Your instructor, Chris Toy is the author of 6 popular cookbooks, a private chef, and has taught Asian-fusion cooking for several Maine community education programs. Cooking students will learn how to prepare a variety of recipes from Asia, Europe, and the Americas incorporating traditional and local ingredients. Each meal will actively engage cooks with the tools, techniques, and stories behind the dishes being created.

THERE IS A $50 CANCELLATION FEE (no exceptions).

More about the Prospect Harbor location: Escape to a Victorian Inn, the Harbor View House in Prospect Harbor on the coast of Maine, with an intimate group of artists, cooks and creatives! All meals are included in the workshop fee plus special activities to extend your learning from the day’s workshops, including a private house concert by Grammy-balloted sing-songwriter, storyteller, and author Gordan Ward. For more information about the workshop, call Mary at 207-632-2251. To book your stay at the inn call 207-963-9122 or visit https://harborviewhousellc.com/. **Lodgings not included in price.

More about the Campobello location: Step back to a time when President Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor, and their family escaped to their “beautiful little island” in the Canadian Maritimes, Campobello Island. We will be exclusive guests of the international park, staying in historic Victorian cottages. Workshop participants will explore and paint the same coastal scenery enjoyed by the summer residents at the turn of the 20th century. All meals are included in the workshop fee as well as specially planned optional evening activities designed to extend your learning from the day’s workshops. Register for the retreat then call Sherry Mitchell at 506-752-2922 to make room reservations. Acadian Arts Retreats participants will have exclusive overnight access to accommodations in the park. **Lodgings not included in price.

Time to get out the sweaters and have some tea! Scones are the perfect accompaniment! In this 3 hours class we will make Harvest Pumpkin Scones, Double Ginger Scones, Savoy Hotel Classic Scones, Maple Bacon Scones and Cranberry Orange scones. All ingredients provided as well as instruction. No experience needed. Be sure and bring a container to take home samples that you do not eat on the spot! You will FALL in love with the flavors! All materials included.

Join Kara Ibarguen of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables for a hands-on cooking workshop designed to increase your knowledge of local seaweed species and get you comfortable cooking with them! Learn to identify a variety of Maine seaweed species through an immersive touch tank experience before putting your aprons on and whipping up a four-course meal featuring seaweed in every dish (yes, even dessert!). Participants will make an appetizer, salad and main course before enjoying a dessert provided by MCSV. All ingredients and equipment will be provided and participants will leave with recipes and product lists – ready to cook up their own seaweed dishes at home. Recipes cooked in this class are vegetarian and can be made gluten free with advance notice.

Discover the delicious art and rich traditions of Chinese Mooncakes in this immersive, hands on cooking class! Perfect for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival or exploring unique culinary creations, you'll learn to make these iconic pastries entirely from scratch, mastering both classic styles and exciting modern interpretations with a local twist. We'll create dough from scratch for two distinct types: the traditional Cantonese-style wheat dough for baking and the modern, chewy snowskin dough made from glutinous rice flour. You'll also craft two contrasting fillings from scratch: classic traditional sweetened red bean paste and a unique modern fusion filling inspired by Maine's Needham candy (coconut-chocolate!). As we mix, shape, and mold our creations using traditional presses, we'll also explore the fascinating history of the Mooncake and share the legendary story of the Moon Goddess, Chang'e. You'll leave with a batch of beautiful traditional baked and delicate snowskin mooncakes you've made, plus the tested recipes, skills, and cultural knowledge to make them at home. Tasting included! All ingredients and specialized equipment provided.

Have you ever wanted to try canning, but were unsure how to get started? Or perhaps you are concerned about food safety, and wondering how to ensure that your canned food is both delicious and safe. Well, this is the class for you! Join Allison Carroll Duffy, Master Food Preserver and cookbook author, for this hands-on workshop covering all that you need to know to get started canning your own food. Well cover the basics of safe home canning, including proper procedures, techniques, and use of tools and equipment. Then we’ll learn hands-on--working together as a group and going step-by-step--to make and can a big batch of jam. We’ll use the boiling water bath method, which is the same method you’ll use for making many other canned goods you might want to make at home, including pickles, salsas, chutneys, and fruit. While this class will focus primarily on the boiling water bath method of canning, pressure canning will also be discussed. At the end of the class, there will be plenty of jam to taste, and each participant will go home with a jar of jam to enjoy...as well as all the know-how you need to start canning confidently at home! *A materials fee of $10 must be paid to the instructor on the first night of class.

Impress your friends & family when you tell them you made it yourself! Learn to make healthier, better tasting, fresh Feta Cheese—and it doesn’t take months!! You will be impressed with the creamy rich flavor and will never go back to “store bought”. Traditional Feta is made with sheep or goat’s milk but you will also learn how to make it with cow's milk. We will discuss different flavors to add after, how to brine it and store it, as well as some ideas for recipes. You will bring a gallon of milk and take home approximately a pound of cheese. *Starter kit included. A supply list with basic kitchen tools will be sent out before the start of class.

Join farmer and founder of Singing Pastures, John Arbuckle, for an inspiring and accessible introduction to regenerative agriculture - with a special focus on regenerative livestock practices. You don’t need a PhD to understand how to restore ecosystems; nature already knows what it needs. John will walk you through the simple yet powerful principles that can heal the land, rebuild biodiversity (above and below ground), and draw down carbon - all while producing some of the most nutrient-dense, delicious food on the planet. You’ll learn how these methods are being used successfully around the world and right here in Maine, from managing conservation lands with grazing animals to simple practices homeowners can adopt in their own backyards. Along the way, you’ll get to hear the story of Singing Pastures, taste some of their pasture-raised pork products, and enjoy light snacks sourced from other Maine farms using regenerative methods. This is your chance to meet a local producer who’s putting principles into action—and to see how regenerative farming connects food, wildlife, soil, and community in one resilient, delicious bundle.

Participants will learn how to season, care for, and use a Chinese wok and cleaver. Each student will take home a specially selected kit with a seasoned wok, wok spatula, sharpened cleaver, honing steel, and a cutting board. Those in the know bring containers just in case! The Wok is the most versatile pan in the world. Join Chris Toy, author of the award winning The Complete Wok Cookbook and learn all about its 3000 year old history. Materials kits included! *However, since kits are ordered ahead of time, there is a $100.00 non-refundable fee for cancellations to cover the cost of the kits. If you cancel, your kit will be sent to the adult ed office for pick-up.