I don’t remember how I found Market Foray by a French woman named Laurence Hauben, a cooking class that takes you to a local harbor for the freshest seafood, to the farmer’s market to shop for all the groceries we need for the class, to a cheese store to taste what we like before we buy, and then go to Chef Laurence’s kitchen to prepare our meal together. I loved the idea when I found her website and reserved the class for our trip to Santa Barbara.
Laurence’s classes are limited to eight people to keep the intimacy. It’s a great thing to do as a couple or with girlfriends. Her cooking classes are usually on Saturday because Santa Barbara’s biggest farmer’s market is on that day (the farmer’s market is on E Cota St, Between Santa Barbara & Anacapa, From 8:30 to 12:30). I LOVE the Saturday’s farmer’s market because it is huge with many different vendors, including hand made butter and Walnut Oil, and you can sample them before you buy. Some vendors even sell air-sealed fresh lamb but you have to look out for the secret code which is a pig doll sitting on the truck (see photo).
We went to Laurence’s house after we got everything we needed for our meal. Her house has a huge yard with fruit trees, an olive tree, a bay tree and many herbs. The exterior and interior paint, the interior decorating is very French. I am sure our meals are also very French as well. She gave each one of us a booklet containing information about how to choose fresh seafood, meat, veggies and fruits; what are the common ingredients in the winter, and the menu and recipes for the class.
1. Mini Gougères (French Puffs)
2. Fresh Chervil Soup (We didn’t find Chervil, so substitute with Nettels)
3. Fresh baked bread with local hand-made butter (I love that butter)
4. Paired local wines
5. Crispy Skin-On Local Rockfish with Fresh Citrus Reduction, Sautéed pea tendrils, and Roasted Kabocha Squash puree (Citrus Reduction is very refreshing, paired with fresh fish is a simple but wonderful taste; Kabocha Squash is very dense so just eating a little bit is enough to feel full)
6. Hearts of butter lettuce with sliced apples, walnuts, and Roquefort cheese,
La Nogalera Walnut oil vinaigrette (the salad dressing is easy to make, just mix the Walnut oil, wine vinaigrette, Dijon mustard together)
7. Cheese Plate
8. Angel Cheesecake with fresh mandarin zest, topped with fresh mandarin slices and raspberries
9. Coffee or Tea
Laurence told us that we should look over the menu/recipes first and start with the one that takes the longest time to cook – in our case it is to bake the squash for an hour, and then making the veggie stock for the soup, making puffs, salad, and the last one is to pan fry the fish because it only takes a few minutes and you want to eat it hot. Since the cheesecake needs to set in the fridge overnight, she made one the night before for us to eat but we also made one that day just to see how to make it.
We talked about cooking equipment, cooking methods and tricks when we were in the kitchen chopping and cooking. Laurence shared with us why she likes to use cast iron pans -- especially grandma’s old pans. Then we continued our conversation on the culture differences in food and diet (we had two American, one French, and one Chinese on the table), travel experiences, etc. The food was wonderful and the conversation was fun and entertaining.
Don’t underestimate this menu, we were so full before she served the cheese plate, salad and the cake. We finished our lunch at 3:30pm, and I am sure everyone was stuffed and opened their belt buckle down one notch. We didn’t even need a dinner after that lunch.
Ps. If you are interested in this type of cooking classes, here are some other ones that you can also check it out: Montecito Country Kitchen, Roblar Winery, The Chef’s Touch.
For more photos, please go to My Flickr - Market Foray.
