Bite of Brainfood Blog

Any time the White House throws a party, it’s impossible not to hear about it from several different news sources.   A good White House photo op, no matter how frequently they occur, is always a welcome reminder to DC residents that we live in a city that’s really quite remarkable.  What isn’t a frequent occurrence, however, is the opportunity to be part of the event that merits the photo op in the first place.  But for 2 lucky Brainfood graduates and 2 happy Brainfood staffers, Halloween at the White House was the day we got to be in midst of it all.  Would we finally get to see the President and the First Lady?  What would we do during the event, and where would we be? Though we didn’t know it at the time, there were some very big treats in store for us. 

Relaxing in Lafayette Park after a hard day's work

On a sunny Saturday, one week before Halloween, 3 Brainfood students were invited to do what every DC sweet tooth dreams of in the month of October: help the White House pastry kitchen prepare treats for Halloween.  It seemed like a positively delicious way to spend an afternoon, but as any Brainfood student knows, working in the kitchen often means finding satisfaction in hard work, and taking pride in getting things done behind the scenes. 

Monday- Chef Kevin
How did you kick off your Monday this week?  Ours started off with a familiar kitchen guest, dried ancho chiles, and enough melted cheese to win over the hearts and minds of our summer students.  Chef Kevin Villalovos, from neighboring restaurant, Cure, made his second appearance in our Chinatown kitchen, this time for a workshop on Mexican food.  Under his guidance, students dutifully chopped their way through piles of cilantro, de-seeded handfuls of leathery ancho chile pods, and kept a watchful eye on whole chickens simmering away in a fragrant bath of water, onion, cumin, and bay leaves.

It was quite the busy week at Brainfood! Each day was jam-packed with new and exciting learning experiences, and of course, delicious food! 

Monday kicked off the week with a build your own semi freddo day, including a huge variety of mix-ins. From bananas to Butterfingers to brownies, each student enjoyed their own tasty creation! 

Tuesday brought a change of pace as the class explored the value of community service and prepared spinach and mushroom lasagnas for the women’s dinner program at Thrive DC. Students were able to consider ways in which they could become more involved in their communities and brainstorm important issues that they feel need to be addressed in DC.