New Series Begins for The Boulevard Cooking Class

I love hearing about new venues for cooking classes. Here's a series that gets into the heart of a community--specifically El Cajon Blvd. The Boulevard Cooking Class series, organized by Beryl Forman of the El Cajon Blvd. Business Improvement Association, includes eateries from Park to 54th St.

Photo by Beryl Forman

"One of the most exciting sectors of El Cajon Blvd. is the mom and pop restaurants so we wanted to call them out," she explains. "We had no problem rallying businesses to participate. Both the restaurants and the BIA like this approach. Instead of holding an annual grand slam kind of event, this is a way for business owners to have a one-on-one connection with customers."

April will mark the first anniversary of these classes, but this latest series begins Feb. 27 with a class at Flavors of East Africa. The price is right: $150 for all six classes:

Feb. 27: Flavors of East Africa
March 5: Tiger Tiger
March 12: Mama's Bakery
March 19: Eclipse Chocolate
March 26: El Borrego
April 2: Apertivo

The classes run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at each restaurant and--very important--they're limited to only 10 people. Forman says there are still a few spots open, but you'd better hustle to get a spot.

Forman says the the chefs teach one or two dishes and in the process tell their stories about their work and their culture.

Here's a sample video of Edward Haidar, owner of Mama's Kitchen, demonstrating how to make his hummus (he'll also be teaching his baba ganoush recipe).



In the past, Ken and Janie from Apertivo sat everyone around a table and walked the group through making ravioli.

Photo by Beryl Forman

Photo by Beryl Forman

To learn more about the series, visit the website. To sign up, contact Beryl Forman at beryl@theboulevard.org.

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