Renée Jakaitis Trafton, the chef-owner of the Beak Restaurant, will teach the fifth class in the Sitka Kitch‘s new class series, Seasonal Cooking, from 6-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. The class is called Herring Appreciation With Renée Trafton.

Renée will teach students how to make a herring egg salad and sushi. Due to the vagaries of the seasons in Sitka, this class will be moved to April 10 if the herring are running late (students will be notified and refunds will be available for students who can’t make the later date).

The next classes in the Seasonal Cooking class series are:

• National Nutrition Month Healthy Cooking Demonstration — 5:30-7 p.m., Tuesday, March 27, Free event with SEARHC health educator Heleena Van Veen, health educator Holly Marban, registered dietitian Jessica Holland and diabetes nurse Kelly Lakin. This year’s National Nutrition Month theme is “Go Further With Food,” so students will learn creative ways to use leftovers and how to store food so it doesn’t spoil.
• Herring Appreciation With Renee Trafton (Beak Restaurant) — 6-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 3 (alternate date is April 10 if herring running late), Celebrate the return of herring to Sitka by making herring egg salad and sushi.
• Naturally Clean Home Products — 1-3 p.m., Saturday, April 7, Videoconference with Sarah Lewis of Juneau office of UAF Cooperative Extension Service. This class will teach you how to reduce your use of harsh, chemical cleaners but still be able to do deep cleaning. Students need to bring five 32-ounce spray bottles and a 20-ounce jar with lid (or six quart canning jars to store products to take home and then transfer to spray bottles). Class fee is $20, no supply fee.
• Starting A Cottage Foods Business — 1-3 p.m., Saturday, April 14, Videoconference with Sarah Lewis of Juneau office of UAF Cooperative Extension Service. Learn about state laws regarding home food businesses, and get ideas for businesses you might take to the Sitka Farmers Market or local trade shows. Tours of the Sitka Kitch and rental information will be available. Class fee is $10, no supply fee. The Sitka Local Foods Network offers class participants half-off the registration fee for their first Sitka Farmers Market in 2018.
• Puerto Rican Cooking With Nina Vizcarrondo — 6-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 2, Learn how to cook sofrito with recao, empanadas or pastelon, and arroz con gandules from Nina, a former U.S. Coast Guard chef and the current Sitka Farmers Market manager.

Class space is limited, so register early. This class costs $27.50 per person, plus a food/supply fee split between the registered students. The Herring Appreciation class registration deadline is 11 p.m. on Saturday, March 31.

You can register online and pre-pay using credit/debit cards or PayPal at https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com (click on the class title to register). To pre-pay by cash or check, contact Chandler, Claire, or Clarice at 747-7509 to arrange payment. For more information about the class series, contact Jasmine at 747-9440.