Former Parkite returns to teach culinary classes with head chef.
Park Record – Mar 2013 The two established Local Mission Eatery in San Francisco Scott Iwasaki, The Park Record
Posted: 03/19/2013 04:34:14 PM MDT
Chef Jake DeVoinges, who with former Parkite Yaron Milgrom, established the Local Mission Eatery…
Three years ago, Yaron Milgrom and chef Jake Des Voignes established the Local Mission Eatery in San Francisco, Calif.
It was one of the first restaurants in San Francisco to use only locally produced foods in its cooking.
The menu includes sandwiches, soups, salads, fish dishes, cheeses, lamb and poultry.
A year ago, the two created Local’s Corner, a restaurant and raw bar.
The new endeavor garnered a three-star review and was named one of the Top 10 restaurants in San Francisco by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Milgrom, a former Park City resident, will return to town with Des Voignes to teach two classes for the Park City Culinary Institute at the Temple Har Shalom this weekend.
“We’re planning to make some food, eat some food and teach some skills that can be used every day in the kitchen,” Milgrom said during an interview with The Park Record.
The first class, on Saturday, March 23, will be about preparing trout.
“Trout is a great Utah fish, and we will teach — or rather, Jake will demonstrate — how to butcher, cook and cure it,” Milgrom explained. “We’ll also cook up some winter vegetables with it to make a fuller meal.”
The second class will be about preserving food.
“We will show how we can hold on to flavors from one season into another,” Milgrom said. “We will introduce lemons and citrus salts and show other methods of preservation. In California, we have built up a significant pantry of preserved items so we can get certain flavors all year around.”
Milgrom became interested in the culinary arts after he moved to San Francisco from New York, where he was living five years ago.
“I had done my dissertation on Jewish medieval mysticism and actually taught 10 years ago at the Temple Har Shalom,” he said. “I also have a love of food and fell in love with our neighborhood in San Francisco, which was an underprovided poor neighborhood.”
Milgrom came up with a sustainable-food business model and wanted to work with it.
“The model would use food and produce that was found locally, so everything we would make would be done fresh and local,” he said. “So, whatever is available is what drives us.”
He and Des Voignes took over two spaces in totally dilapidated buildings and renovated them into unique eateries.
When the San Francisco Chronicle applauded Local’s Corner with the ratings, Milgrom was happy.
“We felt we had something special going because of the way we were sourcing our foods and because of the quality of the cooking and ingredients,” he said. “While we knew what we were doing was different, we were still super pleased when we got the accolades.”
Milgrom is looking forward to his return to Park City for the classes.
“It just seems so great that when my wife and I had just gotten married 10 years ago that we lived in Park City,” Milgrom said. “I was teaching Jewish Mysticism at Temple Har Shalom, before they built their new building. And, now, I’m coming back to teach a culinary class at the new Temple Har Shalom kitchen.
“It shows how much has changed in our lives,” he said. “I’ll be teaching a culinary class instead of a scholarly class, and that’s so interesting to me.”
Milgrom, his wife and two children still return to Park City as much as they can to visit family.
“(My family has) a house just around the corner from the High West Distillery,” he said. “I’m in town to ski with my son, and then I’ll go back to San Francisco midweek and return for the weekend to cook with Jake.”
Chef Jake Des Voignes and owner Yaron Milgrom of San Francisco’s Local Mission Eatery and Local’s Corner will hold classes for the Park City Culinary Institute on Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at the Temple Har Shalom, 3700 Brookside Ct. Optional wine pairings will be offered to those over 21. To register or for more information, visit www.pcculinary.com or call (435) 659-5075.