Women in Food of WNY presents:
Cooking Class with Chef Alexa Wajed
Two Types of Tacos: Roasted Sweet Potato with Black Beans + Roasted Cauliflower with Plantain
Join me (Missy) along with Alex Levine from Yelp, as your hostess & host for this Virtual gathering of the Women in Food of WNY. In this Free Class with Chef Alexa Wajed, Personal Chef, in Buffalo, NY, she’ll teach us how to take tacos to a whole new level with two unique, delicious types!
Tacos can be such a versatile food, filled with whatever yummy combinations your imagination can conjure! Chef Alexa will be walking us through two types: first, a taco filled with roasted sweet potato and black beans. Second, a taco with roasted cauliflower and plantain. If you’re wondering what a plantain is… it is this yummy delicious banana-like fruit that has a starchier texture than a typical banana. They must be cooked to be edible and delicious and are an important part of Central and South American, Caribbean, African, and Southeast Asian cuisines. What I know about Chef Alex is that she loves to enjoy cooking and make it easy. I’m sure you’ll find both these tacos fun and easy to make in addition to yummy to eat!
Along the way, I’ll be asking her questions and chatting about her culinary journey, being a woman chef in WNY and whatever spontaneously comes in our shared storytelling. I’ll also share some bits about Crown HIll Farm and my own passion for food and YOU will have a chance to ask questions as you cook and enjoy along with us!
Whether you cook along with us or just sit at the “table” and enjoy the conversation, I’m sure you’ll learn a few new things to add to your taco repretoire! In addition to learning with us during this live, play-along, how-to adventure in the kitchen with Chef Alexa, you will get a copy of the recipe to use over & over again to revisit these two taco creations!
About Chef Alexa Wajed: Alexa Joan is a buffalo born creative entrepreneur and an Alumnus of City Honors High School. She is a visual artist, trained chef and jewelry designer. She is co-founder of Eat Off Art, is a multi-dimensional agency, platform and affirmation all-in-one, providing transformative experiences through creativity, food and art. Eat Off Art began as a mantra to counter the adage of the "starving artist.” The main intent of Eat Off Art is to inspire others through our crafts, passions and endeavors to believe that there is a way to be successful, sustainable and profitable as artists, especially married artists, with creative children in tow.
Alexa received her bachelor's degree in hospitality management from Canisius College and participated in a semester abroad in Bulle, Switzerland. After many years in the corporate sector, Alexa returned back to school to earn an additional degree in culinary arts and had the unique opportunity to have an externship on the Amalfi Coast in Positano, Italy for 10 weeks.
Currently, Alexa is an adjunct professor at a local College, a mother of two creative young men and makes time to serve a faithful and growing clientele as a personal chef. She enjoys helping people understand and adopt healthy eating habits, mentoring the youth and creating abstract art along with unique hand painted jewelry which is sold online and in some local gift shops and galleries.
About the Women in Food of WNY series: Being a solo Woman Farmer and Woman Entrepreneur I have always kept my eye out for fellow women in business with whom to connect (and commiserate). As i’ve established myself in the WNY area, I have loved meeting new chefs and farmers alike. However, one thing that I noticed was a serious lack in attention towards women Chefs and Farmers of the region, despite the fact that there are many of us. Here at Crown Hill Farm, we love to host Farm-to-Table dinners featuring local chefs preparing seasonal foods. From there, I saw a vision: A series of dinners highlighting the women chefs of WNY. Now, in 2020 with COVID keeping us all away from social gatherings in person, I had to get creative while hanging on to this vision of featuring women in food in WNY. And so, after many conversations with incredible women, this series was born! This is the first step to what I hope will be a Conference of WNY Women in Food. For now, let’s gather around our respective kitchens to chat, cook and learn together.