Class: Greg Atkinson “At Pike Place”

Last night K and I attended a class at Sur la Table.  This was a demonstration class by Greg Atkinson.  Greg first came to local attention after opening the restaurant at Friday Harbor House on San Juan Island.  Next, Greg became executive chef at Canlis, the Grande Dame of Seattle special occasion dining, and was there for several years.  He eventually left Canlis and is now affiliated with Islandwood, an environmental learning center on Bainbridge Island.  He has published two cookbooks and is working on his third and fourth.  He is a contributing writer for Food Arts magazine but you may be most familiar with his "Taste" column in the Sunday Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine.  He also is part of a weekly radio show on KUOW called "The Beat".  His segment of the program is on Wednesday at about 2:45 pm. 

I had never seen Greg in person before.  He is soft-spoken, friendly and flows more than moves.  He accomplished so much in last night’s class yet never seemed rushed or frantic in any way!  He has worked with many culinary icons and shared amusing anecdotes about Julia Child and M.F.K. Fisher.  This was a really enjoyable class and I learned many little tricks and bits of information that will help me in the kitchen, as well as acquiring this set of wonderful recipes. 

   
The recipes he prepared last night are all from his cookbook due to be released in the fall.  It is called, "Entertaining in the Northwest Style, a Menu Cookbook".  It will be 13 chapters of menus with recipes.  The first couple pages of each chapter will cover information on preparation – what you can do ahead, how to simplify a menu, wine to pair with the meal and other pertinent information. 

The menus from this book were inspired by some of Greg’s work at Canlis.  While there he often did special menus for group dinners.  He said he started thinking about how people could create these menus at home and that is the focus of this book – Canlis level dining with home preparation. 

The book is due to be released in November and based on last night’s class I will be anxious to get my hands on a copy! 

Here is the menu from last night’s class: 

"At Pike Place"
A Dinner to Toast the Farmers’ Market 

Whole Wheat Butter Crackers
With Fresh White Cheese

Pan-Seared Prawns
with Spinach Flans and Tomato Butter

Pear-Shaped Game Hens
(Chicken substituted for the class)
with Forest Mushroom Filling

Green Beans and Rainbow Tomatoes

Market Stall Tart