Times Are a’Changin

The expat life is one of instability. We have talked about this before. When you live in a place like China, it is almost for certain that one day you will leave. Some people know exactly when it will happen and can prepare accordingly but for most of us it is sudden and while not unexpected, quite of a shock when we are actually faced with the reality of change.

After many months of speculations, we can finally announce that changes are about to happen to the STARA team.  At the end of this year, Stacey and her family will relocate to Sydney, Australia.  I am very happy for them, of course, and wish them all the luck, but am devastated since I will not only loose my business partner but also my best friend.

So, what does this mean for STARAfood?

Well, most important, we will not quit – that is of course not an option. Unfortunately the cooking classes cannot continue as before since we will loose the kitchen (I don’t think the new tenant at Yosemite C2194 will enjoy having me around) and my own kitchen is not appropriate for teaching. We are currently discussing where (let us know if you have any connections!) and at what capacity we can continue to teach but, until we have found a new spot, I will be available for private classes at your home and I will also hold them regularly at Clicias.

We will also continue to work with Liduska, baker extraordinaire from Lidu’s Sweets, and also with Cheryl, Style Maven, so together we are for sure moving STARAfood into 2016 and beyond.

We are also working on a book to tell our story of this amazing journey we have been on. A book of recipes, for sure, but also about our philosophy and approach to food, wine and entertaining.

Stacey might move to Sydney, but she will only be an email, text or plane ride away. Understandably she will be very busy with her relocation preparations in the upcoming months but never fear, our classes will go on as planned.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either of us via email, facebook or wechat.

Nerves

Before Stacey’s daughter Lauren went off to college in Spain; she came back to Beijing to spend time with her family and friends; get her things in order and say her final goodbyes.  This all sounds wonderful but by the time she left, she was just a little antsy and emotional.  So many farewells, so many lasts and so many days until she started her new life.  Moving away from home for the first time, albeit to a very safe university environment in a UNESCO World Heritage city, is scary.

Don't let the two bags fool you.
Her father brought the rest of her things a week later!

Boy can we relate!  After a relaxing(ish) summer break, we were very eager to get going. It felt like forever since we were in the STARAkitchen and we were feeling just a little nervous.  One night Sara even had nightmare where 40 people showed up for class and we had nothing prepared. After 45 minutes, one of the students walked into the kitchen (why they were not there in the first place we don’t know) outraged at the bad service.  Now we are no reader of dreams but her subconscious clearly was working overtime. Suffice to say; we spent the last few days getting our pantry and recipes in order to ensure our first class of the season went smoothly on D-day.

And it did.  It was so nice to welcome our fabulous students, both new and experienced, back into our kitchen.  We must admit that it took a few minutes to get back in the swing of things, but in no time everyone was slicing, dicing and chopping like they had never left. 

 This week we also welcomed Signature Wines to our class.  They expertly paired two excellent wines with our Italian fare.  The Tarani rosé perfectly complemented the antipasti consisting of eggplant fritters, a sexed up Insalata Caprese and Stracciatella (Italian egg drop soup) and the red, a Spanish La Tribu, worked well with our version of Chicken Saltimbocca – chicken breasts with prosciutto and sage.   We look forward to enjoying their pairings at many of our future classes!

I think we liked the wine! 

It was so nice to be back in the kitchen, see everyone again and hear about your summer activities.  We have a great season planned and can’t wait to see you – in the kitchen!

What's Going On??

It has been a year of great speculation at STARAfood.  Are we leaving or staying and/or will we continue on and what will it look like?

Well, summer is over, we are both still here and will be continuing on as before, with a few minor changes of course!  We are busy planning our class schedule so if there is that one special dish you want to learn – speak up now!  We guarantee something for everyone even if you are new to the STARAfood family or have been with us since the beginning. 

Stacey and her kids on the California coast

Sara's kids embracing their inner vikings

Summer holidays are becoming a distant memory but we have some business to attend to before we can immerse ourselves completely in food and wine.  Stacey is sending her first born off to college and is dealing with all last-minute stuff that that entails. Sara has to move house before the end of the month and was ready to dig into that when her appendix decided to get inflamed and instead, the surgeon had to do the diggin’. Five weeks of no heavy lifting is not going to make the move easier but luckily, labour is cheap in China!

Labour is not so cheap in San Francisco's Chinatown

We had an incredible year last year and are so proud and grateful for the community of cooks that have graced our kitchen and enriched our lives.  We have so many ideas to make the STARAexperience even richer but have only one little challenge - time. We are trying to find time not only to develop new classes (and teach them) but also to assemble some of our recipes and knowledge into a book.  The greatest of intentions but we have just been too busy to do so.

Therefore, we have decided to expand the STARA team!

Firstly, we would like to introduce Liduska Rojas – baker extraordinaire and founder of Lidu’s Sweets.  Originally from Venezuela, she and her family arrived in Beijing eight years ago via the United States.

Lidu’s Sweets is committed to bringing fabulous, fresh and delicious cakes, cupcakes and desserts to the Beijing community. All of her treats are made from scratch with the best ingredients and she delivers!  You might have had an opportunity to try one of her decadent cupcakes either at one of our classes or at the ISB Spring Fair.  

We are thrilled to support Liduska in her strive for Beijing cake domination! Contact Liduska on 159 0148 9374 or Lidussweets@hotmail.com.

Cheryl Houston is our own Domestic Goddess!  Born and raised in Austin, Texas, she and her family have lived in Paris, Sweden, Houston and Norway - twice, prior to moving to Beijing. She holds degrees in Sociology and Nutrition & Food Science and is also an amazing seamstress, knitter, baker, cook and decorator!

Cheryl not only slightly resembles Martha Stewart but she shares many of her traits (except the insider trading we hope) and we are very lucky to have her on the STARA team. We hope Cheryl can share some of her ingenious ideas to make your house look more beautiful and helpful tips how to create the right ambiance for your party.

We have a few other surprises in store for you this year but you will just have to wait and see!  

Stay tuned for our new class schedule and we will see you in the STARAkitchen soon!

Where Did The Time Go?

Ooops!

How can six months go by so quickly? How is it possible that we have been so busy that we haven’t had time for a single blog post?

We had a fantastic spring season that culminated with the last class of the season – A Master Chef inspired competition. 17 excited students/competitors showed up not knowing what was going to happen and were welcomed not only by us, but also by Stacey’s visiting parents and Mike Signorelli from Signature Wines who kindly had agreed to hold a mini wine tasting all the while also acting as a guest judge and furthermore presenting Signature Wines, a wine club that offers monthly subscriptions of wines exclusive to members.

The contestants were a little bit shell shocked as we divided them into teams, each team responsible for a different part of a full meal - nibbles, appetizers, mains and desserts. Extra points were given for creating a cocktail to go with.

Each team visited Mike to taste the wines he had brought to pair with the ingredients that had to be included when creating the dish; blue cheese for nibbles, lemongrass for appetizers, kale for main and chili for dessert.

After a short period of planning the teams went to work and amazed us with their creativity and fearlessness in the kitchen. Not only was time limited to one hour but the space to work on and appliances used had to be shared. Our extensive collection of recipes were at hand for reference but they were not allowed to follow them, only use them for inspirations.

We were astounded by the results. Not only were the required ingredients used, the dishes, with no exceptions, tasted great and were also beautiful to the eye. And we were also impressed at the thought that went behind their creations and with which wine they wanted to pair it with.

Irresistible Nibbles

Stupendous Starters

Fabulous Mains

Decadent Desserts

We ended the class with a short quiz before it was time for prizes and surprise, surprise – everyone was a winner and walked away with a limited edition STARA t-shirt!

The competition was a great success and a fantastic way to end the season.

We are so very lucky. We are thankful for the amazing people we have met who keep coming back to our classes, every single week.

• We are thankful for each other. Not only do we see each other almost every day and work together, we have remained the best of friends throughout this journey and could never ever do it without each other.
• We are grateful to our families who supports us and bares with us when we need to try out new recipes or, as in Stacey’s case, lets us use the kitchen (and guest room for pantry).
• We could not do this without Xiu who helps us out in the kitchen and takes care of the laundry and dishes without ever complaining.
• We adore working with the lovely Clicia of Clicia’s Design and Shayne’s Treasures who not only lets us invade her tiny kitchen space now and then but supports us whole heartedly.

We also want to give a shout out to the wonderful Kristoffer Liu who takes care of our hair and also made us absolutely glamorous when we went to the Great Wall Ball.

Summer for the STARA team will be spent in Sri Lanka, Sweden, Arizona and California where we hope to soak up some sun and inspiration for next season.

See you again in September! Keep cooking!!

Our Very Special Holiday Carol

This is a Sing-A-Long to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas.  Enjoy!

Before there was STARA my good friend said to me

Let’s go to lunch

And try new delicacies

Before there was STARA my good friend said to me

Let’s go to lunch

Yum this is good

What wonderful delicacies

Before there was STARA my good friend said to me

Let’s go to lunch

Yum this is good

Maybe even better

If we try to cook it differently

Before there was STARA my good friend said to me

Let’s go to lunch

Yum this is good

Maybe even better

Let’s invite friends

And cook it differently

In our first year of STARA my partner said to me

Let’s go to lunch

Yum this is good

Maybe even better

Let’s invite friends

And cook it differently

And write about it too

In our first year of STARA my partner said to me

Let’s go to lunch

Yum this is good

Maybe even better

Let’s invite friends

And spouses too

Show people how to

Cook things differently

In our second year of STARA my partner and I agreed

Let’s plan the year

Let’s make it good

Maybe even better

More friends are coming

We’ll keep on writing

Adding more classes

Learning new things

Meeting awesome people

Having lots of fun

Still talking to each other

Hold private classes

Some held at Clicias

Feeling very blessed

Loving what we do

And extend our STARA family

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the kitchen again next year!

Happy Holidays!!