Under Your Nose: Unexpected Kitchens

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First in a two-part series.

Not so long ago, foodies derided the District’s restaurant scene as lagging far, far behind other hipper, trendier cities. But these days, Washington is awash in upscale, palate-pleasing eateries. Of course, they aren’t cheap.

But if you don’t have the dough to foot the bill at one of the new hot spots, try finding their celebrity chefs elsewhere around town — for free.

Some local food experts are offering their knowledge at no- or low-cost cooking classes throughout the city. (And it’s likely the food’s better than the ethics-rules-approved lobbying lunches and ice cream socials you’ve been scouting out around Capitol Hill.) Here are some examples.

Bountiful Garden

Just steps away from the Capitol, the Botanic Garden hosts several cooking classes a year, which is surprising for an institution that doesn’t even have a kitchen.

A recent culinary program showcased the newest exhibit, which explores sustainability in more than 40 ways, called “One Planet — Ours!” The class focused on the fruits and vegetables available at local farmers’ markets.

During a recent class, chef Ris Lacoste diced her way through a demonstration on the perfect panzanella salad using produce purchased that morning at the Penn Quarter Freshfarm Market. She also threw some food science into the process — but what else would you expect when taking a cooking class at what’s essentially a museum?

Douglas Graham/Roll Call

Chef Ris Lacoste prepares a panzanella salad, made with fresh ingredients bought at the farmers’ market, at a recent Botanic Garden cooking demonstration.
Lacoste, of Clyde’s 1789 fame and who will soon be opening her own restaurant in the West End, taught students how to properly emulsify a vinaigrette (start with your acids and slowly add the oils or else cells could rupture) and hydrate greens (soak them in icy water for 10 minutes), and she also explained how onions oxidize (so cut them at the last minute or they become bitter).

Clearly comfortable in any kitchen setting, Lacoste went on for nearly an hour and a half about area farmers, where to buy what foods and her favorite brands.

“Experiences allow you to create food combinations in your mind you know are going to work,” the seasoned chef said. “Your mind brings taste to your palette.”

Lacoste said she created the recipe, which is available at freshfarmmarkets.org, knowing that tomatoes and blue cheese work well together and that blue cheese goes well with walnuts. Then, thinking how tomatoes and basil, oil and oregano team well, and also with olives, she knew before she started putting it all together that it would be a great salad. And it was.

The next class, on July 31, will showcase Thai cuisine, including cheesy fried wontons with fresh mango and herb sauce, as demonstrated by Aulie Banyarataphan of Bangkok Joe’s Thai Restaurant.

The classes are free; register at usbg.gov or 202-225-1116.

The Botanic Garden is teaming with Freshfarm Markets to host these cooking programs a few times a year, and the markets — with locations in Penn Quarter on Thursdays, H Street on Saturdays and Dupont Circle on Sundays, among others — regularly host chefs demonstrating cooking techniques with the week’s fresh ingredients. (Stop by Dupont Circle at 11 a.m. Sunday for a demonstration by Vidalia’s RJ Cooper.)

Native Foods

As the Smithsonian’s newest addition to the Mall, the National Museum of the American Indian boasts one of the best cafeterias in town. And its executive chef, Richard Hetzler, puts that food on display with cooking demonstrations several times a year.

Usually in conjunction with a holiday or exhibit, these programs delve into the history of the cuisines and origins of the foods.

For Hawaiian cultural awareness in May, he brought in a native Hawaiian to talk about the traditional techniques for cooking, preparation and background. Then, in the outdoor fire pit, they cooked lomi lomi salmon and lau lau with butterfish flown in from Hawaii. They also made a luau-favorite, kalua pig, which baked for 12 hours in an imu, or underground oven, with lava rocks.