Pacifica Orange County branch’s celebration of the completion of the 2013-2014 Cooking Class season was exciting and fun for the guests, students and competitors.
West America Turkish Council President (WATC) Ozkur Yildiz delivered the opening remarks of the evening. “Food is an element that unites people from any religion and any region, no matter what other differences they might have” he said. Pacifica Institute’s cooking classes have been open to the public since 2008, said Yildiz. He noted that since the cooking classes began, there have been over a hundred students as well as over thirty volunteers.
Next there was a slide show of the hands-on cooking classes and of the students proudly presenting the Turkish food they had prepared. It was clear that the students and teacher have wonderful memories of their cooking experiences and of the love and friendship that developed from sharing the dinner table together. Finally it was time for the most exciting part of the evening–the cooking competition. The judges were cookbook authors Faye Levy and Barbara Hansen and Turkish chefs Yilmaz Esen and Murat Ozel.
The students competed by preparing savory Turkish dishes they had learned in the classes, and some added their own creative ideas. In a second contest, Orange County Turkish American residents competed for who could prepare the best dessert. It was not easy for the judges to choose among the tasty dishes and come up with a winner in each category.
While the judges were deliberating, the audience enjoyed watching Chef Murat Ozel’s cooking demonstration of how to make a Mediterranean style salad using sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, cheese and pomegranate syrup. The first lucky person who was able to taste that gorgeous, delicious salad was Mr. Yildiz, who said he is amazed at the presentation and the flavor of the salad.
As the night continued, the audience enjoyed music from authentic Turkish instruments–the Ney Flute, the Baglama and the Bendir drum.
Next Chef Yilmaz Esen introduced his spectacular, illuminated fruit salad that had a special meaning. He said that this salad has many different colors and tasty fruits in it and represents love and friendship between people, which Pacifica Institute aims to do by bringing people of different cultures together.
The announcement of the contest winners was the most anticipated moment of the evening. For the students’ competition, the winner was Lara Chandler, who prepared Manti with Karides (Ravioli with Shrimp), an interesting and creative recipe that tasted delicious. Second place went to Amira Yousef, who prepared Piyaz (Turkish Bean Salad). Lorena E. Gutierrez won third place for her savory Turkish pastry, Pide Borek.
In the dessert competition, the winner was Huray Erdogan, who prepared Firin Sutlac (Oven-Baked Rice Pudding). Second place went to Serap Akbas with Bulbul Yuvasi (Nightingale’s Nest). Suzan Yucel won third place for Aglayan Kek (Crying Cake) .
To conclude the evening, guests enjoyed the delicious taste of a variety of Turkish foods and the students received their certificates and gifts from their teacher, Eren Aksoy.
