Saturday, December 1, 5–9pm
Max 20 Participants
$30 Members / $35 Regular
Member price accessed with discount code at checkout. Are you a member and don’t know your code? Email [email protected]! Not a member but interested in these perks? Join here!
This event has been canceled.
Join us for a very special dinner with League of Kitchens cooking instructor, Elmira Avetian! Eat a delicious home-cooked meal and learn more about this amazing organization that just opened in Los Angeles.
The League of Kitchens is an immersive culinary experience where immigrants from around the world teach intimate cooking classes in their homes and lead eye-opening tours to their favorite shops and snack spots. (You can read more about Elmira and the LoK in this recent LA Times article.)
LoK instructor Elmira was born in Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia. She was raised by Armenian parents during the Soviet era, and so she grew up immersed in Georgian, Armenian, and Russian food and culture. Elmira has been cooking for as long as she can remember, and she learned by helping her mother and grandmother in the kitchen. As soon as she was old enough to navigate the kitchen on her own, Elmira took over the family’s dinner prep responsibilities. Everyday after school, she would call her mom who would give her instructions on what to prepare for the evening. She’s been the family’s favorite cook ever since, and she even catered her brother’s wedding day feast for 150 people. She moved to the US in 1997 with her whole family and has been living in Glendale ever since.
Elmira will be cooking a vegetarian meal of:
-Lobio Soup (Georgian Red Bean Soup) – A chunky red bean soup with walnuts, cilantro, ground fenugreek, coriander, thyme, and red chile powder.
-Spinach Pkhali (Georgian Spinach and Walnut Paté) – A vegetable spread made with spinach, ground walnuts, garlic, fresh cilantro, ground fenugreek, and coriander.
-Adjabsandali (Eggplant Stew) – A flavorful summer stew made with eggplants, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes, and garnished with freshly chopped cilantro.
-Gata (Armenian Sweet Brea) – A buttery dough filled with vanilla sugar and walnuts.
The League of Kitchens is an immersive culinary adventure in LA and NYC where immigrants from around the world teach intimate cooking classes in their homes and lead eye-opening tours to their favorite shops and snack spots.
Each experience offers opportunities for meaningful connection and social interaction, cultural engagement and exchange, culinary learning and discovery, and exceptional eating and drinking. Through this experience, the League of Kitchens seeks to build cross-cultural connection and understanding, to increase access to traditional cooking knowledge, and to provide meaningful, well-paid employment and training for immigrants.
The League of Kitchens has been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Chew, Tasting Table, Saveur, The Splendid Table, Eater, and Time Out New York, among others. Conde Nast Traveler called the League of Kitchens “quite possibly the coolest foodie thing to do whether you’re a visitor or local.”
On top of her passion for home cooking, Elmira Evitian loves to learn new things. She has a degree in accounting, a certificate in international exporting, and great computer skills, not to mention her diploma in music and cosmetology from Georgia. She’s a fan of TED Talks and is in the process of learning her fifth language, Spanish. She will also read your future in your coffee grounds.
Accessibility information for this event: WCCW has a 36” wide ramp at our front entrance and a stairway with 8 steps and a rail. There are 2 gender neutral restrooms. One restroom is wheelchair accessible, with a handrail. We provide scent free soaps and encourage guests to attend our events scent free. If you require ASL interpretation, CART, interpretation for a language other than English, supervised childcare, or have any other access needs or questions, please contact [email protected] at least two weeks in advance. It is our practice to do everything we can to create a safe and accessible space.
*All members get 20% off paid programming. A limited number of free spots are also available for Warrior & Goddess level members. Email [email protected] to inquire about free tickets.
Our program costs go directly towards compensation of the instructors and staffers who work the event. We want to make programming as accessible as possible to anyone who is interested, however, so we offer volunteer opportunities in exchange for membership, as well as free community tickets to each program (number varies depending on capacity of the class). Email [email protected] for more info or to find out more about these opportunities for a specific event.