Chef Pascale Beale has a warmth and sense of humor that make every class casual and fun. Her recent winemaking lunch and cooking demonstrating at Buttonwood Farm & Winery was no different.
Chef Pascale Beale has a warmth and sense of humor that make every class casual and fun. Her recent winemaking lunch and cooking demonstrating at Buttonwood Farm & Winery was no different. Credit: Pascale’s Kitchen photo

The recent weekend weather may have been rainy — again — but all was sunny at Buttonwood Farm & Vineyards in Solvang for a spring-themed winemaker lunch and cooking demonstration.

The star of the show was Santa Barbara chef and cookbook author Pascale Beale, who founded Pascale’s Kitchen, a cooking school devoted to California-Mediterranean cuisine, back in 1999.

More than two dozen guests, including yours truly, dropped our umbrellas at the door as the Buttonwood staff welcomed us in. After a reception featuring the winery’s Estate Rosé, we took our seats at a large U-shaped table for the main course.

All of the dishes served at the spring cooking class were paired with Buttonwood wines, which were produced from grapes grown on the 107-acre property at 1500 Alamo Pintado Road.

Beale’s cooking station was situated at the front, where she demonstrated her techniques and tips and answered questions. I own all of her cookbooks, which are available online and throughout the South Coast, at Cabana Home, Chaucer’s Books, Folio Press & Paperie, Italian Pottery Outlet, Santa Barbara Gift Baskets, Tecolote Book Shop, The Book Den and Upstairs at Pierre Lafond.

  • Roasted Salmon with a Lemon-Olive Herb Salsa at chef Pascale Beale’s spring luncheon and cooking demonstration at Buttonwood Farm & Winery in Solvang. The salmon was served with a baby gem, arugula and watermelon radish salad and a spinach and nut Tabbouleh, served with Buttonwood’s Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir.
    Roasted Salmon with a Lemon-Olive Herb Salsa at chef Pascale Beale’s spring luncheon and cooking demonstration at Buttonwood Farm & Winery in Solvang. The salmon was served with a baby gem, arugula and watermelon radish salad and a spinach and nut Tabbouleh, served with Buttonwood’s Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Credit: Judy Foreman / Noozhawk photo
  • Chef Pascale Beale welcomes guests to Buttonwood Farm & Winery.
    Chef Pascale Beale welcomes guests to Buttonwood Farm & Winery. Credit: Judy Foreman / Noozhawk photo
  • What’s cooking?
    What’s cooking? Credit: Judy Foreman / Noozhawk photo
  • Spring Pea and Asparagus Soup with Pesto Crostini? Yes, please.
    Spring Pea and Asparagus Soup with Pesto Crostini? Yes, please. Credit: Judy Foreman / Noozhawk photo
  • Leave room for dessert: Berry Pavlova.
    Leave room for dessert: Berry Pavlova. Credit: Judy Foreman / Noozhawk photo
  • Chef Pascale Beale has a warmth and sense of humor that make every class casual and fun. Her recent winemaking lunch and cooking demonstrating at Buttonwood Farm & Winery was no different.
    Chef Pascale Beale has a warmth and sense of humor that make every class casual and fun. Her recent winemaking lunch and cooking demonstrating at Buttonwood Farm & Winery was no different. Credit: Pascale’s Kitchen photo

Having attended many of Beale’s classes over several decades, she will always make you feel as if you’re at home in her kitchen, no matter where or what she’s cooking.

Beale also created an online cooking class — called 9’ x 12” — as the story of her kitchen, which covers reinvention; feeding family, friends and community; surviving fires, floods and an unexpected pop-up bakery; and the ups and downs of life in the food business.

Her warmth and sense of humor make every class casual and fun. And her observations and suggestions are takeaways that I know I’ll use — like how humidity affects meringue, how to get the most juice out of a lemon, how to zest so you don’t scrape your fingers, how to trim asparagus, how long to cook Branzino, and the fact that baby gem lettuce is great for wedge salads or grilled.

Beale instills confidence in even the novice home cooks in her midst, although I like it better when she’s making it for me!

The take-home menu from the spring luncheon included all the ingredients and directions so you could give it a go yourself.

“My kitchen online store offers kitchenware and pantry items designed to make cooking delicious, fun and beautiful,” Beale told Noozhawk.

“From sleek utensils to vibrant essentials, each piece adds style and functionality to your kitchen.”

Chef Jill Barton helped with the Buttonwood event, and Nicole Carnavale and the entire team at the winery made everything run smoothly, despite the inclement weather.

On the Menu

The opening dish was Spring Pea and Asparagus Soup with Pesto Crostini paired with Sauvignon Blanc Signature Blend.

Next up was Roasted Salmon with a Lemon-Olive Herb Salsa. The salmon was served with a baby gem, arugula and watermelon radish salad and a spinach and nut Tabbouleh, served with Buttonwood’s Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir.

The dessert was an individual Berry Pavlova, named after a famous Russian ballerina, and paired with Buttonwood’s P.O.S.H. Dessert Wine and even one from winery library.

F.Y.I.

Judy Foreman is a Noozhawk columnist and longtime local writer and lifestyles observer. She can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com. The opinions expressed are her own.