The increasingly popular Boston Public Market offers visitors more than just locally grown produce, locally raised meats and locally brewed and distilled beer and liquor. In one week, KITCHEN, the aptly named 3,200-square-foot test and event culinary space housed in the market, will kick start its event programming to teach people the intricacies of cooking.
Barbara Erickson, President of The Trustees of Reservations, which is charged with KITCHEN’s programming, is billing the experimental space as “the ultimate Boston potluck.”
Christopher Kimball, Erin McMurrer and Rosie Gill from America’s Test Kitchen put on a showcase and prepared one of the simplest yet ill-fated dishes one can make – scrambled eggs.
The demonstration was intended to reinforce two notions: that KITCHEN affords people the opportunity to learn about cooking from the basics of holding a knife to whipping up entire multifaceted meals, as well as the dexterity of the space itself.
With already more than 200 classes in the initial calendar (that’s only through September, by the way), KITCHEN will offer a variety of classes touching on themes such as the culinary arts, health and wellness, and sustainability; lectures; films; and more.
Mimi Hall, KITCHEN’s program manager, said about one-third of the classes will be free, another third will be low cost in the $5 to $20 range, and the remainder will run about $25 to $60 on average.
“This kitchen and the amount of space dedicated to it really speaks to the fact that this is an educational opportunity,” said Hall.
George Howell Coffee will be the first public market tenant to undertake KITCHEN’s vendor series, which features a different vendor with items directly from the floor to give participants a deeper understanding of the products, how they’re handled and how they can be used in a variety of ways.
George Howell himself told me his shops and stands are focused on drip coffee as opposed to French Press, which he describes as muddy. He usually takes his cup black but when it truly calls for milk, cream or sugar – that is, the coffee isn’t particularly palatable – he includes them.
KITCHEN will also be teaming up with the Children’s Museum for a pilot program called “What’s in the Kitchen: Pancake Series” which one could easily deduce will be centered around the fluffy breakfast delight. But it’s intended for young kids, ages between three and seven, to be introduced to the world of cooking in a playful way.
For the more active crowd, KITCHEN will also become something of a workout facility where a partnership with REI will create a running club that’ll take off from and return to the market. Yoga classes, too, will be available and all will be able to peruse the market for post-workout goodies.
Once September rolls around KITCHEN will be in full swing, offering between 10 to 12 classes per day.
“We really want [KITCHEN] to be a comfortable place for all Bostonians to share,” said Hall.
As for the scrambled eggs – which Kimball intentionally cooked incorrectly at first so that McMurrer could show us all how it’s really done – a couple of tips: Don’t over whisk, heat your pan with butter or oil in it so you can tell when the proper temperature is reached, and constantly move your eggs around. In just minutes, you’ll have a meal you can eat at any time, any day.
