I’m a home cook and my learning came from my mom and the internet. I haven’t taken a lot of cooking classes in the past. Bells Pastries invited me and my Seattle Foodie Podcast co-host Nelson Lau to a galette making class and we jumped on it!

Jasmin Bell Smith is an accomplished chef and you may recognize her from the Food Network’s Halloween Baking Championship and Chopped Desserts. Aside from being a local celebrity, Jasmin’s Macaron of the Month Club is always the talk of the town! I was super excited to learn from her!

Going into the class, I was feeling a bit anxious. Jasmin started us out with a bit of fellowship and wine. Then, we paired up and sat down at our stations. I was excited to see our friend Wendy attending the class as well. If you don’t follow @wen98107 on Instagram, you should consider it. She sees a lot in her journeys and shares regularly with her followers.

I’ve always viewed making dough as something for professionals or people who had a gift I didn’t possess. Jasmin has an encouraging vibe about her that made me feel comfortable and confident. Every step was easy to follow and every goal was obtainable! Each team of 2 people took on a recipe. Jasmin told us stories the entire night and it felt like you were cooking in a kitchen with friends.

We worked to mix and knead our dough. It was an amazing experience and I couldn’t believe I did it! Again, I had some confidence problems with my dough-making skills but Jasmin’s teaching style made it all possible!

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Nelson and I made a ratatouille galette. He did a great job of cutting vegetables evenly, while I struggled with a rather large eggplant. Jasmin had the caramelized onions prepared. When we were done prepping, we combined the onions, sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, roma tomatoes, olive oil, and seasonings. When the dough had properly rested, we rolled it out and added all of our ingredients.

Eating food we prepared was an amazing experience. We made everything and somehow, that always feels different. The Skinny Dish Pizza galette had ricotta spread, Jasmin’s simple Sunday sauce, kalamata olives, goat cheese, pepperoni slices, fresh basil, and Trader Joe’s everything bagel seasoning. The Nutella and Mixed Berry galette had blackberries, raspberries, and Nutella. The French Apple Chai Galette with Vanilla Crème Anglaise was to die for! Think apple pie filling in a galette! The bit of spice from the chai and fresh creme anglais took it over the top!

If you want to feel fancy or bring a dish to a party, a galette is a great choice! Jasmin taught us about using whatever we have around to put into a sweet or savory galette. This was a fantastic class for any level of home cook! Jasmin offers a variety of options including her famous macaron class. Check her out you guys!!!