Food traditions carry more than recipes. They carry stories, skills, family memories and ways of caring for one another. This November, School of Ranch is inviting Central Oregonians to experience those connections firsthand through a Mexican family feast built around cooking, storytelling and learning together.
On November 15, nutritionist Mayra Santana and chef Oscar Molina will lead Culture & Food: Prepare a Mexican Family Feast, a hands-on School of Ranch workshop exploring the food traditions and practical skills that have brought generations of Mexican families together around the table.
Santana and Molina, the husband-and-wife team behind Bend-based Roots at Heart Nutrition, will take participants through the complete journey of preparing a traditional family meal — beginning with the respectful, humane harvesting of a chicken and continuing through plucking, processing, cooking and, ultimately, sitting down together to eat.
But the afternoon is about more than learning how to prepare a chicken.
Participants will hear stories about growing up in Mexican households where preparing and sharing food was central to family life. They’ll learn how culinary knowledge, values and traditions move from one generation to the next — often not through a recipe book or a classroom, but by working side by side in the kitchen. At a time of great questioning over the role and place of immigration in the U.S., this workshop also highlights the common values we share with others, through food and family.
“Food gives us a wonderful way to become curious about one another,” said Mark Gross, founder and executive director of School of Ranch. “When somebody shares a skill that came from their parents or grandparents, they’re sharing part of who they are. You can learn something useful, have fun together and discover that people who may come from very different backgrounds often have a great deal in common.”
That idea is at the heart of School of Ranch’s mission. The Central Oregon nonprofit hires community members to teach practical and artisan skills in person, creating opportunities for neighbors of different ages, backgrounds and beliefs to meet one another through learning.
For Santana and Molina, food offers an especially powerful connection between heritage, health and community.
Santana is a Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist (BCHN®) specializing in digestive health and metabolic wellness. Molina has 18 years of experience as a professional chef. Together, they speak English, Spanish and Purépecha and combine traditional cooking with nutrition education to help people explore wellness through food.
During the workshop, they’ll teach participants how to harvest, pluck, process and prepare a whole chicken safely and respectfully. Participants will also explore the nutritional and culinary benefits of locally raised food and whole-animal cooking, including ways to use more of the animal and reduce waste.
Participation in the harvesting portion is encouraged at whatever level feels comfortable to each participant.
The afternoon concludes with a community potluck, extending the idea of cultural exchange beyond the instructors’ family traditions. School of Ranch will provide the main protein, while participants are encouraged to bring a favorite dish from their own family table to share.
The result is an opportunity not only to experience Mexican food traditions, but for everyone at the table to contribute a little of their own.
“Somewhere along the way we lost the skills that allowed us to take care of our health, obtain our food humanely and connect with others and with nature,” Santan said. “We want to bring that back— we want our health to be simple, we want our food to nourish us and we want to draw closer to others that build us up.”
Culture & Food: Prepare a Mexican Family Feast takes place November 15 from 2-6pm at 15400 SW Aquatic View Lane in Powell Butte, Oregon. Tickets are $165, $185 and $210, plus a $20 supplies fee. The workshop is limited to 12 participants. Minors may attend when accompanied by an adult; each participant must have a ticket.
www.schoolofranch.org
