Food Empowerment Workshop Series
This June, LifeCycles has teamed up with folks from the restaurant world to offer a series of culinary workshops exploring the relationship between food security and flavour.
Join Chef Corbin Mathany for 2 separate nights of foraged fine dining, inspired by the themes of Sea and Shoreline, and Forest and Field. Students will learn about conscientious collecting and use locally harvested plants, flowers, seaweed and more to make delicious multi-course meals and drinks full of wild flavours.
Or learn to breakdown a whole chicken or hog with Rebecca Teskey of the Village Butcher. Students will get hands-on experience with whole animal butchery, and gain knowledge on the best way to utilize every aspect. Oh, and there will be a delicious meal with take home perks, too.
Click the links (Workshop titles) below for more information and to register for these classes.
Thanks to Victoria Foundation for support in this pilot project.
Chef Corbin Mathany takes up the intertidal as a culinary theme and teaches students new ways to utilize the flora and fauna of the ocean. During the evening, students will be introduced to the basics of foraging for wild foods, including seasonal availability, harvesting techniques, and processing suggestions, all while sampling prepared foods that highlight the flavour profiles. Afterwards the students will gather into groups of four and prepare a multi-course meal, with each dish highlighting different foraged ingredients. For every course, the class will take time to sit and enjoy the wild flavours. Cocktails made from wild will also be provided. In addition to a delicious evening, students will also take home a booklet with foraging tips, cooking advice, and select recipes.
Date & Time: June 13th from 6 – 9pm
Place: The Public Market at the Hudson
In this class, students will get acquainted with butchering at home and learn how to separate a whole chicken into cookable cuts. Class will begin with a discussion of ‘farm to fork’ cycle and the role of butchers as stewards of sustainable locally raised meat. The hand-ons on portion of the class will begin with a demonstration on how to cut a chicken into familiar cuts like breast, thigh, drumsticks and wings. Students will also be shown other whole bird butchering techniques such as spatchcocking for the BBQ and deboning a whole bird. Afterwards, each student will breakdown his or her own bird with the guidance of the instructor. Class will end with tips on how to best process and cook each aspect of the bird. When the cutting is done, we’ll all gather together for a light meal.
Date & Time: June 19th from 4 – 7pm
Place: The Village Butcher
In this foraged fine dining workshop, Chef Corbin takes up Forest and Field as a culinary theme and teaches students new ways to utilize the flora and fauna on the wild edges of our city. During the evening, students will be introduced to the basics of foraging for wild foods, including seasonal availability, harvesting techniques, and processing suggestions, all while sampling prepared foods that highlight the flavour profiles. Afterwards the students will gather into groups of four and prepare a multi-course meal, with each dish highlighting different foraged ingredients. For every course, the class will take time to sit and enjoy the wild flavours. Cocktails made from wild will also be provided. In addition to a delicious evening, students will also take home a booklet with foraging tips, cooking advice, and select recipes.
Date & Time: June 21st from 6 – 9pm
Place: The Public Market at the Hudson
Workshop#4: Basic Pig Butchery
This class will begin with a discussion of ‘farm to fork’ cycle and the role of village butchers as stewards of sustainable locally raised meat. Students will then be introduced to basic butchery by way of a demonstration on how to split a side of pork into primals and subprimal cuts. For the hands-on portion of the class will chance to get hands-on experience splitting the other side. In smaller groups while working under the guidance of an instructor and assistant student will break the pig down further into familiar cookable cuts like ribs, tenderloin, ham roasts and chops. Class will conclude with a discussion of ‘nose to tail’ cookery, with advice on how to best process and cook all parts of the hog. Once we’ve finished, we’ll gather together and share a light meal.
Come learn why it takes a village to raise a butcher!
Date & Time: June 26th from 4 – 7pm
Place: The Village Butcher
Both the Fresh Fowl and Basic Pig Butchery classes include a Take Home Perk – what meat we don’t enjoy for our light meal will be divided for students to take home. Students will also receive a booklet with recipes and butchery tips. The price of our class is based on the average weights of the animals.
Register soon, space is limited!