Take a class

The new Culinary Center at Tulocay & Co will be offering cooking classes beginning in July. A special category will be corporate team-building classes.

Leah Aguayo, famous for Mrs. A's Salsa Buena, conducts cooking classes at Whole Foods in the San Francisco Bay Area. Grilled steak, marinated chicken, corn and vegetable salad are some of the items on class menus. Check with your local Whole Foods for a schedule.

At the moment, The Cookie Tree in Yuba City offers baking lessons for children ages 8-14 years old. In the fall they plan to host an adult class. Learn to make well-loved treats (below), such as Snicker Doodles or Chocolate Crackles, as well as Cookie Tree originals such as Rascals.

Jo Ann Sorrenti has an extensive schedule of classes at the Sierra Nut House in Fresno (Sierra Soups). The classes include: Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley, Nuts and Nutrition, and Italian Regional Cooking. At the Wine Bar, they do wine tastings and wine pairings, working with students from the highly regarded enology and viticulture program at California State University Fresno.

Costeaux Bakery in Healdsburg will begin baking classes again this fall. Abby says, �I often hear people talk about how much they enjoyed them and that they still have the recipes,� Present renovations will add workshop, conference room, and small classroom space and provide options for special events.

Check out the online videos with Tom Pfleider demonstrating how to use Art of Chipotle products.

What's new

Blue Horizon Organic Seafood
(Crunchy Tempura-Battered Organic Shrimp, below)

Giusto's Specialty Foods
VitaGrain natural whole grain flours

Lola Granola
Comes full of nuts and raisins -- or full of nuts and no raisins, whichever way you like it.

New York Fancy Food Show

We hope all the members of the trade who are attending the New York Fancy Food Show June 29 through July 1 will stop at the Savor California booth, #480.

Producers in the booth:
Elaine's Toffee Co.
Robert Lambert, below
Vignette Wine Country Soda, above

Robert Lambert is a sofi Awards finalist for his Dark Cherries Preserved in Merlot Syrup.

NASFT sofi Awards finalists

The annual National Association for the Specialty Food Trade competition is like the Oscars in the movie industry. The Savor California companies below are finalists.

A Perfect Pear from Napa Valley
Champagne Pear Vinaigrette
(used in "Smoked Salmon Tier," above)

Bellwether Farms
Cr�me Fraiche French Cultured Cream

Desserts on Us
Laceys Cookies, Almond and Dark Chocolate

La Tourangelle
Roasted Pistachio Oil

Robert Lambert
Dark Cherries Preserved in Merlot Syrup

Stella Cadente Olive Oil
Basil Oil

Take a tour

For a close-up look and a chance to meet the producers in person, some of the Savor California companies offer tours.

These may involve special requirements in order to protect food safety and your safety, so please call in advance to make arrangements. After your tour, you can purchase products to take home as tasty souvenirs.

Group tours of Costeaux French Bakery can be arranged by contacting Abby Whitenack in advance. Start with a pastry and an espresso and then be led on a tour of the bakery. The best time is early to mid evening when you can see the bread-baking in action.

Sebastien can conduct tours at Fabrique D�lices for 5 to 6 people to see traditional French charcuterie in the making.

There�s something for everyone during October when Spring Hill Jersey Cheese�s Pumpkin Patch is open. Milk a cow, dig for potatoes, pick a pumpkin, check out the farm animals. Open every day in October from 10:00 am to dusk.

The girls, above, are delighted to have their hands in the dirt, and each potato they find is a treasure.

Sunset Celebration

The Savor California booth has been a favorite spot at this show for the last three years. Held on the Sunset Magazine campus in Menlo Park, this show makes the pages of Sunset come alive. Once again on June 7 and 8 we will present the opportunity to taste a wide variety of gourmet products:

A Perfect Pear from Napa Valley
Desperately Seeking Chocolate
Jade Chocolates
La Tortilla Factory
Little Laura's Sweets
Mrs. A's Salsa Buena
Napa Valley Fudge
Russian River Foods
Sierra Soups
Skipstone Ranch
The Chocolate Traveler
The Cookie Tree
Tsar Nicoulai Caviar
Wild Planet