Finding Voice in Food Writing

A Guided One-Day Writing Workshop in Sonoma County

Saturday, April 5, 2025, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Presented by:

Kathy Gunst, James Beard Award-winning food journalist

Linda Carucci, chef and culinary educator

Food writers and want-to-be food writers are invited to join us for a very special day-long event in Sonoma County at Silver Penny Farm (https://silverpenny.farm/) in the rolling hills outside of Petaluma, California. Silver Penny is a magnificent organic working farm featuring a restored farmhouse, cottage, spacious meeting room, and outdoor space to write and explore. 

What to expect

We will spend the day focused on building voice in your writing, building confidence, and focusing your ability to describe food experiences in a unique way. From sensory exercises, to honing your ability to write recipes, to fine tuning your writing style, the day will be full of surprises. We’ll spend time writing based on shared prompts and you’ll have the chance to read your work aloud and receive invaluable feedback. 

We begin at 9:30 a.m with coffee and local pastry. After introductions and a brief review of the day, Kathy will present a short craft talk, and we’ll dive right in and write. 

Linda will then guide us through an hour-long interactive tasting experience designed to sharpen the senses and explore how salt—one of the most crucial and basic ingredients in the pantry-–can alter our cooking and taste perceptions. We will then do a writing exercise based on our newly-heightened senses. 

We will break for a catered box lunch with time for networking. 

The afternoon will focus on more writing and building voice through a variety of exercises. The atmosphere of this workshop is supportive, creating a space where everyone, no matter their writing expertise, feels confident and “safe” to share work. 

At 5 p.m. we’ll gather for a networking reception featuring a tasting of distinctive Petaluma Gap AVA cheeses and wines, presented by Sue Conley, a founding owner of world-renowned Cowgirl Creamery and owner of Silver Penny Farm, and Jacquelyn Buchanan, former culinary director at Laura Chenel and McEvoy Olive Ranch.

Your Presenters

Kathy Gunst will lead the writing portion of the day. Kathy is the “Resident Chef” for NPR’s Here and Now, heard on more than 550 public radio stations. She is the author of 16 cookbooks (her most recent book is Rage Baking–the Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices). She leads popular writing workshops in Italy and France, and writes for the Washington Post, Yankee, Eating Well, Boston Globe, Bon Appétit, Cognoscenti, and other publications. wwwkathygunst.com

Linda Carucci is described by Chef Thomas Keller as “the consummate teacher, cook, and coach all rolled into one.” She promises she didn’t pay him to say that. The former dean of the California Culinary Academy, she has taught cooking across the U.S. for 30 years. The IACP named her Cooking Teacher of the Year and she was awarded Educator of the Year by Women Chefs & Restaurateurs. Linda is the author of two editions of Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks, a Washington Post Best Book 2016 and a finalist for James Beard and Julia Child First Book Awards. www.CookingSchoolSecrets.com 

Registration Details

The cost for the day including writing workshop, interactive sensory exercises, opening coffee reception, lunch, and closing wine and cheese reception is $325. Scholarships are available; for more information, please contact lindacarucci@gmail.com by February 1, 2025. 

Space for this workshop is limited. To register please send an email to gunstk1@gmail.comtelling us your name, home address, and mobile phone number. To secure a spot please Venmo a non-refundable $100 deposit to @Kathy-Gunst and on the “What’s this for?” line simply write “Sonoma.” Or mail a check via snail mail to Linda Carucci, 59 Chelton Lane, Oakland, CA 94611. Deposits must be received by February 15, 2025. The remaining balance of $225 is due March 3, 2025.

This will be an exceptional day of finding voice and confidence in your writing and the opportunity to meet like-minded food writers. Silver Penny is a truly spectacular location to write and gather. Feel free to reach out with any questions to lindacarucci@gmail.com or gunstk1@gmail.com.

Need lodging? For those interested in a place to spend the night or the weekend, the entire 5-bedroom, 4.5-bath restored farmhouse at Silver Penny is available for rental on Airbnb: (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1171166700872869205?source_impression_id=p3_1722951035_P3Nz-W1Wfp8Cx6p6). Consider getting together with a few friends or colleagues to rent the whole house. 

Or book a room at one of these recommended nearby hotels: 

• Hotel Petaluma: https://www.hotelpetaluma.com/
• Hampton Inn Petaluma: https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/oakpchx-hampton-petaluma/?SEO_id=GMB-AMER-HX-OAKPCHX&y_source=1_ODYwMjU3My03MTUtbG9jYXRpb24ud2Vic2l0ZQ%3D%3D
• Sheraton Sonoma Wine Country Petaluma: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/stssi-sheraton-sonoma-wine-country-petaluma/overview/?scid=f2ae0541-1279-4f24-b197-a979c79310b0

Welcome to all my new friends. And thanks to those of you who have attended my recent online cooking classes for the Cancer Support Community of the Bay Area and for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI  @Berkeley). I’m delighted to present the following new classes. To register, follow the links below. I do hope you’ll join me on Zoom!

A Virtual Taste of Regional Italian Cookery 

with Stops in Liguria, Lazio, Puglia, and Sicily

plus more Summer 2024 culinary adventures

June 5, 12, 21, and 26 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. PDT

OLLI @Berkeley presents Regional Italian Cookery with Yours Truly

via Zoom and recorded for viewing through August 31, 2024

Have you thought about introducing more “plant-forward” meals into your repertoire? Quite coincidentally, while tallying up the recipes I’ll be presenting in my seventh OLLI course, I realized that 90% of them are vegetarian. Indeed, Italians are fond of vegetables. And so am I. 

In this new course I’ll demonstrate recipes from four regions in Italy where I’ve studied with professional chefs and home cooks alike. Students receive the recipes in advance and are encouraged to prepare something from class, at home, before we meet again on Zoom. This never fails to be illuminating—and fun. 

We’ll explore: Liguria, AKA the Italian Riviera, where I attended a course for food writers this past October; Lazio, the birthplace of my cheesemaker grandfather, featuring secrets to preparing some classic recipes from the eternal city of Rome; the cucina povera (peasant food) of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot; and the vibrant island cuisine of Sicily, the largest of Italy’s twenty regions. 

Affiliated with UC Berkeley, OLLI is a community of learners 50 “and better.” Each term, new and returning OLLI members have the opportunity to register for online and in-person classes on myriad topics. I love teaching on Zoom, especially the opportunity it presents for real-time interaction with students via the Chat feature, made possible thanks to my trusty assistant. 

The fee for the four-part series is $120 plus OLLI membership which starts at $75. If you’re 50 or better, you’re welcome to join OLLI @Berkeley regardless of where you live. Presently, there’s a special offer whereby new members can receive $25 off a single-term membership. Also, OLLI @Berkeley has a fee assistance program that offers significant savings on both membership and courses. For more information including registration, the detailed course syllabus, and a brief promo video where I reveal the recipe titles: 

https://olli.berkeley.edu/course/2678

Thursday, July 11, 4 to 5 p.m. PDT via Zoom

How to Make Food Sound Good…

Literally: A Conversation with NPR’s Resident Chef Kathy Gunst

Enter the fascinating world of Kathy Gunst, Resident Chef for 20-plus years of National Public Radio’s Here and Now program, broadcast on more than 550 public radio stations nationwide. Kathy travels around the U.S. in search of compelling stories for the show’s 5.5 million listeners, reporting on seasonal foods, culinary trends, and gardening topics—all without benefit of a single visual image. 

A James Beard award-winning food journalist, Kathy is the author of 16 books including Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices. She divides her time between a small town in Maine and Los Angeles and is presently working on a memoir. Kathy teaches food writing classes in Italy, which is how and where we met and became fast friends. 

The sponsor/host of this program is the San Francisco chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier-International. A small fee will be charged when you register. Proceeds benefit our chapter’s Hospitality Business Grants and Mentorships for Bay Area Women Entrepreneurs. I know, that’s quite a mouthful. But it’s a worthwhile program that I’m proud to be affiliated with. 

If you’re interested in Zooming in to hear me interview Kathy about her vast and entertaining experiences, please email me and type 7/11 LDE program in the subject line. When the official flyer for this program is ready next month, I’ll be glad to let you know how to register: lindacarucci@gmail.com

Thursdays, May 30, July 25, and August 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. PDT via Zoom

Healthy Cooking on a Budget

About once a month for the past three years, the Cancer Support Community of the Bay Area (CSC) has hosted these free online cooking classes. Typically, I demonstrate two recipes that feature seasonal produce that’s good to eat in more ways than one. Recipes are sent out in advance and some intrepid folks even cook along with me. There’s lots of time for Q&A and the mood is light and upbeat. 

Who can participate? Anyone whose life has been affected by cancer. CSC is a spectacular organization with all sorts of workshops, classes, support groups, and activities, both online and in person. To see their monthly calendar of events and register for any class or program: 

https://csc-sf.gnosishosting.net/Events/Calendar

Culinary Knife Skills: Private Workshops Return!

Want to improve your chopping, dicing, and chiffonade techniques? Looking for a creative gift for a favorite cook in your life? For the past many years I’d taught these private hands-on workshops in my home kitchen in the Oakland hills. And then…the great pandemic kibosh. 

This class runs about 3 hours and includes private instruction, printed recipes, and lunch. 

$295 for one person or $495 for two. If you’re interested, please let me know the date(s) you’re considering: lindacarucci@gmail.com  

Thanks for your consideration. I do hope you’ll join me this summer.

Linda

www.CookingSchoolSecrets.com