Macys Home Store

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.

On November 28th, I attended the ribbon cutting for Macy’s South Coast Plaza new café and cooking school. Located in Macy’s Home Store on Bear Street, the new space is quite nice and very spacious. The café waitstaff passed out samples of one of the sandwiches on their menu as well as sips of their Wild Main Blueberry Lemonade. Both were quite tasty.

Many ingredients from the food listed on their menu are sold there in a little retail area in front of the café. I went back later and had lunch because I wanted more than samples. The lemonade is so good. The manager said they use their Wilde Main Blueberry Jam mixed right into the lemonade. So, you can buy the jam and make it at home. The sandwich was the Ham, Fig & Brie served on a ciabatta roll. The brie is melted just enough, and with thinly sliced apple-glazed uncured ham and prosciutto, it was heavenly! I opted for a side of their homemade chips – large and crispy.

The first Stonewall Kitchen School demonstration classes began November 28th and run through December 29th. Some of the titles are “Harvest Luncheon in Italia”, “Date Night in December”, “Seasonal Comforts”, “An American Supper” and “Casual Dining”. There will be generous food sampling, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, and recipes to take home. These first 90-minute classes range from $50 to $60. This culinary experience will definitely be on my calendar for next year.

The Other Thing – Everyone at Macy’s involved with this new café and cooking school are very friendly and efficient. They even remembered my name when I went back for lunch.

This, That, and The Other Thing

Tag

“An Americano Supper”

Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School & Cafe