Tunitas Creek Kitchen offers workshops and farm-to-table dinners.

When we bought Potrero Nuevo Farm five years ago, we knew we wanted to give young farmers the opportunity to grow here and build their farm businesses. This idea has brought a great mix of projects to our farm, including lavender essential oil from Lavender Feels Forever and honey from beekeeper Todd Parsons. The latest, though, is a side business of our farm managers, Jay & Suzie Trexler. Through Tunitas Creek Kitchen, they have teamed up with Chef Amy Glaze to host a number of food preservation workshops and farm-to-table dinners, all hosted here at Potrero Nuevo Farm.

The first of their events is a Jams & Preserves Workshop ($75) on Saturday, August 3. The class will move from our strawberry patch to the kitchen, with Farmer Suzie and Chef Amy teaching the jamming process. This is canning 101, so Suzie promises that even a first-time preserver like myself will learn all the DIY knowledge needed to make and safely can at home. In addition to classic strawberry jam, Suzie says it’s going to be “an afternoon of all things strawberry in which folks see how the berries are grown, how to pick them at their peak, and how to get creative with a basic jam recipe.” The workshop will last from 11am to 3pm and includes a gourmet organic lunch prepared by Chef Amy. Everyone will take home a jar of strawberry jam.

Later in August on the 24th, Tunitas Creek Kitchen will host a Kraut & Kimchi Workshop ($75). Also hands-on, interactive and including an organic lunch, this class will be all about cabbage and the natural fermentation process. Sauerkraut and Kimchi (sauerkraut’s spicy Korean cousin) are showing up everywhere - at farmers’ markets, supermarkets, restaurant menus. TCK says they can’t wait to spill the beans about how easy it is to make these artisanal, nutrient-packed foods at home. “Learn the traditional techniques using common, inexpensive kitchen equipment,” Suzie says. “These easy, exceptional foods are so much fun to make and great for getting kids excited about cooking, too!”

With Tunitas Creek Kitchen, Jay and Suzie aim to “share the harvest” and bring us all to the kitchen and the table. Their farm dinners will accomplish this, and judging from TCK’s inaugural event last fall, tickets will sell out early. The more casual Heritage Pig Roast ($95) on September 14 will celebrate everything pork, along with a gorgeous spread of Amy’s down-home sides. Also in collaboration, local brewers from Cypress Brewing Co will be pairing and pouring all night. A bit fancier, the October 19 Fall Harvest Dinner ($125) will cap off the season, showcasing all that the farm has to offer. California wines will bring out the bright, seasonal flavors of this extravagant feast. Far from a restaurant experience, both dinners will be an entire evening of entertainment, starting with a farm tour and ending with coffee and chamomile tea under the stars.

When they’re not running our small produce operation, tending their flocks of laying hens and heritage hogs, or putting on Tunitas Creek Kitchen events, the Trexlers are busy creating small-batch jams and pickles, all for sale at our farm stand. They offer custom Farm Stand Boxes: a one-time order of farm produce and TCK preserves, available for pickup on six dates throughout the season. Remaining dates include July 27, August 25, September 28, October 12 and November 2, and for more information, details are available here.

It’s been great (and tasty) to see these young farmers building their businesses in our backyard.  And it’s fun to see local families getting in on the action, too, learning revived kitchen skills and simply enjoying an outdoor farm dinner. Come on out and join in. Tunitas Creek Kitchen is saving your spot at the table.

Tickets and more details for all events may be found at the TCK website: www.tckitchen.net.