If there’s one thing we all have enough of in our diet, it’s wheat: it’s everywhere, one of the 4 pillars of baking, along with eggs, butter & sugar. It can be destabilizing when you take wheat out of the equation. Either for health or dietary reasons, baking gluten-free has become a challenge and a need for many people. Join pastry chef Rachel Portnoy on February 29 at Berkshire Botanical Garden from 10 – 1 to discover new grains, new techniques, and new flavors, by moving away from wheat in your baking. In this class we will make sweet and savory recipes, all designed to highlight the fun and flavorful ways that gluten-free baking can take you in new and delicious directions. We will cover a wide array of possibilities including French and American classics.

Rachel Portnoy started out as a vegetarian cook during her time as a graduate student in English in the 1990’s, and then moved on to specialize in pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in London. She worked at French fine dining and Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, Washington D.C. and London, as well as in France at fine restaurants and bakeries. In 2002, Rachel and her husband, French chef Franck Tessier, moved to Lee, MA, and she fulfilled a long-term dream by opening her own bakery, Cakewalk, in Lee. Rachel eventually sold Cakewalk and moved up the road to open a restaurant on Main Street with Franck called Chez Nous where the couple focuses on fresh, healthy, handmade and delicious cuisine and desserts.

Sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace. Contact Berkshire Botanical Garden at www.berkshirebotanical.org to place your name on a wait list for this event or to put yourself on a list for a future session.