This St. Patrick’s Day explore Irish cuisine beyond the traditional fare with dishes from Park City’s Mindful Cuisine. Chef Linda Elbert, a graduate of Laguna Culinary Arts and Living Light Culinary Institute, offers an Irish-themed cooking class as well as homemade Irish treats, made-to-order, throughout the month of March.
I’ve always loved cooking. It’s one of those things that I’ve done all my life. I wanted to connect with people and use food to connect with the community. What I do as a savory cook is different than what I do with my baking. With baking I try to explore my family history, and March makes me think of my family ancestry.
Chef Linda Elbert, owner of Mindful Cuisine
Elbert’s grandfather was a pastry chef, and her father is of Irish and Welsh decent. For this chef, there is more to St. Patrick’s Day that just corn beef and cabbage. Chef Elbert enjoys baking traditional specialties like Irish soda bread and Irish brown bread, made with orange zest and currents or oats and a Guinness extra stout. She uses authentic ingredients, like traditional Irish wholemeal flour, to create a unique texture, and a farm to table, Irish cream liqueur from Five Farms in Ireland. Her Irish cream scones have a crumbly texture from the flour and flavors of caramel and Irish cream, and let’s not forget the Irish cream cake, a vanilla or chocolate base with Irish cream frosting, what Elbert calls a ‘fancy treat for dessert.’ She also bakes homemade shortbread cookies, traditional style, chocolate and Tahini flavored.
I think scones are for breakfast but these are maybe better for afternoon tea, with booze in the dough and glaze and caramel throughout, they are decadent.
Chef Linda Elbert
Mindful Cuisine also offers private cooking classes, available for parties of two to 10 people. Masks are required. Choose from several cuisines including this months ‘Cook Like You’re Irish’ menu, which includes celeriac soup with sage, hazelnuts and Irish brown bread, Irish pub salad, crispy chicken with Irish whiskey and wild mushroom sauce, colcannon mashed potatoes with leeks and cabbage, and Irish cream cake. Mindful Cuisine also offers prifix menus, create your own menus, and virtual classes. Chef Elbert uses organic ingredients for her cooking classes as often as possible and incorporates locally sourced meats and homemade cheeses from in and around Park City, Utah.
I try to grow what I can. I grow fresh herbs indoors, I grow produce in my greenhouse, and I have a raised garden bed during the summer months. I also buy ingredients from the community garden to use in my cooking classes.
Chef Linda Elbert
Visit Mindful Cuisine to order your St. Patrick’s Day treats, or to reserve a cooking class. Delivery is available in Park City for a $10 fee. Pickup is available at Mindful Cuisine, located in Silver Creek, or in Kimball Junction at Park City Gift and Gourmet. Please allow at least three days for all preorders. Follow @mindful_cuisine_in_park_city on Instagram for recipes and updates.
Cooking is a really fabulous way to be present because it is so sensory. I think there is something healthy and nurturing about cooking with ingredients that you can smell and touch with your hands. We feed each other all of our lives. It’s a way that we show that we care and show love and put mindfulness in our lives, along with supporting local producers, farmers, chefs and the ecosystem.
Chef Linda Elbert
