The Community Kitchen
At Community Kitchen, we come together to learn recipes from around the world.
We cook together. We laugh together.
When we chop onions, we cry together.
Learn.
We learn stories behind dishes from different cultures.
Gather.
We buy ingredients from local grocery stores.
Cook.
We make meals together in virtual community.
Impact.
We support causes close to the host’s heart.
December 26, 2021. 4pm PT / 7pm ET
Tamales are a staple holiday food in Latinx households. Join Cassandra Bates Lopez aka Chef Cass, founder of DC's GuanTamalera, as she teaches us how to make tamales like her abuela! 😋
💞Cook’s Cause: Ayuda, which provides legal, social and language services to low-income immigrants in the DC area!
Past Events
Sunday, May 9, 2021
Chef Nikhil Merchant of Imli teaches the basics of cooking Indian food and the recipe for his favorite comfort curry rajma chawal to raise money for COVID relief in India. 🇮🇳🎉😋
💞Cook’s Cause: ACT Grants providing oxygen, Project Mumbai procuring healthcare supplies & Khaana Chahiye fighting hunger.
😋 Persian Passover Sweets & Tea ☕️
Sunday, March 21, 2021. 3pm PT / 6pm ET.
Join Tannaz Sassooni, Iranian-Jewish recipe collector and cookbook writer, for an exploration into the wonderful world of Persian sweets for Passover.
💞Cook’s Cause: No Us Without You providing food security for undocumented immigrants in the hospitality industry.
February 12, 2021
To celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, we made bánh xèo, delicious rice flour crêpes made with turmeric and coconut cream, stuffed with shrimp and pork (optional for vegetarians), served with fresh sprouts, herbs and veggies and dipped in a delicious sauce. “Bánh” means cake and “xèo” refers to the sizzling sound the batter makes when it hits the pan, so the name loosely means “sizzling cake.” This irresistible dish is sure to lift your spirits and energize your tastebuds for an auspicious new year!
We were led by Hung Ngo, who spent his early childhood in Vietnam and resides in Boston, where he makes his living in finance, but lives to make Vietnamese food. Hung dedicated this Community Kitchen to Save The Children.
🇮🇳 Indian Aloo Parathas 😋
January 17, 2021
To ring in the new year, we made aloo parathas, a comforting Indian flatbread that is perfect to warm you up on a winter day along with a cup of chai.
Dynamic mother-daughter duo Usha and Anjali Banthia hosted this Community Kitchen to raise funds for Sacred Heart Community Service!
Legendary Latkes 🕎🔥🥔🥞
December 13, 2020
Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of one night’s oil lasting eight nights 2,0000 years ago. Many American Jews mark the holiday by making latkes, grated potato pancakes fried in oil. We learned legendary latke lore and perfected our potato frying technique alongside led by Rob Eshman, National and Food Editor at the Forward. 😋
🕯️On this festival of light, we sent light and love to communities in need by donating to World Central Kitchen, our Cook’s Cause for this event. 💞
😋
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits 🧈🍼🍞🔥
November 22, 2020
Holiday season is upon us. The leaves change colors, the ugly sweaters come out of the closet, and friends & families gather for hearty holiday meals. Whatever you're serving this year, there's probably nothing that wouldn't pair perfectly with homemade Southern-style buttermilk biscuits. If only an expert baker raised in the South could teach us the ways...
Enter Joseph Calvo, an expert home cook and baker whose bread-baking talents were bred in Georgia. At the age of 8, he launched and ran a bakery, so it is fair to say he has been perfecting his biscuit recipe since childhood. Since then, he has taken his talents to Los Angeles, where he exercises his creativity as a photographer and designer when not experimenting with innovative culinary creations. Joseph led us to biscuit baking bliss and an enriching education on the history and sociocultural nuances of the South’s favorite soft flour staple. 📷🍞👨🏾🍳🏆🌠
🇳🇬
Nigerian Family Recipes: Jollof Rice, Fried Chicken & Plantains
🥘
🍗🍌
🔥
October 18, 2020
In honor of Nigerian Independence Day, we learned to make Naija favorites jollof rice (a staple of West African cuisine and a source of fiery culinary debate), fried chicken, and dodo (fried plantains).
We were led by Kelechi Emetuche, a writer born in Cote d’Ivoire and raised across the US by Nigerian parents, from whom she learned the family recipes she taught us, and by Mo Alabi, a Nigerian-American communications strategist who joined us from her mother's kitchen to share traditions passed down through generations. 🥰
🇪🇹 Ethiopian Entrees 🎉
September 13, 2020
In honor of Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash), we made Habesha favorites tibs (sizzling spiced steak strips) and shiro (a staple stew of chickpea flour). We were led by Josephine Gardner, born in Addis Ababa and founder of Yenegate Chora, an organization dedicated to supporting vulnerable mothers and children in her hometown.
🇮🇳
Bhel Puri - An Indian Street Food Classic
🌶️
August 16 & 23, 2020
In honor of Indian Independence Day, we made bhel puri, a staple chaat (sweet, spicy, savory tangy Indian snack) enjoyed across India, but particularly associated with the beaches of Mumbai — as the Bollywood classic goes, “Chowpatty jayenge na bhel puri khayeenge! [Let’s go to Chowpatty Beach and eat bhel puri!]”
Catch up on the cultural significance of this culinary icon & make it for guests at your next dinner party!
Join the Community!
Sign up with your email address to receive news & invitations to future events.
Get in touch.
Looking to cook some great food and raise money for a cause you care about? Have an idea for a future event? Got a great recipe? Wanna chat about your favorite street food memory?
Hit us up at info@thecommunitykitchen.co or in the form!