GARDEN to PLATE
Come hungry and leave fulfilled......
There can be no more beautiful surroundings than the Napa Valley in which to indulge your inner foodie with gourmet food and fine wines, in the pleasurable company of others who share the same passions. In this 4* day course we will harvest the bounty of the garden to create wonderful dishes; you’ll learn to select, prepare, and present garden-fresh meals, and go off the beaten track for other once-in-a-lifetime experiences. In class, Julie will share her delicious recipes and tricks of the trade, leaving you both educated and inspired.
We will focus on techniques and theory to build on your current abilities. The range of skills you learn will benefit you every time you cook – a must for anyone with an enthusiasm for learning about and preparing good food.
Meet the farmers who put Napa Valley on the map as a culinary destination.
Explore and cook at a farmette in Yountville. They exclusively supply what is considered one of the best restaurants in Napa.
Visit Hudson Ranch an organic poly-culture farm to select vegetables for lunch.
Cook a meal in an Italian wood burning oven.
Visit boutique wineries.
Explore Dickson Napa Ranch's olive orchard and taste their award winning Regina olive oil.
Napa Farmers Market and Oxbow Public Market tour.
Limited to 9 students.
*Sign-up for as many days as your schedule will permit.
SEPTEMBER 25, FRIDAY
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. We begin our day at Hudson Ranch in the Carneros region of Napa Valley, with our host Lee Hudson and Scott Boggs, his ranch manager. We will walk through the organic gardens and pick our vegetables for class, visit the farm animals and taste the wine and olive oil from the ranch. It is a true polyculture-oriented farm. Lee Hudson raises hogs, 3-4 breeds of chickens (both for eggs and meat), cattle, turkeys, organic vegetables (Lee has dedicated 3+ acres of his ranch to them), fruit trees, olive trees, grapes and produces wine. This is a rare opportunity to experience this special ranch and meet the charismatic visionary behind it.
11:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This afternoon we spend at the home of Pat and Carol Boyle enjoying their wonderful southern hospitality. The cooking class will be in their exquisitely appointed kitchen and we will cook our lunch in a wood-burning oven. We will have the opportunity to enjoy their single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon wine with our lunch on their outdoor patio in a bucolic setting. $195
SEPTEMBER 26, SATURDAY
8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Napa’s Farmers Market is bustling on Saturdays. We will shop at the market for our classes on Saturday and Sunday. There will be piles of the season’s best squash, pears, tomatoes and seasonal produce. We will then visit Oxbow Public market to sample cheese and buy our spices.
10:30a.m. – 2:30p.m. We will return to Julie’s home kitchen for a hands-on cooking class and dinner. The menu will include our Farmers Market finds. Sample menu: Homemade Ricotta and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes on Crostini, Chicken cooked under a Brick with Fresh Herb Rub and Sea Salt, Chard with Tangerine Oil and Savarin with Fresh fruit and Strawberry Sauce.
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Our next destination is Dickson Ranch for a private olive oil tasting. Lillian Dickson will guide us as we taste the Italian-style olive oil she and her husband produce.
8:00 – 10:30 p.m. Dinner at Ubuntu, an internationally acclaimed “vegetable” restaurant in Napa. Chef Jeremy Fox will prepare dishes for us with a selection of sublime produce from local farms and Ubuntu's own biodynamic gardens. Fox is a master at creating sophisticated small plates that push the limits of creativity while still respecting the ingredients, presenting dishes that dazzle the eye and palate. $185
SEPTEMBER 27, SUNDAY
12:00 – 1:30 p.m. We visit Chanticleer, a boutique winery in Yountville. Here we will be able to taste the love that the Grodahl’s pour into their estate-grown hand-picked grapes. The wines are as rich, complex, and charming as the family who owns the winery.
2:00 – 6:00 p.m. We will return to Julie’s home kitchen for a hands-on cooking class and dinner. The menu will include our Farmers Market finds from the previous day. Sample menu: Ravioli of Butternut Squash with Sage, Five Dot Ranch Flat Iron Steak with Aioli, Tian of Eggplant and Tomatoes, Warm Potato Salad with Bacon and Onions, Local Artisan Cheese with Fruit and Bread, and Italian Almond Tart, with Prosecco Sabayon and Roasted Red Grapes all accompanied by wine from Chanticleer. $170
SEPTEMBER 28 MONDAY
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. In the morning we will visit a small CCOF-certified organic farm in the center of the Napa Valley in Yountville. The diversity of produce grown there is so amazing it is sometimes referred to as a “culinary dream works.” The produce is exclusively contracted to one of the best restaurants in the Napa Valley – considered by many to be one of the best restaurants in the country. During a guided tour of the garden we will select some of the most perfect fruits and vegetables, then prepare our lunch in the outdoor kitchen, set in the orchard. It will be a garden-to-plate experience to remember for a lifetime. $170
Course certificates are presented (to those who completed all 4 days) as the class comes to a close.
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CLASS SIZE is limited to 9. Minimum enrollment of 4 to confirm the class.
FEES: Class fee is $720 per participant, and includes all hands-on cooking classes, logo apron, all recipes, wine, visits, tastings, lunch and dinner when specified, either in class or at a restaurant. The fee does not include transportation or lodging. (A list of recommended hotels will be sent to enrolled students.)
Fees to attend on individual days only are: Friday 9/24 $195; Saturday 9/25 $185; Sunday 9/26 $170; and Monday 9/27 $170.
DEPOSIT: A nonrefundable deposit of $150 per person is required to confirm enrollment for the full program; or for those taking less than the 4 days 50% of the daily fee per person. Payment in full required if registering 14 days or less before class.
TRAVEL INSURANCE is recommended to protect against possible loss of enrollment fees for late cancellations. You may find useful information on this site: http://www.travelinsurancereview.net/
