National Lentil Festival 2013-25th Anniversary! August 16-17

COOKING DEMONSTRATION STAGE

The cooking demonstration stage, sponsored by Whole Foods Market and PNW Co-op Specialty Foods, is a brand new attraction designed to help people learn all the delicious and easy ways to cook lentils in the comfort of their own home!

On Friday from 6:30pm – 7:30, the cooking demonstration stage will feature an “Ask the Expert” panel discussion giving people an opportunity to ask 5 “lentil professionals” anything they want to know about how to cook with lentils, the health benefits of including lentils in your daily diet and the importance of lentil production on the Palouse.

On Saturday, watch as 3 professional chefs give live demonstrations of how to cook their favorite lentil recipes and give you step by step instructions to make those recipes at home! The demos kick off at 11am with local chef, Nick Pitsilionis, owner and chef at The Black Cypress. At 12pm, catch Top Chef contestant Robin Leventhal followed by Whole Foods Market’s senior global chef, Derek Sarno at 1pm. At 2pm, watch as the top 5 finalists from the Legendary Lentil Cook-Off present their entries to a panel of celebrity judges. One of those finalists will be crowned the 2013 Legendary Lentil Cook-Off winner complete with a chef’s hat and giant check!

Don’t Miss the Cooking Demos from these Professional Chefs! 

Nick Pitsilionis

Chef/Owner of The Black Cypress

Nick grew up working at his family’s restaurant in Alaska and spending his summers in his ancestral Greek village. Having finished his film degree in Sydney, he returned to Alaska to run his father’s restaurant, where he used his personal credit card to pay the restaurant’s monthly expenses, in short time, raising his credit limit to $80,000. In shorter time, he maxed that limit with a handful of trips to New York and Italy, where he ate himself into a state of self-loathing. After several years of working various jobs, including a year at the venerable French Laundry in Napa, he settled in the Palouse. He eventually opened The Black Cypress in Pullman, where he serves the traditional food of his Greek village. With the support of his community, he has now paid off his credit card debt and hopes that in time, with enough good deeds, he can attend to the self-loathing.

 Robin Leventhal

Top Chef Cheftestant, Instructor & Aucitoneer

Before becoming a chef, Robin was an artist. But it quickly became clear she had a passion for food. She formerly owned and operated “Crave” a popular Seattle bistro serving up Contemporary Comfort Food on Capitol Hill. She had a life altering experience in 1999 representing Seattle on the sixth season of Top Chef where she finished fifth. Since then she has found an ideal balance in her life making art, teaching, and cooking. She keeps her knives sharp in kitchens for causes like “Bristol Bay”, and catering pop up dinners around town. With a commitment to community, she sits on the Slow Food Seattle board raising awareness of the value of food and knowing where it comes from.

 Derek Sarno

Senior Global Chef at Whole Foods Markets

Derek’s experience includes many years as chef/consultant for an international Tibetan Buddhist monastery, restaurateur, vegan organic farmer, food designer, consultant, food writer and educator of vegan, vegetarian and animal-based cuisines. Derek joined Whole Foods Market in 2009 as a chef and culinary educator to support the company’s Health Starts Here™ program.  In his current role as senior global chef, Derek serves as a culinary resource across all departments within the company and oversees R&D including recipe and product development. He has owned several restaurants and catering businesses in the Northeast including the South Hill Farm in South Berwick, Maine, a sustainable farm and learning center dedicated to providing the community with vegan and organic foods and culinary education.


for more information, visit National Lentil Festival-Pullman, WA