Sacramento’s farm-to-fork status is expanding, and Chef Adam Pechal of Tuli Bistro and Restaurant Thir13en is partnering with Feeding Crane Farms to bring a monthly cooking class to Midtown Sacramento every second Saturday to coincide with the Second Saturday Art Walks.
Pechal recently appeared on the ABC TV series “The Taste” as a contestant, and he has long been a supporter of Feeding Crane Farms, which is an urban farm within Sacramento’s city limits north of Downtown.
"Chef Adam Pechal’s Northern California Favorites" is the name of the class, and each month features a selection of local food and drinks producers as Pechal teaches how to incorporate them into recipes attendees can make at home.
“We’ll have wine pairings, cheese tastings and recipes featuring both the wine and cheese as well as information about the providers,” said Shannin Stein of Feeding Crane Farms. “At the end, participants will go home with information on where the factory is and how they can tour it.”
All participants also go home with a box of produce from Feeding Crane Farms, and there are plans to include other items as well.
“In May, we’re going to do something with Drake’s Bay Oysters,” Pechal said. “I’m looking at sending them home with an oyster knife and a dozen oysters if it’s in the budget, or something else like that as well as the produce from Feeding Crane.”
Classes run from 4 - 6 p.m. every second Saturday of the month and are held at Lulu’s Kitchen, located at 701 16th St. Tickets cost $49 per person or $89 per couple and can be purchased here.
April’s class features local winemaker Sean Minor and specialty cheese from Sierra Nevada Cheese.
“I’m providing some recipes, and they’ll get discounts to Restaurant Thir13en, too,” Pechal said. “They get free parking near the kitchen, and it’s only a couple of blocks from all the Second Saturday activities. The idea is they can come down and do the cooking class and then go enjoy Second Saturday.”
All classes are for ages 21 and older, and all include an alcoholic beverage pairing.
Pechal added that he wants to increase the awareness of the food scene in America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital by showcasing food providers from the region and drawing classes full of people who want to learn how to use the featured ingredients at home.
“The idea is to get people to learn something; they get to drink something and they get to take something home,” he said. “This isn’t your grandma’s cooking class. It’s meant to be more fun and engaging.”
