Maybe there are people out there who do not give a fig, but Dawn Meyer does. She gives a fig about figs — and everything else. Since joining Kitchen Conservatory in 1999 and working a variety of positions (kitchen assistant, store manager, webmaster, culinary instructor, sales associate), Dawn has cared deeply about quality. Her popular […]

I vividly remember the first time I tasted rum-raisin ice cream. I was 12, at the ice cream parlor, and everyone else was getting some version of chocolate ice cream. I had to try the one I had never tasted before. And “rum raisin” sounded so sophisticated. I was sure I was an adult just because I […]

Everyone loves to eat simple sugar cookies, especially when they are small and crisp and delicate, and then dozens disappear before you know it. First we baked these cookies plain, then we used sugar in our favorite colors — purple and green — and made stunning cookies. These cookies would be a good backdrop for […]

Are there any puns in chocolate-pistachio shortbread? If anyone can come up with a play on words, it’s Ruth Sparrow, the Kitchen Conservatory director of puns and clever titles. Ruth schedules the cooking classes and writes our quarterly newsletter while dreaming up titles like “Honey, I Blue Up the Kitchen”, “Just Dough It”, and “Peach […]

When is a macaroon not a macaroon? When it’s a macaron! Americans associate the egg-white-based macaroons with coconut, but the French bake deliciously tender-crisp cookies with ground almonds. French macarons are totally delicious. Stop by Kitchen Conservatory this week and taste a true macaroon. This delicious treat deserves to be made with the highest-quality ingredients. Valrhona bittersweet chocolate […]

Since 2005, Barb Nack has efficiently managed the cooking school at Kitchen Conservatory as we have grown from 450 classes to 700 cooking classes each year. Barb has also specialized in teaching girls’ night out classes (especially on chocolaty desserts), dynamic participation classes for couples (especially with shellfish menus), and the introductory Basics of Cooking and Prep […]

Food is divided into several groups: protein, grains, vegetables, fruits. And then there is bacon, which is in its own food group, called Addictive Food. Bacon is sweet, salty, and crunchy, which means we want to eat it at any time of day. If a piece of bacon is left on a tray, it will be […]

Join our Cookie Club! Every week this summer, we will post a different cookie recipe, plus we are baking all these delicious treats. Please drop by Kitchen Conservatory to try our favorite cookies! The store manager, Hilda Willman, shares the recipe for her mother’s signature cookie, which her family has baked every year since the 1940s. Hilda […]

Last night, we took a Kitchen Conservatory staff field trip to eat desserts at Sidney Street Cafe. Why? Because one of our own, Christie Saali (who started working at Kitchen Conservatory in 2000) is now the pastry chef at Sidney Street. We had to eat each and every one of her delectable desserts. Pictured here […]

We’ve spent all week cooking: 25 hours of cooking class down, the last day — five hours — still to go on Friday. What a ride! For the classtakers, the highlights were the foods they thought they didn’t like (because they had eaten bad versions) — but now can’t wait to make at home: creamy polenta with […]