In this fun, hands-on workshop Asmait Merhatsion will introduce participants to the process of making injera, starting with preparing the batter using a special sourdough starter to kickstart the fermentation that gives it its airy, bubbly texture, and slightly tangy taste. Everyone will get a chance to make their own injera to take home on the mogogo, a traditional round griddle. Participants will also learn how to make shiro, a thick paste of chickpea flour cooked with a blend of spices, ginger, garlic, onion, and tomato. A light meal will be served with fresh injera along with shiro and another vegetarian stew for everyone to share. We will wrap up the class with a traditional Ethiopian coffee and a tasty teff cookie. Participants will leave with a small package of teff and sourdough starter to take home, as well as an opportunity to purchase additional homemade Eritrean products prepare by the chef.

A popular dish throughout the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean), kibbeh comes in a vast array of shapes and flavours — in Syria, Aleppo alone is said to have more than twenty different kinds. Best known are made from a bulgur dough combined with finely ground meat and spices, carefully stuffed and formed into small football-shaped dumplings that are fried to a crisp, dark auburn. Making and stuffing kibbeh is a group activity just about every Syrian woman would have participated in at one time or another — virtually no major occasion occurs without the appearance of a platter (or mountain) of kibbeh at the table. Talented cook, musician and co-founder of Newcomer Kitchen, Rahaf Alakbani is no stranger to making kibbeh, and she will be sharing her favourite recipes and techniques in this fun, hands-on class.

For this special class, Alissa Kondogiannis is crafting an exquisitely festive babka: rose water-infused raspberry jam combined with a decadent dark chocolate filling ribboned throughout tender, warm braided brioche, delicately sprinkles with dried rose petals.

Join artisanal baker Leo Baduria for a full-day, in-depth exploration of the fundamentals of Viennoiserie, the magical butter-laminated pastry that is at the heart of croissants and many other classic European pastries from France to Denmark. Creating croissants from scratch is a somewhat complex, multi-day process, but Leo has expertly constructed a full-day workshop that will cover the all the steps so that you can begin making them at home. You’ll learn how to make your own brioche dough, and the processes of mixing, kneading, rolling, rising, laminating and shaping required to make Croissants, Pain au chocolat, Pain aux raisins, Kouign aman, Chaussons aux pommes, Palmiers and Brioches.

Join Chef Anthony Sestito of Pastaio for a fun, hands-on class exploring a selection of traditional egg-based pastas and shapes typical of central and Northern Italy. You'll ease into the class with a beautiful spread of antipasto on arrival, and then dive into learning how to make a simple and versatile fresh egg pasta dough from scratch, with an emphasis on choosing the right flours and the importance of resting the dough. Then Chef Anthony will walk you through some simple, yet significant shapes and styles of pasta made with minimal tools, focusing on classic handmade pasta shapes such as fettuccine, pappardelle, farfalle, garganelli, and soppressine. There will be a discussion of the pairing of different shapes and sizes with their traditional sauces. The class culminates in a light meal of Tagliatelle al Funghi, a delicious creamy mushroom and parmesan dish. Any extra pasta made in class can be taken home, along with PDF recipes and new skills to impress your friends!

Maple sap starts to run in mid-February, so what better way to celebrate this quintessentially Canadian milestone than two delicious maple recipes: Maple Butter Tarts and Maple Scones. Let 20-year cookie biz veteran Alan Zelcovitch walk you through creating delicious maple syrup butter tarts — they are so much easier to make than you might imagine — and you may never want to buy another butter tart again! You will learn the secrets of a beautifully flaky crust, and exactly how to make the perfect maple filling as well. As a bonus, you'll  be shown a great trick to easily remove them from the pan. Building on these pastry skills, you'll also get other make some fabulous Maple Scones as well. These flakey, layered scones can be frozen in raw, and baked off as you need them, so you are always ready to enjoy freshest scones, warm from the oven.