In a small, cozy bakery on Halstead Avenue, brightly colored sweet treats line the walls of a glass case. The walls, painted a bright teal, pop with fun, chalkboard signs welcoming guests. One of the signs reads “Welcome Chef Bill Powell.” On this particular evening, men, women and children alike poured into Nora’s Ovenworks for “Visiting Chef Night” night, a new event hosted by bakery owner Nora Brunnett that features local chefs who teach participants how to make a specialty dish.
On Jan. 29, Nora’s welcomed Chef Bill Powell of Powell’s Catering in Harrison.
On the menu for the evening’s demonstration were Powell’s famous hamburgers. Powell, who has owned Powell’s Catering for 35 years and is a lifelong Harrison resident, kept the kids giggling as he made burger after burger in the bakery’s kitchen, instructing the guests to only flip the burger once, and to never press down on it with a spatula. A table loaded with toppings and condiments was nearly bare after each participant chowed down on their burger. Many of the children participating chose the usual toppings: lettuce, tomato and ketchup. One adventurous 6-year-old topped her burger with bacon and a fried egg. With the sound of people chewing, the only noise in the room, it was clear that the burgers were a big hit.
“Nora picked them,” said Powell of his meal choice, adding that he loves community events such as this one. “It’s always new people, and you get to show what you do well.”
Powell said that Brunnett has been a great new asset to the neighborhood since her opening in December 2014, and joked with participants that when he has a bad day, he goes to the bakery for a cupcake.
Most of the people in attendance at last Friday’s event were mother-daughter teams, with a dad and a few teams of friends sprinkled in. Josie Marsico and her daughter, Tessa, 6, of Harrison, were the first to arrive, eager to learn how to cook hamburgers and get a lesson in peach cobbler from Brunnett.
“I like the Cooking Channel and I want to be on [a show],” Tessa said, who also told the Review that her favorite thing to cook is “almost everything.”
Another participant, 8-year-old Sofia, said through a mouthful of a bacon-topped burger, “You should come to Nora’s Ovenworks every day,” and recommended Brunnett’s beet brownies. According to Sofia, the brownie is so good, you can’t even taste the beets—and she would know, she doesn’t like beets.
After enjoying burgers, guests followed Brunnett back into the kitchen to learn how to make peach cobbler. Brunnett allowed each child to lay the crust on top of the cobbler to make a crisscross shape with the dough. She warned that they could eat the raw crust, but that it probably wouldn’t taste very good. In true childlike fashion, almost all of them ate it anyway.
the Review during Visiting Chef Night. Brunnett is the owner of Nora’s
Ovenworks in Harrison. Photos/Andrew Dapolite
The class enjoyed the fruits of their labor and a look of satisfaction swept across Brunnett’s face as she cleaned up. Each guest took their turn thanking her and expressed their excitement for more cooking classes.
The first event, held on Jan. 15, featured Chef Anthony from Delfino’s, the Italian restaurant located next door to the bakery. Her love for community and family is what drove Brunnett to plan these events, she said, adding that, after the first one, she couldn’t sleep because she was excited.
“I really like the teaching part of it and I’m a big community girl,” said Brunnett, who has lived in Harrison for eight years. She said the event is a great way for residents to get to know and build relationships with local restaurant’s chefs; something she believes benefits all of Harrison. This is probably what makes choosing the visiting chefs so easy for her.
“I go to a lot of the places,” Brunnett said. “My family and I eat at Billy [Powell]’s place; we eat at the taqueria; we eat at Rattlesnake Jack’s.” She said that every chef she has asked to present so far has been receptive.
Brunnett added that she thinks the price of the event is great for what the participant gets. Classes run at $30 per person, or $55 per couple, which can include a parent-child team, and $15 for each additional child. Classes include a cooking lesson from the visiting chef, a dessert lesson from Brunnett, and—the best part—a chance to eat.
Brunnett plans to continue these events through the winter and summer when families have more time to spend together. The next installment of Visiting Chef Night is on Friday, Feb. 5, after press time, which will feature resident chef Chai-Li, who will teach guests how to make Chinese dumplings, a choice Brunnett said was “purely selfish,” due to her love of herdumplings.
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