‘Sweet and Spicy’ classes teaching students to cook
Celeste Van Kirk/O-R Chef Christine Somales, center, gives instructions to Diane Yantek, left, and Mary Davis, both of Bethel Park.
Celeste Van Kirk/O-R Bonnie March of Centerville holds a freshly prepared meal that is destined for the slow cooker.
Celeste Van Kirk/O-R Ingredients are bagged and ready for the slow cooker or freezer.
Chef Christine Somales prepares to add red roasted tomato sauce to pizza bread during a cooking class in the kitchen of Off the Wall Arts in Charleroi. Jim McNutt/O-R
CHARLEROI – Chef Christine Somales lives, breathes and even dreams about food.
“I love food and everything about it,” she said. “I think about food 24/7.”
Food, said the owner of Sweet and Spicy Culinary in Charleroi, is in her blood.
“I am the third chef in the family – the first female chef,” Somales said. After emigrating from Greece, her grandfather and father had owned, operated and cooked in various establishments in the Pittsburgh and Mon Valley area.
With a degree in culinary arts and hospitality management, Somales, of Monongahela, has worked in many aspects of the food industry, but one of her favorite jobs has been sharing her love of cooking. She teaches at Westmoreland County Community College and Community College of Allegheny County and has taught privately.
So when Casey Clark, owner of Off the Wall Arts in Charleroi, approached her about offering classes at her facility, Somales jumped at the opportunity. In 2013, Clark bought the former Salotino’s restaurant at 532 McKean Ave. “I do the paint-and-sip art classes, but I kept thinking we needed to utilize the kitchen,” Clark said. She said she would drive past the building, and it made her sad to see it empty and dark.
“Now, we have become a little creative hub in Charleroi: There is a paint-and-sip, cooking classes and dancing upstairs,” she said.
Sweet and Spicy Culinary cooking classes give students a hands-on cooking experience in a small-classroom setting. At the end of each class, students can sit down and enjoy their efforts, or they can take their finished creations home to share.
Each month a variety of classes are offered. Past sessions have ranged from making mozzarella cheese and slow-cooker freezer meals to ethnic dishes and clean eating. The cost ranges from $30 to $65.
“I try to show my students how to make good food with fresh ingredients,” Somales said. What makes the classes so popular, Somales said, is the fact that many of the students don’t know how to cook.
“Many of my students grew up in a household with mothers that went out, got an education and good jobs, and they didn’t have time to cook. They ate out or made convenient meals, such as take-out. These same people remember their grandmothers that cooked, and they want to go back to that,” she explained. “Many of my students want to get away from convenience and processed food. They are concerned about GMOs, and want fresh and healthy food for their families.”
The atmosphere is casual, and wine or water is offered. During a recent class on preparing meals with a slow cooker, students gathered around the table and giggled nervously, some admitting they’d never used a Crock-Pot.
Somales reassured the group and said at one time she owned neither a microwave nor a slow cooker.
Students were given freezer bags to fill with various meats, vegetables and spices. They were instructed to write in permanent marker the name of the meal and the cooking instructions on the bags, so they could be frozen until needed.
While students were getting their bags ready and doing the prep work for the dinners, Somales explained that it is cheaper to purchase fresh vegetables and meat in bulk. At the conclusion of class, each student left with five meals and ideas for new recipes for the slow cooker.
Mary Fran Davis of Bethel Park said she wanted to attend the class because she never used a slow cooker but was interested in learning for its convenience.
“I see recipes all of the time on Facebook for the Crock-Pot. I am interested in knowing how to put it all together. This class is something different to do with your friends,” she said.
It was the first class for Diane Yontek of Bethel Park, and she, too, was looking forward to learning some recipes for the slow cooker.
“I came tonight to learn some good, fresh recipes that I can cook when I get home from work,” Yontek said. “I hate cooking when I come home after work. Cooking in a Crock-Pot seems like it would be easier: I could come home and dinner would be ready.”
Somales said students learn how easy it is to put together a meal with fresh ingredients for their family.
“I love it when I see that someone from one of my classes has gone and taken away what I taught and created something,” she said. “This week someone posted a picture on Facebook of an artisan bread, which they learned in one of my classes. I was so happy, it brought a tear to my eye.”
Clark and Somales said plans may include holding a combination paint-and-sip/cooking night, in which students will make appetizers in the kitchen and then enjoy their snacks while they paint. Somales said she also plans to hold a couples date night cooking event, where couples can cook and then enjoy a dinner together.
“We have lots of fun at these classes. We’ve had bridal shower parties and birthday parties,” she added.
Visit the Sweet and Spicy Culinary page on Facebook for a list of upcoming events.