We are excited to offer this unique opportunity to work with Chef Frank in 2018! Throughout the growing season of the upcoming year, he will be leading individuals or couples for 5-day culinary intensives. Set at Three Lily Farm in midcoast Maine, students will join Chef Frank out in the field and in the kitchen for a custom designed course to help deepen their culinary skills or kick start a new culinary journey. This offering is designed for folks really looking to sharpen their skills and learn to work with the seasons in a more intimate way, ultimately providing themselves and their families with more nutrient dense food to eat and preserve.

Session #1 - Spring Foraging

By the time May rolls around, most of the winter larder has been depleted and the steady meals of root vegetables and stew meat are no longer sought after. It is the month of May that truly kicks off the growing season by offering up an array of choice edibles in great abundance. During this time, the landscape bursts with green where young tender, shoots and leaves grow with tenacity, allowing the agile forager to fill up baskets with fiddleheads, wild leeks, sting nettles, and many more delicious plants. Throughout this time, you will learn to properly identify these edibles, learn how to sustainably harvest, and of course prepare these delicious ingredients.

This unique opportunity will allow you to get direct instruction on many vital cooking techniques and learn how to set up your kitchen for success. Trips to the farmer's market will provide us with high quality dairy, local grass fed meat and wild caught fish, as well as early season vegetables like turnips and overwintered greens. We will spend time in the field foraging, working in my own garden, and eventually taking our goods back into my kitchen. From honing your knife skills, to cooking over open fire, we will spend 5 days learning a variety of techniques to help inspire and improve your existing culinary skills.

Topics Covered

Kitchen Organization (The Kitchen Sweep)
Foundations of Ancestral Cuisine
Eating in sync the Seasons (Foraging + Farmer's Market visit)
Food Preservation (Putting Food By + Building up Your Larder)
Knife Skills + Sharpening
At the Stove (Dialing in Proper Cooking Techniques)
Seasoning + Flavor Combos
The Art of Slow Cooking
Building + Cooking over a Fire

Chef Frank's passion for local sourced and seasonally based ingredients will be the core of this intensive, based in traditional preparations. Learn to keep a sourdough starter, create delicious ferments, make honey wine, and properly utilize a whole chicken. If weather permits, we may find ourselves building bow drill kits from nearby cedar trees, then building a fire to cook the evening meal. See how purposeful preparations connect you to your environment. The purpose of this offering is to help the individual get direct lessons and recipes based on the types of skills you are wanting to learn.