The Fine Art of Cooking Experiencing

by leslIe a. Westbrook

The Farmhouse at Ojai Valley Inn has raised the bar in epicurean adventures and bucket list events under the leadership of L A -based uberchef Nancy Silverton

The culinary arts and special events center has been selling out cooking classes and events ever since it opened in the spring of 2019 Under the leadership of the restaurant maven/cookbook author/James Beard Award-winning chef (2016) and now The Farmhouse’s culinary ambassador, Silverton has been lining up wellknown, talented, visiting chefs, butchers, authors, and more to share their culinary knowledge with paying guests

Silverton holds forth at times, along with the Ojai Valley Inn’s team of talented in-house chefs and mixologists and other local tal- ent Presenters have included food author/editor Ruth Reichl, Dario Cecchini butchering half a cow, and local “artisans in residence,” including Ojai Olive Oil’s Philip Asquith, Adam Tolmach of The Ojai Vineyard, and Tomatotopia’s Scott Diagre, tending the organic demonstration garden

Event and cooking class prices range from $550 for “Cooking with Truffles” to $275 to learn the art of making gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches with Silverton . Wine tasting and other events, including year-round “Kids in the Kitchen” children’s cooking classes ($85), cost $100 or less

The events center features two modern-rustic-elegant barn-like structures The 4,000-square-foot demonstration venue contains an enviable Viking kitchen for up to 150 students with all the tools needed to put on a cooking show An 8,500-square-foot timber and glass great room for big receptions features 14-foot sliding doors, 25-foot-high peak ceilings, and a foyer Outdoor spaces with willow-covered canopies feature a trellised communal table and a kitchen with a live fire for cooking in the courtyard gardens There’s also a large lawn – perfect for weddings or other large gatherings

An eye-catching redwood table was built with the help of students from the Ojai Valley School using a tree scorched by the Thomas Fire .

Silverton scheduled “local chefs” (California/LA) the first year, but look for more “distinguished guests” from farther afield next year .

Shangri-La is now more delicious thanks to the uberchef’s efforts to put The Farmhouse on the international culinary map

The Farmhouse at Ojai is well on its way

You meet before sunset The waiter shows you and your date to the perfect table with a sweeping view through the treetops to the bay You have the pale pink “El Encanto Rosa margarita ” He, appropriately, orders, the “Charmer,” made of house-infused grapefruit and St Germain elderflower liqueur You toast, you talk, you tease You devour the appetizers: tempura shrimp, poke and miso chicken wings set in a basket lined with edible soy paper sprinkled with sesame seeds . The waiter tells you that you can write on the soy paper, so you do .

Another cocktail? Why not, there’s time before the movie at the Riviera . For you, a classic martini with blue cheesestuffed olives, golden in the fading light . For him, a sidecar

You walk to the theater, hand in hand

The excellent Linda Ronstadt documentary also rocks You return for a repast to the outdoor patio for the lemon olive oil cake and jazzy guitar with a nighttime view almost as sublime as the earlier one

Is that the moon peeking between the trees?

An evening so perfect, so charming, you didn’t even notice Michelle Pfeiffer dining just a few tables away — Leslie A.

Westbrook

Belmond El Encanto, 800 Alvarado Pl, Santa Barbara (. www.belmond.com