Learn how to cook a variety of international dishes as the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen hosts its Cooking Around The World class series.

This series will feature different cooks teaching dishes from Morocco, Chile, Austria, Turkey and Thailand, with all five classes at the Sitka Kitch (505 Sawmill Creek Road, inside First Presbyterian Church). Each class costs $27.50, plus a food/supply fee split between the members of the class. Space is limited, so register early.

Registration for our two February classes is open now (click the links below to register). Registration for our three later classes won’t open until mid-February. The schedule is as follows:

• Morocco — 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Feb. 18, taught by Julien Naylor, MD. Dr. Naylor is an internal medicine specialist and trained chef who is still deciding which dishes to teach. She previously taught an ancient grains class last year at the Sitka Kitch. (NOTE: This class is full.)
• Chile — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 27, taught by Barbara Palacios. Barbara. who is Chilean, is a chef with the Westmark Sitka Hotel and the Dock Shack (Totem Square Inn). She will teach students how to cook a pastel de choclo (a Chilean version of shepherd’s pie with corn and meat) with pebre (a Chilean pico de gallo). She taught an empanadas class last year that was very popular.
• Thailand — 5:30-7 p.m., Tuesday, March 28, taught by Nancy Knapp. Nancy is a longtime health educator from Sitka who spent several years in Laos and Thailand. She still hasn’t announced which dishes she will teach for this class, but she taught a Thai cooking class last year that sold out quickly and had a long waiting list.
• Austria — 6-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 12, taught by Suat Tuzlak. Suat is the former owner of the Alpine Bakery in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and co-author of “Little Cookbook For The Great Outdoors.” For this class he will teach students how to make a savory strudel with two fillings and a sweet strudel with apples that’s great with ice cream.
• Turkey — 5-7:30 p.m., Monday, April 17, taught by Suat Tuzlak. For this class, Suat, who is Turkish, will teach students how to make a Turkish dinner that is vegan and gluten-free without using sophisticated ingredients. You will learn to make red lentil soup, green beans with olive oil, festive rice pilaf with currants and pine nuts, and a fusion dessert, chia-coconut pudding.

When registering, students should prepay for the class through the Sitka Kitch online registration site, http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com, using PayPal or credit/debit card. If you need other payment arrangements, contact Chandler or Clarice of Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 to arrange a time when you can pay with cash or check. To qualify for a partial refund, please notify us at least three days in advance if you need to cancel. The registration deadline is three days before each class so our instructors have time to purchase materials. Please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org with any questions.

Also, keep an eye out for another upcoming class series this winter/spring — Nourish: Using Food As Medicine For Optimum Health — which will be taught by Sitka nutritionist Holly Marban during National Nutrition Month in March.

Details are coming soon, but class topics include nutrition foundations, balancing blood sugar, everyday superfoods, foods to fight inflammation, and and detox. There will be five classes from 6-8 p.m. on Mondays, March 6, 13, 20, 27 and April 3. When we open registration, we will post the entire series first (students will receive $20 off if they register for the full series, $117.50 vs. $137.50, plus food/supply fees) and about a week or so before each individual class we will try to fill any empty spaces remaining.