Seasonal Cooking Class

Building community is a high priority at Raintree School. Students and teachers connect every day, but it’s important for parents to meet and socialize, too. Festivals, class culmination events, and weekend playdates are excellent times to meet other families. Even a shared moment at the cubbies during drop-off or pickup can mean a lot.

Another opportunity is our seasonal cooking classes! Led by Chef Katie, parents and other adult family members are invited to join in a hands-on cooking class to gain new food skills and connect with the community. The 90-minute sessions include discussions of culinary and nutrition concepts, cooking technique practice, and sampling of finished work. Participants go home with tasty samples, informational handouts, and printed recipes to try on their own.

As a school in love with nature, we plan by the season and hold a class every fall, winter, and spring, taking a break in the summer. Chef Katie uses seasonally appropriate foods and activities to honor each unique time of year. Classes in the fall celebrate chilly weather and the end of the harvest, covering topics such as campfire cooking and preserves. Winter classes focus on cozying up indoors and staying warm. This has included variations of baking, soups and broths, and cheesemaking. Spring classes are often an ode to new growth and fresh ingredients. This has been observed in past years with topics such as culinary and medicinal herbs, forest foraging, fermentation, and fairy tea parties. The fairy tea party was one of our most popular classes, including recipes for fanciful sandwiches, delicate pastries, and teas brewed with fresh garden herbs. Other popular topics of interest for families have been cooking for those with allergies and dietary restrictions, snack ideas, and basic knife skills. 

The upcoming class for winter 2024 will be an exploration of broths, soups, and sauces. The class will begin by discussing the process and benefits of making broths at home. Practice preparing a few versatile sauce and soup techniques used in many recipes will follow. Ready-made broth is a wonderful staple to have in the freezer during the winter. Easy to heat up at a moment’s notice, you can sip it from a mug when you’re sick or build a quick dinner on a busy weeknight.

No matter the season or topic, the cooking classes are always a fun and memorable event that builds community and celebrates food.   

By: Chef Katie Brown