Beltrami Residents Attend General Tso's Cooking Class, Learn New Skills

Harmony Food Cooperative welcomed community members on December 22 for a General Tso's chicken cooking class that combined practical instruction with culinary context. The class took place at the cooperative, 302 Irvine Ave. NW, from 5 30 to 7 p.m., and was led by Raiden Mockridge, a sous chef at Concordia Language Villages. Attendees prepared the dish served with jasmine rice and baby bok choy and heard about its culinary history.

Organizers offered the class to cooks of all skill levels at a cost of $16.50, which included materials. Space was limited and sign ups had been available online at harmonyfoods.coop/classes-events or in person at the store. The modest fee and short evening format made the event accessible to a broad cross section of residents, from young adults learning basic techniques to experienced home cooks exploring regional recipes.

Beyond the immediate cooking lesson, the class highlighted how local food education contributes to the cooperative's role in the county economy. Small paid classes generate revenue to maintain community programming, encourage purchases of ingredients from the cooperative, and build consumer confidence in home meal preparation. For households tracking food budgets, learning to prepare popular takeout style dishes at home can shift spending toward groceries and away from restaurant purchases, with implications for household savings and local food demand.

Culturally, having an instructor from Concordia Language Villages brought a dimension of cultural exchange and historical context to the recipe, reinforcing the cooperative as a community site for both nutrition education and cultural learning. Harmony Food Cooperative said it will continue to offer classes and events that connect cooking skills to local food access; residents interested in future offerings can check the cooperative website or visit the store for sign up information.