Paella-making classes return to Jaleo Bethesda
Jaleo Bethesda head chef Robbie Meltzer and manager Inigo Oyarzabal during a demonstration of the cooking class the restaurant will offer. Credit: Andrew Metcalf
Amateur chefs looking to learn the art of Spanish cooking will have an opportunity this year to learn techniques from Jaleo Bethesda’s head chef. While the Bethesda tapas restaurant has previously offered cooking classes in its sizable kitchen, this is the first time chef Robbie Meltzer will be leading them. Last week, Meltzer, who brings showmanship and charisma to the class, offered a preview to the press with a tutorial on making paella.
He taught knife techniques, including how to dice an onion safely by leaving the root of the onion intact while chopping. As for cooking vegetables, the chef suggested adding them to the paella pan based on their moisture content—the less water in the vegetable, the earlier it’s added. Vegetables with high moisture content that cook for too long will turn into mush, Meltzer advised. The chef taught the class as if he were on a TV cooking show, but also fielded questions from the students.
“When I was in school, I always wanted to teach classes,” Meltzer said. “I feel like it’s the ultimate way to give back.”
Throughout the two-hour class, Inigo Oyarzabal, the restaurant’s manager and transplant from Spain, offered details about Spanish culture. “You guys do barbecue, we do paellas,” Oyarzabal said, referring to the community and familial aspect of simmering a paella, which is often done outside and over an open flame in Spain. Oyarzabal also taught how to make sangria during the class and attendees sipped on the fruit-infused wine beverages while helping Meltzer prepare the paella, which was served at the end of the class.
The classes are scheduled for the first Tuesday of every month. The first two are scheduled for April 5 and May 10 and will focus on making paella. The cost is $75 per person.
Paladar chef wins canned cooking competition
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Chef Gregory Webb, in black, is announced as the winner of the cooking competition Monday afternoon. Credit: Andrew Metcalf
Paladar Executive Chef Gregory Webb may have not beaten celebrity chef Bobby Flay when he cooked against him in a head-to-head battle in October, but Monday night he bested two other local chefs in a cooking competition to benefit Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg. The contest was hosted at Webb’s restaurant in Gaithersburg and pitted the chef against chef Mark Mills of Chocolates and Tomatoes Farm in Poolesville and Kentlands Whole Foods Market chef Pablo Castillo.
The contestants had to contend with a twist—they were required to use canned foods, which they combined with produce grown on Mills’ farm to create dishes that were then reviewed by a panel of three judges. Manna Food Center organized the event as a way to highlight how canned and boxed foods, which the center provides to needy families, can be used to make tasty recipes. Webb won the entrée round and the competition with a braised salmon cake made with canned salmon and crushed Raisin Bran and a sweet potato puree made out of canned sweet potatoes.
Full disclosure: Bethesda Beat editor Andrew Metcalf served as one of the three judges.
Inferno Pizzeria to begin offering limited lunch service
Chef Tony Conte of Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana. Provided photo
Chef Tony Conte’s new and highly lauded Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana in Darnestown announced last week it will begin serving lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays. Conte, the former executive chef at the Washington, D.C., fine dining restaurant The Oval Room, opened the restaurant in October and initially offered only dinner service. Conte’s wood oven pizzas have earned praise in recent months from food critics, with the Washingtonian writing “Even a simple cheese-and-sauce pizza is a marvel, because the quality of the foundational elements is so good.”
