Skillshare

Teacher Tuesdays (or Wednesdays…): Kika Gilbert

Class:

Baking Scones: The gateway to teamtime & the British empire (add it to your watchlist!)

Teacher:

Kika Gilbert remembers everywhere and everything she has ever eaten. She was born in the USA, did a short stint in Tokyo, and grew up in London where she gained a passion for all things British. She has been baking her entire life with a specific focus on cakes, scones and muffins though she can sometimes be found whipping up the odd savory treat. She attended college based solely on the fact that afternoon tea was served in each residential house on Friday afternoons and thinks that teatime is the most important meal of the day.

1. What advice would you give to someone with a fabulous idea and awesome skills who is hesitant to teach?

There was definitely a few weeks between deciding what I wanted to teach and actually posting my first class on the site. Choose a subject that is a natural extension of yourself. I had thought about a few different ideas for my first class but settled on something that I think about all the time so that it would be easy for me to talk to a group of people about it. Classes don’t need to be unique and obscure, they should be interesting but most importantly convey your passion for the subject. For your first class there is a lot to think about, don’t try to stress yourself out with learning too many new things and instead try to have fun. Reach out to your friend group for support, in finding a place to host and also being your first students. If you have people already lined up to take it when it goes live, you’ll definitely be set up for success.

2. In your teacher bio on Skillshare you say that you remember everywhere and everything you have eaten - top 3 food memories?

Oooo this is a tough one, I’ll try to name the most recent top 3!

There is a restaurant in Western Massachusetts called The People’s Pint that is probably one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at. Everything is SUPER local, they don’t create any waste because everything is composted or fed to local farm animals. Best of all the food is top notch. I seriously dream about the blackened turkey burger topped with cheddar cheese and homemade pepper jelly served alongside a house brewed wheat beer.

Two words: Pig Island. On Governor’s Island last fall there was a huge cook out of 40 different restaurants all serving a different pork dish and unlimited Sixpoint Beer. Luckily, we went early because I definitely had to take a nap about half way through. There were kimchi pork sliders, root beer braised pork and slow roasted herb pork sandwiches. It’s happening again in October if anyone is interested…

One of my favourite new places in Cobble Hill is a place called Brucie (which at one point I was one day away from becoming mayor of!). Their menu changes quite frequently but everything on it is really delicious. All of the pastas are house made including the tagliatelle which is served in a tomato butter with fried brussel sprouts—their signature dish. A few other things I’ve tasted include braised beef tortellini in a brown butter cranberry sauce and roasted fingerling sweet potatoes over an olive butter yogurt. For dessert they have Coohaus ice cream sandwiches and an extremely memorable brownie with salted caramel. Great for dates or out of town guests who really want to know what the Brooklyn food scene is all about.

3. You’ve lived in NYC, Tokyo, and England, to name just a few (you, globetrotter, you!). Where are you headed next?!

I’ve lived in a lot of places but I’ve never really explored America! I think I would love to live in Northern California someday or perhaps live on a mountain in New Hampshire. As for the rest of the world, I could see myself loving Berlin and I know I’ll need strengthen my stomach but, I really want to travel to India and eat everything.

4. What class would you love to see being taught on Skillshare?

I’d really like to learn more about planting a home garden, how lovely would it be to just reach out my window to grab some greens for a salad? Also, doughnuts…teach me everything.