A Taste of the Berkshires at Haven's Kitchen

Haven's Kitchen in New York City is collaborating with Executive Chef Brian Alberg of The Red Lion Inn on a four-part cooking class series focusing on the farms and purveyors from the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Seats are available for Cooking and Conversation with Brian Alberg and Berkshire Tastemakers.

For four months starting November 6, The Red Lion Inn's Executive Chef Brian Alberg will be traveling to Haven's Kitchen in New York to teach monthly recreational classes that will feature hands-on cooking along with tastings that highlight ingredients and products from the farms and purveyors in the Berkshires. The classes will highlight ingredients and products from Berkshire farms and small-batch artisan food makers, several of whom will be joining him as special guests to share their story and food-making process with the class.

The first class will feature the founders of Hosta Hill in West Stockbridge, Mass., who will join Chef Alberg to discuss lacto-fermentation and foods that pair well with this process. Subsequent classes will highlight food makers and farmers from Wandering Star Craft Brewery in Pittsfield, Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Sheffield, Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown and Black Queen Angus Farm in Berlin, NY.

Students will cook and taste ingredients and products from the Berkshires, the birthplace of the first CSA in North America and the nation's first agricultural fair, and a region known for its farms and artisan food makers.

Executive Chef Brian Alberg, whose kitchen puts a contemporary twist on food rooted in the history of the Berkshires, emphasizes natural flavors and the use of fresh, local ingredients. In support of regional farms and food producers, he purchases more than $650K in local foods annually.

Alison Cayne, founder of Haven's Kitchen states: "This partnership illustrates our ongoing mission to highlight the farm-to-table movement as a vital necessity to our daily lives and not just a food fad. Supporting local farms and businesses nurtures our immediate economies, our personal health and our sense of community and belonging."

"I am really looking forward to partnering with the team at Haven's Kitchen and transporting the Berkshire food experience alongside farmers and artisan makers from our food landscape," said Chef Brian Alberg. "This cooking series is an opportunity to experience what makes our region different -- a truly authentic food community with agricultural heritage in a beautiful setting. We are fortunate to spend time with Haven's Kitchen students and share the experience of food-making together."

Registration is $135 per person or $440 for the entire four-part series.

Class Descriptions

Lacto-fermentation: Extending the Season with Salt -- Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
Learn to cook with locally sourced ingredients after the farms (and farmers' markets) are closed for the season. Students will learn how to preserve the harvest to enjoy throughout the year, through lacto-fermentation, using root vegetables. Brian will bring along West Stockbridge-based founders/makers of Hosta Hill sauerkraut, kimchee and tempeh, Maddie Elling and Abraham Hunrichs, to discuss the lacto-fermentation process and will present dishes using these pickled ingredients in the class.

Brats & Brew: Two Great Tastes that Go Together -- Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
Brian Alberg will lead a hands-on experience making French-style brats from scratch. Students will learn how to source the meat and cuts to the recipes and serving styles that make these sausages unique. Founder and Head Brewer Chris Post of Wandering Star Craft Brewery in Pittsfield, Mass., will join the class and discuss beer styles that pair well with these sausages. The class will culminate in a brat and beer tasting.

Berkshire Beef & Bourbon: Grass-fed and Corn-fermented -- Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
Enjoy the grass-fed flavor of Black Queen Angus Farm (Berlin, NY) beef with a demo of cuts of beef, a variety of preparations and recipes and a discussion of the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed animals. The beef tasting will be paired with small-batch artisan bourbon led by passionate, small-batch spirits-maker Chris Weld of Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Sheffield, Mass., the first legal distillery in the Berkshires since prohibition.

Just Say Cheese: Food Culture from the Berkshires -- Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.
Experience foods in the rich Berkshire soil paired with the mixed breed milk cheeses of Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, Mass. This class will focus on vegetarian fare and demonstrate how vegetables can be the focus of the meal and how salt and fat content of the cheeses add flavor in different ways. Cheesemaker Suzy Konecky will explain the craft and cheese styles created on the farm.

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