LINCOLN PARK — Lincoln Park's newest business is part cooking class, part social event and part dinner party.
The Social Table hosted its first dinner party open to the public Tuesday night at its brand new cooking space, 819 W. Armitage Ave.
The Social Table is located inside a quaint yellow building that looks like a house along Armitage near Halsted.
Chef Rebecca Goldfarb began transforming the old building into a cooking studio last fall. It's now equipped with two full-sized kitchens and two dining areas that will host groups nightly.
"We are sticking with the core idea of people like to cook and they want to be able to share with their friends," she said.
The idea is that Goldfarb is essentially throwing the guests a dinner party where they will learn a few new recipes, cooking tips and tricks and eventually sit down as a group and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Guests are encouraged to bring their own alcohol to enjoy during the cooking process, which hopefully, leads to making new friends along the way.
Each class lasts roughly three hours and typically includes a menu consisting of a main entree, two sides and dessert.
The schedule is set through mid-October with four rotating menus: Mediterranean seafood; comfort Italian; fall dinner and dinner party.
Goldfarb plans on changing the class offerings every six weeks, and keeping the menus seasonal.
The Mediterranean seafood menu includes baked fish filets with roasted fennel; tomatoes and olives; smoky tomato soup with garlic bread, spinach and ricotta spanikopita; and fresh berries with limoncello creme for dessert.
A full calendar of dinners is listed at thesocialtable.com. The cost per person per dinner is $75.
The Social Table also offers the opportunity to rent out the kitchen and chef for a private event with friends, where guests can choose their own menu and music.
Goldfarb started The Social Table in New York in a 400-square-foot basement kitchen where she ran the business on her own for six years.
The move to Chicago was one of necessity for a larger kitchen space so that her booming business could expand.
The new location is 2,200 square feet customized for dinner parties.
“I'm excited. I am hoping that it translates," Goldfarb said. "I really hope that people see the value in what we are offering. I think it's such a fun thing to do and such a great way to reconnect with people and food and socializing.”
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