Peg Lee
The Houston legend is now the namesake for a new cooking school in one of the city’s most adored urban green sanctuaries, which is ramping up for the new year. Recipe for Success Foundation’s Hope Farms recently swung open its Gathering Barn doors for new educational venue, the Peg Lee Culinary Classroom.
This new space will host a wide range of cooking classes and educational programs showcasing healthy eating. Also on tap are field trips, tastings and free cooking demos for children and adults. Looking for a private-room venue? Book it for cooking parties and group classes for 4-24 students.
Lee’s mission was to empower her students to make delicious meals for their families from scratch and using fresh ingredients. She began teaching cooking classes at Houston Community College in the 1970s and quickly embraced the abundant humor that comes with the territory. After founding the Rice Epicurean cooking school, Central Market lured her away to start its version in 2001. Here, Lee helped attract well known national and international chefs, often touring them around Houston bragging about the city’s rich, multicultural culinary world.
“Peg was one of my earliest mentors in the imagining and crafting of what Recipe for Success Foundation would become,” says Recipe for Success Foundation’s founder, Gracie Cavnar. “When we began programing, she rolled up her sleeves, helping us teach children to cook and bringing her many resources to help us raise money and awareness for our efforts. It is my deepest honor to pay her tribute with the naming of our classroom.”
As for the classroom, expect a welcoming, white, farmhouse-style kitchen with custom cabinets and high-end appliances designed to reflect an aspirational home kitchen. Its crispness is softened by butcher-block countertops and matte black accents including farm-made tables for student stations. A spacious center island for presentations features a Wolf Induction cook top and a GE Café Smart Five-in-One Wall Oven (Speed Oven). The classroom’s filtered water is tied into the farm’s new rainwater-capture system for the ultimate in sustainability.
Local notable chefs participating in the new Chefs in the Field cooking series have so far included Thomas Laczynsky of Ouzo Bay and Loch Bar (you may recall, he was the opening chef at Fig & Olive). February 1, come hungry for a hands-on class from BOH Pasta chef Ben McPherson (6:30pm-8:30pm). And March 1, Central Market chef Rakesh Nayak takes the stage (6:30pm-8:30pm). Classes are limited to 12 students and designed to take your meals to the next level.
To keep up with the lineup at Hope Farms, check out the website here. Happy cooking!
Participating chefs McPherson, Laczynsky and Nayak
From Your Site Articles
- Take It Outside! Cavnar, Top Chefs Present Chic ‘Delicious Alchemy’ Dinner on Hope Farms Grounds ›
- He Walked Across America Once, but Hope Farms’ Rattler Prefers Growing Roots — and Fresh Produce ›
- Hope Farms’ New Weekly Market Revs Up at Tootsies, Bering’s ›
- Last-Minute Shoppers, Check Out These 10 Great Gifts for Gourmands! ›
- Want to Start a Farmers Market? Go-To Guru Casey Barbles Knows All the Fun, Healthful Tricks ›
- Cooking Teacher and Newly Minted Cookbook Author Inspires ‘Smart’ Moves in the Kitchen ›
- Chef's Kiss! Delicious Alchemy Banquet Sets Fundraising Record for Recipe for Success - Houston CityBook ›
- Hope Grows at ‘Fashion in the Fields’ Fundraiser - Houston CityBook ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Bayou Heights Bier Garten (photo by Dustyn Zenner)
Now Open: Bayou Heights Bier Garten
The Harvey-colada cocktail (photo by Dustyn Zenner)
The Kirby Group, which is behind Wooster’s, Holman Draft House and Heights Bier Garten, has opened Bayou Heights Bier Garten on Washington near Heights Boulevard. Four separate buildings are situated around a central courtyard, where guests can gather to enjoy the more than 70 craft beers and 16 wines, plus a massive cocktail list broken down into categories like “Refreshing and Balanced” and “Tropical and Tiki.” Kirby Group chef Teddy Lopez has unveiled a new food menu at the Heights and Bayou Heights Bier Gartens, with offerings like housemade pretzels and a brisket grilled cheese; the new bar opens at 8am and will serve breakfast tacos and brisket-egg sandwiches on weekends.
Navy Blue Starts Lunch Service
Grouper sandwich (photo by Caroline Fontenot)
Aaron Bludorn’s red-hot Navy Blue restaurant in Rice Village has just launched lunch service. Expect faves from the dinner menu — including the boquerones-topped Caesar salad and an entrée-size crab cake — alongside new items like an omelette with epoisses, frisee and black truffles. Navy Blue will serve lunch from 11:30am-2pm, and the bar will remain open until dinner service begins at 5pm.
Save the Date: NOLA Takeover at Julep
New Orleans restaurateur Neal Bodenheimer celebrates his new book, Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em, at a party at Julep on Jan. 30. The James Beard-winning bar owner will take over the bar for the night, shaking up a selection of cocktails from the book, which features 100 drinks that represent New Orleans’ past, present and future. Purchase the book onsite for $18 — what a steal! Purchase tickets to the event here.
Feges BBQ Launches Weekly Specials
The Meatball Bowl
We meat again at Feges BBQ! The new year means new deals at both locations. In Spring Branch, a rack of ribs is just $30 on Tuesdays, and kids eat free from 5-9pm on Wednesdays. And a new monthly “barbecue bowl” is $17.50 on Thursdays; January’s is the Meatball Bowl. In Greenway Plaza, mid-week specials include $14 nachos on Tuesdays, $20-per-pound of sweet-chili rib tips on Wednesdays, and $26-per-pound pastrami pork belly on Thursdays.
Spanish Village Announces Closing Date
Iconic Tex-Mex spot Spanish Village weathered the pandemic and announced its closure in July 2021 — but local businessman Steven Rogers bought the restaurant and helped celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2023. But today Rogers announced that Spanish Village — known for its house margs and El Clásico enchiladas — will close on March 31, also alluding to a yet-to-be-announced project. “There’s absolutely no arguing the impact Spanish Village has had on the Third Ward. The Medina family built something incredible, and I have been honored to be able to continue that,” said Rogers in a statement. “Despite the restaurant closing, it’s important to me and to the community to honor that legacy.” Rogers is currently developing the neighboring 8,000-square-foot property and solicited feedback from Third Ward residents as to what should go there — perhaps a diner, or a mixed-use complex, they said. “I’m excited to begin this new chapter with a project that will benefit them.”
From Your Site Articles
- Phat Eatery’s Expansion, Japanese-Peruvian Fusion, and More of This Week’s Tastiest Food News in Small Bites ›
- Style a While! Here's a Massive Retail Roundup with the Season's Coolest Pop-Ups, Openings and More ›
- Sinful Sweets, New Restaurants and Fresh Picks in Rice Village ›
Related Articles Around the Web