In this class, participants will learn how to make Saag Paneer (Indian cheese cooked in a sauce made of mixed greens) and a simple Indian spiced Potato Curry. Eaten over rice, these dishes make a traditional and delicious Indian meal. Ingredients will be sourced locally, and participants will leave with the knowledge to recreate these dishes at home!

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Jayashree (Jay) Iyengar

Jay is the owner of Popping Mustard Seeds - Indian Cooking Classes and More. She specializes in teaching Indian vegetarian cuisine. She grew up in Chennai, India before she moved to the United States more than three decades ago. She is an experienced chef and has taught several cooking classes in the Pittsburgh area, since August 2015.

She is also a Mechanical Engineer who worked at Westinghouse as an engineer for more than two decades. Her passion for cooking and teaching led her to transition to the culinary world. She has recently completed her Master’s degree in Food Studies at Chatham University.

Find out more about her at:poppingmustardseeds.com

When the cold months hit us, our sense of local food abundance is often lost. However, when we look to the forest we can use microbial transformation to preserve its flavors. This workshop will explore how to use fermentation for culinary creativity with ingredients like pine needles, sap, mushrooms, and leaves.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

Instructor: Trevor Ring

Trevor Ring is a fermentation educator, business owner and microbe lover.

In 2011 and 2014 Trevor apprenticed under the well-known fermentation revivalist, Sandor Katz (author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation). That experience naturally led into teaching fermentation workshops of his own. Seven years and many workshops later, Trevor's journey has evolved to selling his own fermented products under the business Tringo Cultures (now Community Cultures), creating a Fermentation CSA, and working for numerous businesses (from kraut to miso!).

Seeing how fermentation can help form community and connect us to our past, drives him to create more affordable and accessible workshops. His goal is to make this education, and magical form of food transformation, accessible to all.

Currently, Trevor teaches throughout Pittsburgh and has been a recurring instructor at Phipps Conservatory. He holds an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certification, Permaculture Design certification, and holds an M.A. in Food Studies and M.B.A. from Chatham University.

Coffee can range from smelling like blossomed cherry, to tasting like chocolate with notes of vanilla, all while coating your mouth like sunflower oil. To understand the full body of coffee, it is first important to understand your own palette! In this workshop, we will look at coffee flavor wheels (aromatic and taste) and figure out what affinities our personal palettes have. Based on the region of origin, we will discover smells, textures, and tastes of the beans and brewed coffee using a variety of real ingredients. At the end of this workshop, hopefully you’ll feel more empowered to understand coffee’s intended tastes and what you would pick out based on your favorite flavors. Terroir exists everywhere!

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Lexy Baird

Lexy Baird recently graduated with her Master of Arts in Food Studies in August 2022. Her thesis, titled, "Cooking as Commensality for Chatham University Food Studies Students," centers on some of the passions she brings to workshops, including using our senses in the kitchen and building community through food. They recently interned for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank as the Farm Intern, helping grow >1000 lbs of organic produce while also establishing distribution routes to increase food access in the Pittsburgh region. She is interested in the ways that “sustainable food systems” can come to fruition, so is working towards food education, experiential learning opportunities, agricultural production, and more.

In this class, participants will learn the techniques to create these rustic, flakey pastries known as galettes! Local baker Jordan Mason will demonstrate recipes for a savory galette that could be eaten as a meal, as well as a sweet dessert galette. Participants will learn how to make delicious fillings and techniques for achieving the perfect flaky crust.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Jordan Mason

Jordan recently graduated with a dual degree Masters of Food Studies/MBA from Chatham University. She has over ten years of kitchen experience, a Baking and Pastry Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University, and a Bachelor's in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship. During her undergrad, Jordan worked at Market Street Pastries in Blairsville, PA, and also owned a side business creating custom cakes, cookies, and pastries for customers in her hometown. 

She then moved to Portland, Oregon for 4 years and quickly became the Pastry Chef for Bon Appetit Management Company at Reed College. Here, she was able to refine her skills and use her creativity to feed several hundred students daily, create desserts for catered events, and even had the opportunity to participate in gingerbread competitions. She led her pastry team to place second in the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Gingerbread Competition in 2016, and first place in 2017. Although not in a kitchen anymore, Jordan currently works in local food at Harvie Farms Pittsburgh connecting directly with local farmers, makers, and chefs to get their products distributed throughout Pittsburgh.

Join us for a hands-on Indian cooking class where participants will learn to make dosas, a popular South Indian treat similar to savory pancakes. Dosas will be made both using cream of wheat and/or a gluten-free flour, and will be filled with an Indian spiced potato filling. Additionally, participants will learn to make Sambar, made with lentils and vegetables in a spicy tamarind sauce, and a coconut chutney. These dishes are typical of South Indian cuisine and participants will learn about this type of regional Indian cooking. Participants will eat together at the end of the class and will leave with recipes and the knowledge to recreate these dishes at home. 

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Jayashree (Jay) Iyengar

Jay is the owner of Popping Mustard Seeds - Indian Cooking Classes and More. She specializes in teaching Indian vegetarian cuisine. She grew up in Chennai, India before she moved to the United States more than three decades ago. She is an experienced chef and has taught several cooking classes in the Pittsburgh area, since August 2015.

She is also a Mechanical Engineer who worked at Westinghouse as an engineer for more than two decades. Her passion for cooking and teaching led her to transition to the culinary world. She has recently completed her Master’s degree in Food Studies at Chatham University.

Find out more about her at:poppingmustardseeds.com

Ever wonder where your grocery store meat comes from? Join expert butcher, Ben Buchanan, and learn about how to purchase more sustainable, locally sourced meat products. Participants will learn about options for purchasing quality local meat and how to get the best beef, pork, and poultry for their buck.

This is a virtual workshop. A zoom link will be provided at least one week before the class. 

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

Instructor: Ben Buchanan

Ben Buchanan was born and raised in the Pittsburgh region and has 19 years of experience in craft butchery. As a husband and father of three, he founded Unified Fields in 2020 with the mission to give more people access to wholesome local meat and empower farmers to have a better channel to market their products. He is passionate about teaching the trade and helping others develop skills to be successful through direct training services and mentorship for startup butchers.

Imagine a home kitchen where food waste is reduced by half. From apple skins and mango pits to vegetable stems and leftover beans, this workshop will give you the knowledge to turn leftovers and inedible scraps into delicious fermented products. We will also touch on wild-fermented sodas, vegetable brines, vinegars, and other unique approaches to reducing food waste.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Trevor Ring

Trevor Ring is a fermentation educator, business owner and microbe lover.

In 2011 and 2014 Trevor apprenticed under the well-known fermentation revivalist, Sandor Katz (author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation). That experience naturally led into teaching fermentation workshops of his own. Seven years and many workshops later, Trevor's journey has evolved to selling his own fermented products under the business Tringo Cultures (now Community Cultures), creating a Fermentation CSA, and working for numerous businesses (from kraut to miso!).

Seeing how fermentation can help form community and connect us to our past, drives him to create more affordable and accessible workshops. His goal is to make this education, and magical form of food transformation, accessible to all.

Currently, Trevor teaches throughout Pittsburgh and has been a recurring instructor at Phipps Conservatory. He holds an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certification, Permaculture Design certification, and holds an M.A. in Food Studies and M.B.A. from Chatham University.

Join us for a roundtable discussion with Pittsburgh bakers who frequently use the grains that this region has to offer. We’ll discuss recipe development, what their favorite products are, their best advice for sourcing, price differences, and more! Come ready with questions and you’ll learn from these experienced bakers how to better incorporate more regional grains into your own business.

This event will be live-streamed! Come back to this page to view the live-stream and participate in the discussion through the comments section!

Moderator: Jade Umberger

Jade is from Mount Sterling, a small, rural town in Central Illinois. She went to Illinois State University to study nutrition before serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA and FoodCorps service member in North Carolina. Most recently, Jade lived in St. Louis, MO, eating toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake while working as a nutrition educator at Operation Food Search, a hunger relief nonprofit.

As a Food Studies graduate student and CRAFT Food Innovation Lab Coordinator, Jade hopes to dive deeper into farmer support and small-scale food production.

Speaker: Chloe Newman

CrustWorthy LLC

Chloe first fell in love with sourdough baking in 2016, although she’s always had a deep connection to cooking and the community of food. Naturally-leavened bread has become a strong expression of her overlapping backgrounds in visual art and organic life sciences, as well as her more recent studies in sustainability and local food systems.

In January 2019, Chloe became the founder and baker of Crust Worthy, a small-scale, community-supported baking operation, providing organic-grain, hand-crafted, naturally-leavened bread and specialty baked goods to local areas in Pittsburgh, PA.

Speaker: Oliver Pinder

Wild Rise Bakery

Oliver Pinder is the head baker and owner of Wild Rise Bakery, a gluten free bakery in Pittsburgh, PA. Oliver grew up watching his mother in the kitchen and has since attended culinary school in South Africa, completed his Food Studies Masters at Chatham University, and billed experience at some of the city’s best restaurants. Wild Rise Bakery is a Black & Queer owned gluten-free bakery that prioritizes breads and pastries with a focus on seasonal, local, and wholesome. You can find Wild Rise goods at the Bloomfield Farmers Market, through Harvie, Farmer x Baker, the East End Co-op, and more!

Speaker: Erika Bruce

Le Beau Gateau

After working for years as a pastry chef in both bakeries and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston, Erika embarked on a 20-year career developing recipes, writing about the process, and appearing as a regular cast member on cooking shows. Most of her work can be found in Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and Milk Street Magazines, and she can been seen on episodes ofAmerica’s Test Kitchen and Milk Street TV. She also worked as a food stylist before launching her wedding cake business, Le Beau Gateau. After relocating to Pittsburgh and raising her two young children, she’s ready to re-launch her baking business, this time with a focus on sustainability and community outreach. Her most recent stint preparing meals for 412 Food Rescue’s Good Food Project has been an important reminder of the power of food to do good.

Tickets for the day will be sold on a “pay what you can” basis, with a suggested donation of $20 per ticket. All are welcome to join, regardless of ability to pay.

Revenue from this event will go directly to paying student employees at Chatham University. We engage students across all of our programming at CRAFT, serving as a practicum space for students to gain work experience alongside their coursework. 

Registration is limited! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Join baker, writer, and regional grain leader Amy Halloran in a baking class exploring Ukrainian Pampushky. These garlic buns have intense flavor from a cold leavain, and are commonly served with borscht. Amy developed this recipe and class with her friend Ellie Markovitch, using Ukranian chef, cookbook author and activist Olia Hercules' recipe as a springboard. Participants will explore the intersections of baking, activism, and regional grains by learning how to prepare this traditional Ukrainian bread.

Tickets will be sold on a “pay what you can” basis, with a suggested donation of $20 per ticket. All are welcome to join, regardless of ability to pay.

Revenue from Grainstorm will go directly to paying student employees at Chatham University. We engage students across all of our programming at CRAFT, serving as a practicum space for students to gain work experience alongside their coursework. 

If you plan on attending the event, please register for Grainstorm and register for the workshop below!

Instructor: Amy Halloran

A writer and change agent, Amy works to add social values and economic viability to farms, cities, families, the emergency feeding system, and communities. Her love for pancakes led her to write a book about flour, THE NEW BREAD BASKET: How the New Crop of Grain Growers, Plant Breeders, Millers, Maltsters, Bakers, Brewers, and Local Food Activists Are Redefining Our Daily Loaf.

She lives in Troy, New York, and works with the Artisan Grain Collaborative in the Upper Midwest, and the Northeast Grainshed to create networks that support regional grains. She loves to create bridges between ideas and people through food. Her newsletter, Dear Bread is a record of the research she's doing about her city, her family, and the history of American baking. 

Join us for a day learning all about the regional grainshed in Western PA with hands-on workshops and roundtable discussions. This event is perfect for regional grain leaders, industry professionals, business owners interested in incorporating more regional grains into their product lines, and everyday enthusiasts of regional grains. A day of learning will close out with a happy hour, networking event and snacks from our wood-fired bread oven. 

Tickets will be sold on a “pay what you can” basis, with a suggested donation of $20 per ticket. All are welcome to join, regardless of ability to pay.

Revenue from this event will go directly to paying student employees at Chatham University. We engage students across all of our programming at CRAFT, serving as a practicum space for students to gain work experience alongside their coursework. 

Stay tuned for an email with details about the sessions and sign-ups for hands-on workshop opportunities.

Registration is limited! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Schedule

12:00pm - 1:30pm

Roundtable Discussion with Regional Grain Leaders

This event will be live-streamed on our website!

12:00pm - 1:30pm

Workshop: Indian Breads with Regional Grains

Please register for this event separately!

2:00pm - 3:30pm

Workshop: Ukrainian Pampushky

Please register for this event separately!

2:30pm - 3:30pm

Ask a Baker: Roundtable Discussion with Bakers Using Regional Grains

This event will be live-streamed on our website!

4:00pm - 6:00pm

Happy Hour & Networking Event! Come enjoy pizza from the Eden Hall Bread Oven, some favorite local brews, and meet other grains industry professionals. Open to all!

Join us for a roundtable discussion with regional grain leaders from across the country as they share about their organizations and the work that they’re doing. We will learn all about the challenges and success stories of these organizations, and speakers will share their thoughts about the local grain movement’s future in their region. We’ll have representatives from Common Grain Alliance in the Mid-Atlantic, Artisan Grain Collaborative in the Mid-West, and CRAFT in Pennsylvania. We’re looking forward to an interesting conversation with questions welcomed from participants.

This event will be live-streamed! Come back to this page to view the live-stream and participate in the discussion through the comments section!

Moderator: Amy Halloran

A writer and change agent, Amy works to add social values and economic viability to farms, cities, families, the emergency feeding system, and communities. Her love for pancakes led her to write a book about flour, THE NEW BREAD BASKET: How the New Crop of Grain Growers, Plant Breeders, Millers, Maltsters, Bakers, Brewers, and Local Food Activists Are Redefining Our Daily Loaf.

She lives in Troy, New York, and works with the Artisan Grain Collaborative in the Upper Midwest, and the Northeast Grainshed to create networks that support regional grains. She loves to create bridges between ideas and people through food. Her newsletter, Dear Bread is a record of the research she's doing about her city, her family, and the history of American baking. 

Speaker: Ben Shorofsky

Common Grain Alliance

Ben is the Vice Chair of the Common Grain Alliance Board, a Mid-Atlantic based nonprofit focused on developing a regenerative grain economy. He brings close to a decade of project development, management, and facilitation experience working with a variety of nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Ben works in the nonprofit sector and as an independent consultant to food and farm businesses throughout the country through his own consultancy, Stepwell Strategies. In addition, Ben co-founded the Artisan Grain Collaborative, a parallel organization to CGA in the midwest, and served as the first program coordinator as the organization grew. Benreturned home to Baltimore in 2019 with his wife and dog, Marty where in his free time, he runs a pre-order bagel business, Back Alley Bagel. For the last few years, Ben has worked with CGA partners as aproject administrator for a SARE-funded education program.

Speaker: Keith Williams

Artisan Grain Collaborative

Keith is a crop improvement and sourcing specialist living and working in Minneapolis, with 20+ years’ experience in the horticultural, agricultural and biotech industries. He currently serves as a Food Grade Grains Outreach Specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and leads the Research & Variety Testing Working Group for the Artisan Grain Collaborative. Keith received his PhD in Plant Breeding & Genetics from Cornell for his work in wheat with the Cornell Small Grains Breeding Program and holds a BSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Michigan. He has worked in Breeding R&D, Product Development and Procurement for a wide variety of organizations ranging from large, international CPG companies (PepsiCo) to lean startups (Row7 Seeds). In addition to his work with industry, he also maintains an independent, full-scale commercial maize breeding program developing flavor-driven maize hybrids for use throughout the United States. His passion is exploring the interface of crops and commerce and he enjoys projects that connect grains and other crops to food and exciting new products.

Speaker: Cassandra Malis

CRAFT, Chatham University

Cassandra is a program manager for the Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation at Chatham University where she helps to manage the educational offerings, including community workshops and workforce development programs. Additionally, Cassandra’s work has been focused CRAFT’s USDA grant involving supporting the regional grains industry, and has had the opportunity to connect with national organizations around this work.

Cassandra is a graduate of the Food Studies Masters of Arts program at Chatham University with a concentration in food politics. She manages the Eden Hall wood-fired bread oven and works to build community around baking at the Eden Hall campus.

Tickets for the day will be sold on a “pay what you can” basis, with a suggested donation of $20 per ticket. All are welcome to join, regardless of ability to pay.

Revenue from this event will go directly to paying student employees at Chatham University. We engage students across all of our programming at CRAFT, serving as a practicum space for students to gain work experience alongside their coursework. 

Registration is limited! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Join Jay Iyengar from Popping Mustard Seeds to learn how to make two popular Indian breads, roti and naan, using regionally grown and soured grains! We’ll experiment mainly with whole wheat flour, and we’ll explore both sourdough and natural leaven options. Participants will be able to taste the bread alongside an Indian chutney and raita prepared by Jay.

Tickets will be sold on a “pay what you can” basis, with a suggested donation of $20 per ticket. All are welcome to join, regardless of ability to pay.

Revenue from Grainstorm will go directly to paying student employees at Chatham University. We engage students across all of our programming at CRAFT, serving as a practicum space for students to gain work experience alongside their coursework. 

If you plan on attending the event, please register for Grainstorm and register for the workshop below!

Instructor: Jayashree (Jay) Iyengar

Jay is the owner of Popping Mustard Seeds - Indian Cooking Classes and More. She specializes in teaching Indian vegetarian cuisine. She grew up in Chennai, India before she moved to the United States more than three decades ago. She is an experienced chef and has taught several cooking classes in the Pittsburgh area, since August 2015.

She is also a Mechanical Engineer who worked at Westinghouse as an engineer for more than two decades. Her passion for cooking and teaching led her to transition to the culinary world. She has recently completed her Master’s degree in Food Studies at Chatham University.

Find out more about her at:poppingmustardseeds.com

This 3-hour workshop will teach participants the basics of baking with sourdough to make beautiful and delicious bread. We will go over the mixing, shaping, and baking of a naturally-leavened wheat loaf, along with sourdough starter care and maintenance. The workshop will include a tasting of a finished loaf, as well as the opportunity for participants to take home dough and a starter.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Chloe Newman

Chloe first fell in love with sourdough baking in 2016, although she’s always had a deep connection to cooking and the community of food. Naturally-leavened bread has become a strong expression of her overlapping backgrounds in visual art and organic life sciences, as well as her more recent studies in sustainability and local food systems.

In January 2019, Chloe became the founder and baker of Crust Worthy, a small-scale, community-supported baking operation, providing organic-grain, hand-crafted, naturally-leavened bread and specialty baked goods to local areas in Pittsburgh, PA.

Learn the art of fresh sausage making with local butcher, Ben Buchanan! Participants will get a hands on introduction to the craft, and will learn all about cut selection, boning, grinding, seasoning, and stuffing homemade sausage. The meat, equipment, and ingredients will be provided, and participants will be able to create custom flavors for their sausage.

All participants will take home their own sausages from class!

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Ben Buchanan

Ben Buchanan was born and raised in the Pittsburgh region and has 19 years of experience in craft butchery. As a husband and father of three, he founded Unified Fields in 2020 with the mission to give more people access to wholesome local meat and empower farmers to have a better channel to market their products. He is passionate about teaching the trade and helping others develop skills to be successful through direct training services and mentorship for startup butchers.

Baking bread with rye can be tricky; it is not at all like wheat and requires different techniques. Join Chloe Newman from CrustWorthy to learn all about the nuances of baking sourdough bread with rye flour! This workshop will cover the fundamentals of baking with a rye sourdough culture including basic mixing and shaping techniques as well as sourdough culture maintenance. Each participant will leave with a jar of sourdough starter, recipes, and the knowledge to continue baking at home.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

This workshop is sold out! To add your name to the waitlist, please fill out the following form:

Instructor: Chloe Newman

Chloe first fell in love with sourdough baking in 2016, although she’s always had a deep connection to cooking and the community of food. Naturally-leavened bread has become a strong expression of her overlapping backgrounds in visual art and organic life sciences, as well as her more recent studies in sustainability and local food systems.

In January 2019, Chloe became the founder and baker of Crust Worthy, a small-scale, community-supported baking operation, providing organic-grain, hand-crafted, naturally-leavened bread and specialty baked goods to local areas in Pittsburgh, PA.

In this class, you’ll learn the techniques and skills you need to make seasonal American-style ice cream, sorbet, and custard. Your instructor, Jordan Mason, will teach participants how to bring your ice cream to the next level with sauces, toppings, and seasonal add-ins. Participants will be able to customize their own ice cream base to take home with them, and the class will churn some to taste test as a group. This class will also teach methods for making ice cream at home without an ice cream maker!

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

Instructor: Jordan Mason

Jordan recently graduated with a dual degree Masters of Food Studies/MBA from Chatham University. She has over ten years of kitchen experience, a Baking and Pastry Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University, and a Bachelor's in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship. During her undergrad, Jordan worked at Market Street Pastries in Blairsville, PA, and also owned a side business creating custom cakes, cookies, and pastries for customers in her hometown. 

She then moved to Portland, Oregon for 4 years and quickly became the Pastry Chef for Bon Appetit Management Company at Reed College. Here, she was able to refine her skills and use her creativity to feed several hundred students daily, create desserts for catered events, and even had the opportunity to participate in gingerbread competitions. She led her pastry team to place second in the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Gingerbread Competition in 2016, and first place in 2017. Although not in a kitchen anymore, Jordan currently works in local food at Harvie Farms Pittsburgh connecting directly with local farmers, makers, and chefs to get their products distributed throughout Pittsburgh.

Known for its long, painful history with sugar, Caribbean peoples have embraced sugar production to produce tantalizingly satisfying desserts and treats. Come explore sugar and molasses use through the preparation of Jamaican bulla cake, Barbadian cassava pone, and variations of tamarind balls. Participants will learn about the history of sugar production in the Caribbean while they cook and taste food in class, and will also leave with the recipes and knowledge to recreate these dishes at home. 

Participants will cook and taste food in the class, and will also leave with the recipes and knowledge to recreate these dishes at home.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

Instructor: Toni Simpson

Toni is a Barbadian chef and instructor with over 20 years experience in hospitality and culinary training and education. Armed with an MA in Food Studies from The Falk School of Sustainability at Chatham University, she hopes to infuse her love of Caribbean food, culinary history and traditions through cooking classes and her penchant for story telling.

Learn about the intricacies of kombucha, tibicos (water kefir), wild soda, vinegar, and carbonation in this hands-on workshop. Trevor Ring of Community Cultures will lead participants in learning about the different methods for fermenting non-alcoholic beverages, utilizing a diversity of starter cultures and microbes. Participants will leave with a few started ferments and the knowledge of how to continue fermenting at home.  

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

Instructor: Trevor Ring

Trevor Ring is a fermentation educator, business owner and microbe lover.

In 2011 and 2014 Trevor apprenticed under the well-known fermentation revivalist, Sandor Katz (author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation). That experience naturally led into teaching fermentation workshops of his own. Seven years and many workshops later, Trevor's journey has evolved to selling his own fermented products under the business Tringo Cultures (now Community Cultures), creating a Fermentation CSA, and working for numerous businesses (from kraut to miso!).

Seeing how fermentation can help form community and connect us to our past, drives him to create more affordable and accessible workshops. His goal is to make this education, and magical form of food transformation, accessible to all.

Currently, Trevor teaches throughout Pittsburgh and has been a recurring instructor at Phipps Conservatory. He holds an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certification, Permaculture Design certification, and holds an M.A. in Food Studies and M.B.A. from Chatham University.

Dates: Saturday, April 2nd
Time: 12:00- 2:00 pm
Location: Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus. Ridge Road, Gibsonia, PA
Register: RSVP Here

Please join CRAFT's Food Innovation Lab from 12-2pm on Saturday, April 2nd at the Ester Barazzone Center on Chatham University's Eden Hall Campus for a business networking event.

Meet and network with other business owners and valuable resource providers. This event will event will also showcase the winners of the Business Pitch Competition culminating earlier in the day.

REGISTRATION
RSVP for the networking event, here.

EVENT CONTACT INFORMATION
Nicolette Spudic
412-365-1370
n.spudic@chatham.edu

Join us for a hands-on Indian cooking class where participants will learn to make dosas, similar to savory pancakes. Dosas will be made both using cream of wheat and/or a gluten-free flour. Additionally, participants will learn to make Sambar, made with lentils and vegetables in a spicy tamarind sauce. These dishes are typical of South Indian cuisine and participants will learn about this type of regional Indian cooking. Participants will eat together at the end of the class and will leave with recipes and the knowledge to recreate these dishes at home. 

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

Instructor: Jayashree (Jay) Iyengar

Jay is the owner of Popping Mustard Seeds - Indian Cooking Classes and More. She specializes in teaching Indian vegetarian cuisine. She grew up in Chennai, India before she moved to the United States more than three decades ago. She is an experienced chef and has taught several cooking classes in the Pittsburgh area, since August 2015.

She is also a Mechanical Engineer who worked at Westinghouse as an engineer for more than two decades. Her passion for cooking and teaching led her to transition to the culinary world. She has recently completed her Master’s degree in Food Studies at Chatham University.

Find out more about her at:poppingmustardseeds.com

Join us for a hands-on Indian cooking class focused on two popular breakfast and lunch dishes: uppuma (made with cream of wheat) and dhokla (a gluten-free dish made with chickpea flour) with a coconut-mint chutney. Local chef Jayashree Iyengar of Popping Mustard Seeds will teach participants about the history of these dishes along with the process of how to prepare them at home. Participants will eat their creations together and leave the class with the knowledge of how to recreate these popular dishes for themselves!

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

Instructor: Jayashree (Jay) Iyengar

Jay is the owner of Popping Mustard Seeds - Indian Cooking Classes and More. She specializes in teaching Indian vegetarian cuisine. She grew up in Chennai, India before she moved to the United States more than three decades ago. She is an experienced chef and has taught several cooking classes in the Pittsburgh area, since August 2015.

She is also a Mechanical Engineer who worked at Westinghouse as an engineer for more than two decades. Her passion for cooking and teaching led her to transition to the culinary world. She has recently completed her Master’s degree in Food Studies at Chatham University.

Find out more about her at:poppingmustardseeds.com

If you’re an avid home-baker or new in the kitchen, this workshop is for you! You’ll learn the technique behind making perfectly flaky and tender scones! Jordan will teach participants how to properly cut butter into flour, as well as a few other important techniques for making delicious scones at home. The class will make both savory and sweet scones, and will walk away with the knowledge of how to create their own recipes with whatever ingredients are in the kitchen or the garden. 

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.  

This workshop is sold out! Please add your name to the waitlist to be notified if tickets become available.

Instructor: Jordan Mason

Jordan recently graduated with a dual degree Masters of Food Studies/MBA from Chatham University. She has over ten years of kitchen experience, a Baking and Pastry Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University, and a Bachelor's in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship. During her undergrad, Jordan worked at Market Street Pastries in Blairsville, PA, and also owned a side business creating custom cakes, cookies, and pastries for customers in her hometown. 

She then moved to Portland, Oregon for 4 years and quickly became the Pastry Chef for Bon Appetit Management Company at Reed College. Here, she was able to refine her skills and use her creativity to feed several hundred students daily, create desserts for catered events, and even had the opportunity to participate in gingerbread competitions. She led her pastry team to place second in the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Gingerbread Competition in 2016, and first place in 2017. Although not in a kitchen anymore, Jordan currently works in local food at Harvie Farms Pittsburgh connecting directly with local farmers, makers, and chefs to get their products distributed throughout Pittsburgh.

Join us as we take a stroll through the sunlight and into the world of Caribbean street food! This workshop will focus on two islands famous for their carnivals and felting. From Barbados we will prepare the ubiquitous fishcake. From Trinidad we prepare their famous doubles with a variety of sauces. And in true Island fashion we will learn to prepare a delicious and fresh drink made with sorrel and hibiscus!

Participants will cook and taste food in the class, and will also leave with the recipes and knowledge to recreate these dishes at home.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

This workshop is sold out! Please add your name to the waitlist to be notified if tickets become available.

Instructor: Toni Simpson

Toni is a Barbadian chef and instructor with over 20 years experience in hospitality and culinary training and education. Armed with an MA in Food Studies from The Falk School of Sustainability at Chatham University, she hopes to infuse her love of Caribbean food, culinary history and traditions through cooking classes and her penchant for story telling.

Dive into the world of mold-based fermentation in this introductory workshop! Participants will learn about the process of growing koji (a key ingredient in Japanese ferments) and making miso and tempe(h). Trevor will guide participants through the basics of making incubators at home and troubleshooting each fermented product. Participants will leave with the knowledge of how to continue fermenting in their home kitchens!

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

This workshop is sold out! Please add your name to the waitlist to be notified if tickets become available.

Instructor: Trevor Ring

Trevor Ring is a fermentation educator, business owner and microbe lover.

In 2011 and 2014 Trevor apprenticed under the well-known fermentation revivalist, Sandor Katz (author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation). That experience naturally led into teaching fermentation workshops of his own. Seven years and many workshops later, Trevor's journey has evolved to selling his own fermented products under the business Tringo Cultures (now Community Cultures), creating a Fermentation CSA, and working for numerous businesses (from kraut to miso!).

Seeing how fermentation can help form community and connect us to our past, drives him to create more affordable and accessible workshops. His goal is to make this education, and magical form of food transformation, accessible to all.

Currently, Trevor teaches throughout Pittsburgh and has been a recurring instructor at Phipps Conservatory. He holds an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certification, Permaculture Design certification, and holds an M.A. in Food Studies and M.B.A. from Chatham University.

In this virtual, hands-on baking class, learn how to make this easy yet satisfying quick bread! Erika Bruce, owner of Le Beau Gateau, will walk you through the process of Irish Soda Breads while using wholesome and regionally sourced whole wheat flours. She’ll also teach participants how to make compound butter to serve with the bread, just in time for one of Pittsburgh’s favorite holidays, St. Patrick’s Day!

This is a virtual workshop. Shopping lists, equipment lists, a prep list, and zoom information will be provided at least one week before the class. 

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

Instructor: Erika Bruce

After working for years as a pastry chef in both bakeries and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston, Erika embarked on a 20-year career developing recipes, writing about the process, and appearing as a regular cast member on cooking shows. Most of her work can be found in Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and Milk Street Magazines, and she can been seen on episodes ofAmerica’s Test Kitchen and Milk Street TV. She also worked as a food stylist before launching her wedding cake business, Le Beau Gateau. After relocating to Pittsburgh and raising her two young children, she’s ready to re-launch her baking business, this time with a focus on sustainability and community outreach. Her most recent stint preparing meals for 412 Food Rescue’s Good Food Project has been an important reminder of the power of food to do good.

In this introduction to fermented vegetables, Trevor will guide you through the process of preserving everything from cabbage and carrots to butternut squash and cucumbers. Using the simple process of wild fermentation, you will gain the skills to ferment any vegetable at home with simplicity and confidence. Trevor will guide the class through the simple practices of making tasty and safe fermented products, while demystifying common fears and problems within the process. Participants will also learn about the historical, nutritional, and cultural significance of these fermented products and why we should embrace healthy bacteria with open arms. 

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout. 

Instructor: Trevor Ring

Trevor Ring is a fermentation educator, business owner and microbe lover.

In 2011 and 2014 Trevor apprenticed under the well-known fermentation revivalist, Sandor Katz (author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation). That experience naturally led into teaching fermentation workshops of his own. Seven years and many workshops later, Trevor's journey has evolved to selling his own fermented products under the business Tringo Cultures (now Community Cultures), creating a Fermentation CSA, and working for numerous businesses (from kraut to miso!).

Seeing how fermentation can help form community and connect us to our past, drives him to create more affordable and accessible workshops. His goal is to make this education, and magical form of food transformation, accessible to all.

Currently, Trevor teaches throughout Pittsburgh and has been a recurring instructor at Phipps Conservatory. He holds an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certification, Permaculture Design certification, and holds an M.A. in Food Studies and M.B.A. from Chatham University.

This comprehensive, 4-hour workshop will focus on how to butcher, process, and cook a lamb. In the first part of the workshop, local butcher and owner of Unified Fields, Ben Buchanan will demonstrate how to break down an entire lamb. Ben will discuss tools needed, proper safety techniques, and how to identify different cuts. Participants will join Ben in further breaking down the lamb and cleaning different cuts of meat, learning about whole animal butchering along the way. Ben will demonstrate cooking lamb as well, and participants will be able to share a meal before heading home with 3-5lbs of fresh, locally raised lamb.

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

This workshop is sold out! Please add your name to the waitlist to be notified if tickets become available.

Instructor: Ben Buchanan

Ben Buchanan was born and raised in the Pittsburgh region and has 19 years of experience in craft butchery. As a husband and father of three, he founded Unified Fields in 2020 with the mission to give more people access to wholesome local meat and empower farmers to have a better channel to market their products. He is passionate about teaching the trade and helping others develop skills to be successful through direct training services and mentorship for startup butchers.

This sausage workshop will teach attendees about the many different types of sausage and its production. The workshop will go through the process from start to finish, from meat selection to consumption, and discuss different ways to create flavorful sausages. 

Participants will learn the following:

• Local farms and sources for finding sustainable meat

• How to select meat for sausages

• Information about fat content and the good fat you want in your sausages

• How to grind meat for sausages

• Natural vs artificial casings

• How to proportion and weigh ingredients depending on the type of sausage

• How to stuff sausages

• Basics of cooking sausage

All participants will take home their own sausages from class!

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

This workshop is sold out! Please add your name to the waitlist to be notified if tickets become available.

Instructor: Ben Buchanan

Ben Buchanan was born and raised in the Pittsburgh region and has 19 years of experience in craft butchery. As a husband and father of three, he founded Unified Fields in 2020 with the mission to give more people access to wholesome local meat and empower farmers to have a better channel to market their products. He is passionate about teaching the trade and helping others develop skills to be successful through direct training services and mentorship for startup butchers.

If you’re an avid home-baker or new in the kitchen, this baking workshop with Erika Bruce, owner of Pittsburgh bakery Le Beau Gateau, is for you! You’ll learn how to make pate-a-choux puffs and a simple chocolate sauce. From there you’ll learn how to fill the puffs with ice cream and serve the perfect Valentine’s day dessert! Participants will taste their creations in class and leave with the knowledge of how to recreate this classic treat on their own. 

This will be an in-person class. Chatham University’s current policy requires COVID-19 vaccinations for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities. Additionally, the current policy states that mask-wearing is required indoors.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

Instructor: Erika Bruce

After working for years as a pastry chef in both bakeries and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston, Erika embarked on a 20-year career developing recipes, writing about the process, and appearing as a regular cast member on cooking shows. Most of her work can be found in Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and Milk Street Magazines, and she can been seen on episodes ofAmerica’s Test Kitchen and Milk Street TV. She also worked as a food stylist before launching her wedding cake business, Le Beau Gateau. After relocating to Pittsburgh and raising her two young children, she’s ready to re-launch her baking business, this time with a focus on sustainability and community outreach. Her most recent stint preparing meals for 412 Food Rescue’s Good Food Project has been an important reminder of the power of food to do good.