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Sold-out private event partners Plate Nextdoor with Museum of Russian Icons

Sold-out private event partners Plate Nextdoor with Museum of Russian Icons

03-Feb-2021
A private class for a group of eager museum members and friends looking for a way to warm up this January brought Plate Nextdoor virtually into their kitchens for honey cake and mulled wine. [By Andi Petrini, Plate Nextdoor public relations manager | Feb. 3, 2021]

The best way to warm up on a cold day is with a hot drink.

That was some of the advice Plate Nextdoor instructor Olga Kharina provided virtually to about 15 participants in a private event hosted by the Museum of Russian Icons on Jan. 23.

Olga led the group through making mulled wine on the stove as they baked Russian honey cake. Instruction sheets were provided before the class so participants could buy the ingredients and cook along.

“I was looking for a way to spend a cold Saturday,” said museum educator Amy Consalvi.

She found Plate Nextdoor and connected with CEO Supriya Shekar about collaborating on a private event.

Plate Nextdoor offers instruction for global cooking classes and empowers women instructors to share their cultural experiences and cooking talents virtually. The private event experience can be used as a team-building activity, or as a special treat to share with members of your organization.

The event was open to museum members (for a discount) and non-members.

Amy said Olga’s instruction was well received. The class was recorded for the museum to share with participants who held off on the virtual instruction, or if they wanted to make the honey cake again.

“Partnering our instructors with organizations brings an authentic and educational cultural experience to members while providing a fun and interactive socialization opportunity as well,” said Plate Nextdoor marketing director Courtney Kershaw. “Instructors get to share their culture while bringing people together and building connections to enhance the organization’s own culture.”

Olga mostly focuses on Russian cuisine. She was born in Ukraine and her family, which moved back to Russia, is mostly based in Russia.

When she visits, her sister insists Olga make her honey cake — even though the sweet is readily available throughout the country.

The honey cake is the “king of cake” in Russia, and one of the best representations of Russian cuisine, Olga shared. The “king of cake” actually gained popularity, Olga said, when it was prepared by a chef in the tsar’s palace for the queen in the 18th century. She didn’t care for the taste of honey, but raved about the cake and the chef was given an award.

The mulled wine recipe Olga shared used a bottle of inexpensive red wine, triple sec (though you can sub in other alcohol such as brandy or cognac), sugar, orange juice, cinnamon sticks and was garnished with a fresh lemon slice.

“Warm wine opens all the flavors,” Olga said.

It also helps improve the taste of an inexpensive wine.

As she frosted the many layers of cake, Olga said it’s best if it rests overnight in the refrigerator to really let the flavors absorb and the cake layers soften.

Olga ate the cake growing up, but never baked it with her mom. She learned the recipe after moving the United States, more than a decade ago.

“I explored the recipe on my own,” she said.

It’s the soft dough, she said, that makes the process a pleasant, nurturing experience.

“It makes me happy,” Olga said.

“Be happy when you bake,” she said. “You can taste that energy in your cake.

“This cake is a hassle, but it’s worth it.”

The class was littered with kitchen hacks and tips, with Olga engaging with participants throughout the two-hour event.

One universal helpful tip was putting a thermometer in your oven while it preheats so you can check whether it runs hotter or colder than what it is set at.

Another useful tip was how useful a simple pastry cutter can be, slicing through anything from pastry and biscuit doughs to sushi.

To schedule a private event for your organization, email info@platenextdoor.com. A menu for a class that is easy to follow along can be planned in many global cuisines and desserts.

Your event can bring together a group of museum members, donors, or be used as a team-building activity for your organization.

For more ideas, see the Cultural Experiences E-magazine, focused on culture and team building, at https://online.fliphtml5.com/bjbjk/hcvv/.

[By Andi Petrini, Plate Nextdoor public relations manager | Feb. 3, 2021]