Waste Not, Want Not — The Complete 3-Class Series

When people hear I’m from France, they often ask what part. And when I tell them the North, they say: Normandy?

I tell them no, Normandy is where my grandmother was from — bucolic, enchanting in springtime with blooming apple trees and blue irises on rooftops. Where I grew up is simply called Le Nord — the north. Flat as a crêpe, right at the Belgian border, in Tourcoing, a working-class town built of dark red brick around textile mills and manufacturing plants that began going idle shortly after I was born. This is the part of France tourists don’t visit unless they’re interested in World War I cemeteries.

Winter there is long and gloomy, with incessant rain and days so short that we walked home from school at 4:30 in the dark. Stepping in from the cold into the kitchen, the windows were steamed with the scent of mom’s leek and potato soup.

My mother worked all day in a factory. She was not a chef, but she knew something that no culinary school teaches: that just because you have no money doesn’t mean you have to be poor. Not a crumb of bread was wasted. Not a vegetable peel. Not a chicken bone. Her table always felt generous, tender, a refuge from hardship.

This series is dedicated to her love, her legacy to me. And mine to pass on.

Three classes. One philosophy. A kitchen where nothing goes to waste.

The Waste Not, Want Not series is built around a simple idea: the best cooks aren’t the ones with the most expensive ingredients and fancy equipment — they’re the ones who know how to make the most of what they have. Over three hands-on mornings, we’ll work through from the simplest ingredient bread - to learning how to use the entire vegetable and making the most out of a chicken — building techniques, confidence, and a deep appreciation for the gifts of the earth.

Save $50 when you commit to the full series.

Includes:

• Class 1 — It Begins with Bread — Thursday, August 27
• Class 2 — Eating the Whole Vegetable — Thursday, September 10
• Class 3 — Eating the Whole Chicken — Thursday, September 24

Details:

• Time: 10:00am – 1:00pm each
• Capacity: 6–8 participants per class
• Location: Santa Barbara