With our marvelous year-round farmer’s market and destination restaurants opening almost every week here (or so it seems), it makes perfect sense that Ballard is now home to some great cooking classes. How about starting the still relatively new year by learning how to shop and cook some healthful and tasty dishes with talented chefs right here in Ballard?

Dish It Market Tour Class

Recently I took the Market Tour class at Dish It Up on Ballard Avenue. You Ballard Farmer’s Market regulars have undoubtedly seen this bright new shop situated right next to the farmer’s market.
We meet at 10 a.m. Sunday morning at Dish It Up when the market opens. Armed with reusable shopping bags courtesy of Dish It Up, we then venture out as a group to the market with Chef Tom Black and shop for seasonal things we’d like to learn how to use.
“Anyone have anything they’re curious about?” says Chef Tom.
We collectively decide to focus on celery root, sunchokes (a.k.a. Jerusalem artichokes), kale, and parsnips. Chef Tom adds Asian pear-apples to the list since one of the farmers is selling them. We also pick up fresh salad greens, lots of shallots, cream, and some bacon at farmstands.
After a quick run-through the market, we head back to Dish It Up and spread out along a shiny stone counter in the back of the shop facing the cooking demonstration area. This isn’t a hands-on class, but we watch Chef whip up several tasty dishes that he composes on the spot.
So we can get a better view of all the slicing and dicing, big overhead screens allow us all a live overhead view. Along the way Chef Tom drops tips and gives us more ideas for using this fresh produce. “If you want to avoid getting teary-eyed when chopping onions, breathe through your mouth,” he tells us.
First up is a creamy parsnip soup topped with fried sunchoke chips served with sliced fresh baguette. It’s smooth and sublime. I look around and see that everyone else slurps it down as quickly as I just did.
Next the cooking class assistants serve my favorite—fresh green salad with roasted Asian pear vinaigrette. “You can make this vinaigrette with other tree fruits, like apples or pears,” says Chef Tom.
Rounding off the menu today is the kale sautéed in the fresh bacon and celery root puree. We leave armed with recipes and fresh inspiration for using whatever is fresh at the market.
This class runs about 2 hours. Dish it Up offers numerous classes every week, which you can read about on their website.

Olaiya Land at Delancey

Maybe you’ve been to Delancey up on 70th NW for their fabulous pizza, but did you know that Chef Olaiya Land offers cooking classes there when the restaurant is closed on some Monday nights?
With Olaiya’s group classes at Delancey, you get to enjoy a quasi-hands-on class in a more intimate setting that ends in a marvelous dinner. When we arrive, it feels like a dinner party (well, it is) as we’re offered a glass of wine before making our way to the table.
For the class I took, the theme was Moroccan and featured a chicken tangine with green olives and preserved lemons, savory roasted vegetables with a spicy yogurt sauce, a side of couscous spiked with lemon and apricots, and a pistachio cake with caramelized oranges. Yes, it was all excellent.
Over the course of about 3 hours, Olaiya instructs us as she prepares the dishes. With a cutting board and knife at every seat, we each get involved in the chopping of ingredients like cilantro, shallots, bell peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes.
My favorite part of the class (besides eating) is when Olaiya demonstrates making caramel that’s the top layer of the cake. She brings sugar and water to boil in a heavy saucepan, stirring as the sugar dissolves and turns amber.
“If the color starts to turn fast, watch out! Caramel can burn easily,” she explains.
Olaiya specializes in healthful (and sometimes wonderfully decadent) and seasonal cuisine in her classes. Some upcoming classes will feature crepes and bistro fare, inspired by her years living and studying in Brussels, Belgium.

Are there cooking classes in Ballard that you’d like to tell us about? Please leave a comment below.

Go cook and enjoy!