Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1075446
SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 LIVE IT UP! 13 I f you're a Santa Cruz County local with any interest in cooking or nutrition, you should know about the substantial workshop program at New Leaf 's Westside location. Just a quick glance at February's online calendar, for example, shows classes including Cioppino and Ecuadorian Chocolate Making (cooking choices) and Achieving Sound Sleep and Demystifying Omegas (wellness/nutrition choices). Visit newleaf.com/events. Madia Jamgochian (IG @ madiazoe) has been organizing the Community Classroom workshops and events at New Leaf Community Markets' Westside Santa Cruz branch since 2014. In addition to serving as Community Classroom Coordinator, Jamgochian—a self-taught chef—leads cooking classes and nutrition discussions. She graduated from Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition in 2013 after completing her BA in Environmental Studies and Exercise Sports Science at UCSB. When Jamgochian started at New Leaf, the store offered about one or two classes per week. "In the beginning, it was very difficult to get people to sign up for classes," she says. "Now, most of our classes sell out, especially in the New Year when people are becoming re-motivated to focus on their health." During the busiest times of the year, they offer as many as six classes per week. "It's really exciting to see people in the community discovering and utilizing the classroom, and the reach extends beyond the Westside. We have people come from Half Moon Bay, San Jose, and Monterey," she adds. "People have told me there's nothing like it where they live, and that makes them willing to travel the distance." Recently, some of New Leaf's most popular cooking classes were ones from chef Eric Adema, (including Dim Sum) and from Eriko Yokoyama and Masumi Diaz (including miso-making). "People like to learn new cooking techniques and also about foods from other countries," says Jamgochian. "We have offered these instructors' classes numerous times." Eric Adema has been teaching at New Leaf for about five months, and all of his workshops have sold out. He first learned his passion for food while cooking his great grandmother's recipes with his mother as a kid. His later experience includes working as a chef and BY TARA FATEMI WALKER Turn over a New Leaf: Learn about cooking and nutrition Madia Jamgochian and Magali Brecke co-teach a New Leaf anti-inflammatory series twice a year. Photo credit Dan Coyro - Santa Cruz Sentinel CONTINUES ON 14