These pictures were taken by Jennifer Ashley, one of the students who attended last week's hands-on Georgian cooking class. On September 11, a small group of foodies gathered at Urbana Park District's Phillips Recreation Center for a "cooking party," and we made a Georgian feast featuring a beef stew, three minced vegetable appetizers, an herbal lemonade soda, and meat dumplings from scratch. This event was part of our long-running series of cooking classes called PRINCIPLES OF ETHNIC COOKING ( see more pictures ).  Since its inception in 2022, we have traveled the world, enjoying the best that each country has to offer. So far, we have explored 24 different cuisines, including some that are hard to find in Champaign-Urbana. Last week's class featured popular dishes from Georgia, a former Soviet state nestled between Europe and Asia. Coming up next is a taste of some unusual dishes from Oaxaca, the southernmost state in Mexico, to be followed by guest chef K...

On  September 11 , we will be introducing Champaign-Urbana to the unique cuisine of Georgia, a former Soviet state nestled between Europe and Asia. Georgian cuisine is beloved by Russians as well as curious and adventurous foodies all over the world. This is your last chance to register for this class at the discounted price of $40 per seat. Urbana Park District's "early bird" tuition ends two weeks before the start of each class, so please reserve your seat by Wednesday, August 27 at midnight because prices will increase by $10 on August 28. My first taste of Georgian cuisine was in a restaurant in Moscow. Our Russian friends took us to their favorite Georgian restaurant, and what we ate was like nothing else we've tried before. Almost like a mashup of Middle Eastern, Persian, and Asian traditions, Georgian dishes are complex, full of flavor, and mouthwateringly good. Since that first experience, we have sought out Georgian cuisine wherever we trav...

The fall edition of the Urbana Park District Program Guide is now out, and this means that fall registration will be open soon. Mark your calendar for August 6 if you want to be first to sign up for our fall cooking classes. If you already have the catalog, flip to page 28 to preview all the cooking classes coming this fall — and they're all new! Here's a summary of what's coming up in our long-running PRINCIPLES OF ETHNIC COOKING class series at Urbana Park District's Phillips Recreation Center. This is a series of "cooking parties" where all students will participate in the preparation of the dishes on the menu: On  September 11 , I will be sharing the results of my latest home kitchen experiments in a Taste of Georgia class. Georgia is a former Soviet state nestled between Europe and Asia with a unique and vibrant cuisine. Join us for this special Georgian feast, which will include the world-famous Georgian Kharcho (beef stew) and two other exot...