Ratatouille

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Learn to make ratatouille with Alaska flavors in Sitka workshop

A workshop in Sitka will teach participants how to make a classic French dish — with a Southeast Alaska flair. 

Chef Jayme Schroeder said ratatouille is his favorite dish, and this version will include fresh ribbon kelp and abalone. The class is a collaboration with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. 

Schroeder came to Sitka in 2011 and fell in love with the region’s biology and ecology. When he’s not working as an anesthesiologist, he is diving in the waters around Sitka. The workshop also will include a presentation of underwater photos showing the kelp and abalone in their natural habitat. 

The workshop will be 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, at the Sitka Lutheran Church kitchen, downstairs at 224 Lincoln St. Please use the back entrance to the church located on Harbor Drive, as the front door will be locked. The entrance is located down a one-way alley, and parking is limited. Please use on-street parking and don’t park behind the church.

The cost is $35 and includes all materials. Register online at https://bit.ly/SitkaRatatouille. Registration is limited to 12 participants and closes at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 4.

Youths younger than 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

Contact Jasmine Shaw at jdshaw2@alaska.edu or 907-747-9440 for more information. 

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five days in advance to Shaw.

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• Sitka Conservation Society, other groups to host Sitka Food Film Festival on Feb. 22-24

Food Film FestThe Sitka Conservation Society and several other partners will host the Sitka Food Film Festival on Friday through Sunday, Feb. 22-24, at Harrigan Centennial Hall and the Larkspur Cafe. The films are free, but donations will be accepted to help cover costs.

In addition to the dozen films, the festival will feature an appearance by Tlingít chef Robert Kinneen about the Store Outside Your Door (a project with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) promoting healthy traditional foods). There also will be a roundtable discussion about Sitka’s food resiliency (food security).

The festival opens with a feature film TBA at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night at the Larkspur Cafe.

On Saturday at Harrigan Centennial Hall, the schedule includes Ratatouille (a family friendly movie) at 10 a.m., Ingredients at 12:30 p.m., End of the Line at 2:30 p.m., Two Angry Moms at 3:45 p.m., followed by a roundtable discussion about Sitka’s food resiliency from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday’s schedule concludes with another feature film TBA at 8:30 p.m. at the Larkspur Cafe.

Sunday’s schedule at Harrigan Centennial Hall opens with A Feast At Midnight (a family friendly movie) at 10 a.m., Food Fight at 12:30 p.m., Bitter Seeds at 2:30 p.m., and Food Stamped at 4 p.m. Robert Kinneen is the keynote speaker at 6 p.m., discussing the Store Outside Your Door and showing film shorts from the project. The festival concludes at 7 p.m. with The Economics of Happiness.

Besides the Sitka Conservation Society, the film festival is sponsored by the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, SEARHC, Sitka Food Co-op, ArtChange Inc., Sitka Film Society, Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co., and the Larkspur Cafe. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, Tracy Gagnon with the Sitka Conservation Society and Andrianna Natsoulas with the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust were interviewed on KCAW-Raven Radio’s Morning Edition program about the film festival, and you can click here to listen to the interview.