Our Best of Bay classes bring notable, local food talents into our teaching kitchens to share their expertise in a hands-on cooking class.
What You'll Learn
By the end of the class, you will:
- Know how to mix and laminate puff pastry by hand
- Learn the base recipe for pastry cream and make adjustments for your desired flavor
- Understand how to properly cut, shape, and bake puff pastry
About This Class
Manresa Bread has built an amazing name for itself by handcrafting some of the most glorious breads and pastries we’ve ever seen. Chef/Owner Avery Ruzicka is stepping out of the kitchen for a day to share one of her favorite baking techniques with you – inverted puff pastry.
Known to some as “quick puff”, this seemingly complex classic dough can actually be made fairly quickly once you have some pro tips in your back pocket. Once you have it down you will be amazed at how many possibilities for creativity in the kitchen are opened. There’s no proofing required, it keeps great in the freezer, and it’s perfect for both savory or sweet applications. It is a beautifully blank canvas that will be a new essential in your kitchen repertoire.
Menu
Napoleans, Cheese Twists, and Turnovers
Details
- Wine included
- Light meal served in class
- Work in teams
- Ages 18+
FAQ
The average duration of our cooking classes is 4 hours, and they are broken down into three segments: Introductory lecture or demo, hands-on cooking, and eating.
The class will begin with a short discussion or demo from your instructor. After, you can expect to work either on a team or individually to prepare the class menu. As a group, your class will prepare the selected menu in its entirety. In most classes, not every student will make every dish.
Learning happens throughout the class, and your instructor will often call out key techniques as they happen in each recipe.
Most classes conclude by sitting down as a group to eat what you’ve prepared, followed by a discussion of each recipe. You will leave with a copy of the recipe packet and a working knowledge of every dish that was made so you can recreate them at home.
Doors open 15 minutes before the class start time.
You do not need to bring anything with you to class, unless otherwise noted in the class description. The kitchens at SFCS are fully equipped and aprons, recipes, equipment, food and wine are all provided for you.
In most classes, you will be sitting down to eat a complete meal that you have prepared along with your classmates. Since this typically occurs towards the end of the class period, an appetizer or small plate is usually prepared early on in class. However, you’re welcome to additionally have a snack before you arrive or bring one with you.
Please note, for our Baking & Pastry classes, a light meal will be provided for you.
We suggest wearing casual clothing you can easily move around in, and highly recommend wearing comfortable closed-toe shoes. Long hair should be pulled back.
Cancellation Policy
Avery Ruzicka
Avery Ruzicka discovered her love of bread in her family’s kitchen baking parker house rolls and poppyseed prune loaves. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill she moved to New York City to attend the French Culinary Institute. There her love of bread became a passion and the beginning of a career. She completed both the Culinary Degree and the Bread Program and then staged at Per Se under master baker Ben Hershberger. Moving to California to work at Manresa Restaurant she became the baker there in 2012 and founded the Manresa Bread Project in 2013. It would become Manresa Bread the following year.