Let’s Move Pittsburgh: Cooking for Life Series

The Cooking for Life Series was built to connect individuals and families to easy garden to table recipes. Join the Let’s Move Pittsburgh Team to learn tips for staying healthy and eating local produce seasonally through the many different phases of life.

Comfort Foods: Pierogis | Chef Rachel Homan

Tues., March 28 | 6 – 8 p.m. 

Single class: $75 members | $80 nonmembers 

Class hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen 

Tis the season of comfort foods! Escape the cold and turn up the heat while learning how to make staple comfort foods with Chef Rachel. You’ll learn about flavors and textures of classic comfort favorites using fresh herbs and hearty vegetables. Lastly, learn the folds and fillings of Pittsburgh’s favorite food, pierogis, served with carefully caramelized onions, sheet pan cabbage, and kielbasa. 

This class is now filled. Please email edu@phipps.conservatory.org to be placed on the waiting list.

Classic Quiche | Chef Emily Larsen

Wed., March 29 | 6 – 7:30 p.m. 

$25 members | $30 nonmembers   

Class is held virtually on Zoom. 

Perfect a flaky pie crust with this seasonal quiche recipe from Chef Emily. In this class, you’ll learn a classic recipe that gives you the building blocks to create your customized quiche full of seasonal flavors. A dish that can be adapted to any occasion or event, adding quiche under your cooking belt adds infinite possibilities for future use.  

Mastering Kitchen Skills: Knife Skills: Sushi Basics and Rolling | Chef Rachel Homan

Tues., April 4 | 6 – 8 p.m.

Single class $75 members | $80 nonmembers

Class hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen

Feel confident in the kitchen but ready to take it up a notch? Join Chef Rachel in this four-part series to master core kitchen skills.  

Last but not least! Chef Rachel will end the series with the fundamentals of sushi making. You can’t have homemade sushi without having great knife skills. Learn to mince, dice, and slice fresh ingredients for a tasty handmade roll. Our menu will include a variety of raw ingredients to prepare for creating popular types of Nigiri, Maki rolls, and Temaki. Attendees will create their own rolls and enjoy their creations with a fresh soy based dipping sauce.

This class is now filled. Please email edu@phipps.conservatory.org to be placed on the waiting list.

Indian Cuisine Favorites: Baingan Bartha | Chef Jayashree Iyengar, Popping Mustard Seeds

Wed., April 12 | 6 – 8 p.m.

Single class $75 members | $80 nonmembers

Class hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen

Back by popular demand! Join Chef Jayashree Iyengar in learning about your favorite Indian Cuisine dishes. Each hands-on cooking session will include delicious food and a cultural connection to each meal. Expand your culinary skill set and learn new spice combinations and techniques that make Indian cuisine unique. Substitutions may occur based on availability.

Popping Mustard Seeds Meal Kit Inspired: Baingan Bartha, Aloo Gobi and Tadka Dhal - Wed., Apr. 12 | 6 – 8 p.m.

This class is now filled. Please email edu@phipps.conservatory.org to be placed on the waiting list.

Dinner at the Chef’s Table | Chef Chris Galarza

Fri., April 14 | 6 – 8 p.m. 

Single Class $100 members | $110 nonmembers 

Classes hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen

Join us for dinner at the chefs’ table! Phipps will feature chefs and food experts from Pittsburgh and beyond in this one-of-a-kind dining experience. Chat with our experienced chefs and watch the live-action as they prepare a three-course meal designed just for you, sharing tips, tricks, and stories along the way. Then, enjoy the hand-crafted meal paired with your choice of wine.

Meet Chef Chris Galarza, a trailblazer in the world of electrified kitchens and founder of Forward Dining Solutions. But a chef hat isn’t the only hat Chef Chris wears. Chris is also an entrepreneur, author, speaker, podcaster, and consultant educating and popularizing sustainable and efficient electric kitchens. Enjoy a meal featuring sustainably sourced and prepared seafood while hearing Chef’s unique experiences.

Menu: Oysters, Mussel Bucatini with Mushroom and Tarragon Ragu, with a Fresh Berry and Cheese Galette for dessert.

Tour of Italy: Southern Italy | Chef Rachel Homan

Southern Italy | Tues., Apr. 18 | 6 – 8 p.m. 

Single class $75 members | $80 nonmembers 

Class hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen 

This semester we’re visiting Italy! Chef Rachel will take us on a culinary tour through the regions of Italy. In this series, we’ll discover the regional cuisines of Italy and learn about the distinctive ingredients, dishes, and wine that makes each area unique. Each class is a culinary journey featuring chef demonstrations and hands-on cooking. Each class will include a regional wine tasting. 

Southern Italy: Apulia, Campania, Puglia & Sicily 

 - Zuppa de Cozze, Braciola Calabrese, Orecchiette con Carciofi and Caponata  

This class is now filled. Please email edu@phipps.conservatory.org to be placed on the waiting list.

Indian Cuisine Favorites: Veggie Korma | Chef Jayashree Iyengar, Popping Mustard Seeds

Thurs., April 27 | 6 – 8 p.m.

Single class $75 members | $80 nonmembers

Class hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen

Back by popular demand! Join Chef Jayashree Iyengar in learning about your favorite Indian Cuisine dishes. Each hands-on cooking session will include delicious food and a cultural connection to each meal. Expand your culinary skill set and learn new spice combinations and techniques that make Indian cuisine unique. Substitutions may occur based on availability.

Delightful Vegetables & Indian Bread: Veggie Korma and Methi Parata - Thurs., Apr. 27 | 6 – 8 p.m.

This class is now filled. Please email edu@phipps.conservatory.org to be placed on the waiting list.

Cooking with Korean Flavors | Chef Simon Chough

Wed., April 5 | 6 – 8 p.m.

$75 members | $80 nonmembers

Class hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen. 

Chef Simon Chough, the executive chef at one of Pittsburgh's best Korean restaurants Soju, comes to Botany Hall to show us the signature flavors that are the basis of Korean cooking. Through breaking down and tasting the main ingredients, Chef will teach us how to identify different flavors and play with the tang, spice, and sweet subtleties of the peninsula’s distinct dishes. In this hands-on class, you will learn to craft Korean meals that showcase your own style and tastes just as Simon has done with the food at Soju. By the end of the class, you will have enjoyed cooking and eating the Korean staples bibimbap, barbecue, and kimchi as well as having crafted your very own recipes for these delights. This class will get you thinking about Korean flavors like you never have before being comfortable with integrating them into your already existing culinary skill set.

This class is now filled. Please email edu@phipps.conservatory.org to be placed on the waiting list.

Farm-to-Table Dinner with Jamison Lamb Farm | Sukey & John Jamison

Thurs., April 13  | 6 – 8 p.m.

$75 members | $80 nonmembers

Class hosted in Botany Hall Kitchen

Jamison Lamb Farm, run by John and Sukey Jamison, produces some 3,000 lambs annually, destined for great cooks at home and the finest chefs in America. Their secret? Jamison lambs are on a 100% natural diet and free-range lifestyle. John and Sukey will share their farm stories while preparing a meal of lamb shanks and seasonal vegetables. In addition, Coyotes in the Pasture and Wolves at the Door, written by the Jamisons and chronicling their 35+ years on the farm, will be available for purchase and signing. 

Charcuterie Board | Chef Emily Larsen

Wed., April 26 | 6-7:30 p.m.

$25 members | 30 nonmembers 

$50 for grocery kit |  Pickup is on April 26 between 12 and 5 p.m. at Phipps Conservatory.

Class is held virtually on Zoom.

Join Chef Emily in learning what makes the perfect charcuterie board. This class teaches knife skills, balancing flavors, plating techniques, and seasonal substitutions. Chef Emily will lead this class and uses the finest of Pittsburgh’s meats and cheese from local producers such as Goat Rodeo, Pleasant Lane Farms, Parma Sausage and Salty Pork Bits.

Plants, Cuisine and Culture Virtual Lecture Series: Indian Cuisine with Simon Majumdar

Plants are intimately linked to our cultural identities and food traditions. Plants tell us where we are, and who we are in how we use them to feed ourselves. When we migrate, we carry our culture and cuisine with us. In this series, renowned chefs, culinary historians, and authors from cultures around the world discuss how plants shaped their foodways.

This virtual lecture series is offered in Partnership with: Chicago Botanic Garden, Franklin Park Conservatory, Lewis Ginter Botanic Garden and Missouri Botanic Garden

Indian Cuisine with Simon Majumdar

Mon., May 8, 7 – 8 p.m.

$10 members | $15 non-members

Simon Majumdar is a broadcaster, food writer, speaker, author, and cook who has dedicated the second half of his time on this planet to fulfill his ambition to “Go Everywhere, Eat Everything.” He’s written three books and is the creator, writer, and host of the food history podcast, "Eat My Globe: Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know About Food.”

Plants, Cuisine and Culture Virtual Lecture Series: African American Cuisine with Toni Tipton-Martin

Plants are intimately linked to our cultural identities and food traditions. Plants tell us where we are, and who we are in how we use them to feed ourselves. When we migrate, we carry our culture and cuisine with us. In this series, renowned chefs, culinary historians, and authors from cultures around the world discuss how plants shaped their foodways.

This virtual lecture series is offered in Partnership with: Chicago Botanic Garden, Franklin Park Conservatory, Lewis Ginter Botanic Garden and Missouri Botanic Garden

African American Cuisine with Toni Tipton-Martin

Tues., July 25, 7 – 8 p.m.

$10 members | $15 non-members

Toni Tipton-Martin is a culinary journalist and author using cultural heritage and cooking to build community. She is editor in chief of “Cook’s Country by America’s Test Kitchen,” two-time James Beard Award winner for her books on African-American cooking, and recipient of the prestigious Julia Child Award for making a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats and drinks.