, pickles and Kim’s nine-ingredient SPOT Sauce. Add some refreshing brews courtesy of Keith Zonderwyk from Yards Brewing Company and you have one amazing mobile menu without having to stand outside and wait in line.
