My first Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School demonstration class today was presented by Joanna Chun, Culinary Studio Manager for Macy’s. Classes are held at Macy’s Home Store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.  Complimentary coffee, tea, and water were served during the class. We enjoyed generous servings of each dish – it was not just a tasting. Joanna’s Sous Chef  for this session was Susan Carter who will also be presenting cooking demonstrations in the coming weeks.

Chef Joanna Chun joins the Macy’s team with an impressive resume. Trained at the International Culinary Center in New York, she has worked in the kitchen at Jean-Georges and was pastry chef at Le Cirque. Her focus at Stonewall Kitchen is to offer unique cooking methods and fixes for cooking mistakes as well as detailed food preparation and presentation.

Today’s  4-course menu consisted of Mixed Greens with Orange Supreme, Hazelnuts and Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette – Roasted Eggplant Risotto with Capers and Basil – Honey Roasted Carrots – Coffee and Chili Rubbed Ribeye Steak – Malted Chocolate Espresso Cake.

Chef Chun showed us step by step preparation for each dish and encouraged questions. Detailed recipes were given to the attendees as well as suggestions on where certain ingredients could be purchased locally.

It was a delightful hour and a half, and I came away with a full and contented tummy!     I look forward to more of these demonstrations.

A few kinks need to be work out, but this promises to be a popular and useful attraction at Macy’s. It will surely draw new customers. The Stonewall Kitchen Café is open daily from 11am-3pm. I ate there on opening day. The food is good and the Wild Maine Blueberry Lemonade is a delight!!

The Other Thing:  Tip of the Day – “Black Dust” spice mix from Savory Spice Shop in OC Mart Mix at SoCo Collection as a pre-mixed dry rub for the steak.