Join cookbook author and chef, Chris Toy, and learn to combine sushi rice, nori seaweed, vegetables, seafood and more to make your own Maki sushi rolls. We'll enjoy some hot miso soup with your rolls as well!

If you’re from Maine, you’ve probably heard of needhams - a traditional sweet, covered in chocolate, with a soft coconut and POTATO center! Learn how to make this sweet Maine confection, just in time for the Easter holiday. A supply fee of $6.00 is payable to the instructor at the beginning of the class. Students should bring a flat, 1-pint container to take their treats home.

Join Master Carver Ken Wise and foodie Chris Toy for a weekend of carving and cooking on historic Hurricane Island. You'll cook and eat delicious Asian Fusion recipes using utensils of your own creation. We'll also learn about the history and geography of Maine's most remote granite quarry and settlement.

The fee includes overnight accommodations in cabins, all meals & materials, water transportation to the island. Participants will be able to carve and cook. Recipes will be from one or more of my 6 cookbooks plus some of my favorites not in the books. There will be time for learning the fascinating history of the island plus exploring its trails and sites. Keep those questions coming! Here’s the link to Hurricane Island. https://www.hurricaneisland.net/facilities

Mocktails (mixed drinks made entirely without alcohol) are quickly growing in popularity and are a great way to add a little flair to your next event. In this class, explore a variety of mocktail-ready ingredients made right here in Maine - syrups, shrubs, infusions, flavored sugars and more - and learn how to turn them into beautiful non-alcoholic drinks that are sure to impress. After learning about the ingredients and the Maine producers who made them, attendees will get hands-on with mocktail mixology. Enjoy a demonstration featuring several special recipes before trying your hand at making (and tasting!) your own. All materials and recipes will be provided.

Have you ever wanted to try canning, but were unsure how to get started? Or perhaps you are concerned about food safety, and wondering how to ensure that your canned food is both delicious and safe. Well, this is the class for you! Join Allison Carroll Duffy, Master Food Preserver and cookbook author, for this hands-on workshop covering all that you need to know to get started canning your own food. Well cover the basics of safe home canning, including proper procedures, techniques, and use of tools and equipment. Then we’ll learn hands-on--working together as a group and going step-by-step--to make and can a big batch of jam. We’ll use the boiling water bath method, which is the same method you’ll use for making many other canned goods you might want to make at home, including pickles, salsas, chutneys, and fruit. While this class will focus primarily on the boiling water bath method of canning, pressure canning will also be discussed. At the end of the class, there will be plenty of jam to taste, and each participant will go home with a jar of jam to enjoy…as well as all the know-how you need to start canning confidently at home!

Join Ger Tysk of Belfast-based Red Kettle Kimchi for an afternoon of kimchi making! Learn the basics of traditional Korean kimchi fermentation as Ger guides you to make a batch of your own napa cabbage kimchi to take home. You'll also explore other kinds of kimchi and fermented East Asian foods and get ideas for pairing everyday foods with your finished kimchi. All materials and recipes will be provided.

Your instructor, Chris Toy is the author of 6 popular cookbooks, a private chef, and has taught Asian-fusion cooking for several Maine community education programs. Cooking students will learn how to prepare a variety of recipes from Asia, Europe, and the Americas incorporating traditional and local ingredients. Each meal will actively engage cooks with the tools, techniques, and stories behind the dishes being created.

Step back to a time when President Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor, and their family escaped to their “beautiful little island” in the Canadian Maritimes, Campobello Island. We will be exclusive guests of the international park, staying in historic Victorian cottages. Workshop participants will explore and paint the same coastal scenery enjoyed by the summer residents at the turn of the 20th century. All meals are included in the workshop fee as well as specially planned optional evening activities designed to extend your learning from the day’s workshops, including a private concert by award-winning Celtic Fiddle player, Katherine Moller, in the Victorian parlor of Hubbard House. Register for the retreat then call Sherry Mitchell at 506-752-2922 to make room reservations. Acadian Arts Retreats participants will have exclusive overnight accommodations in the park. 

Comments from recent Acadian Arts Retreats participants: 

“I learned so much that Chris taught me, and the recipes were attainable."  “Chris speaks slowly and encourages questions."

Your instructor, Chris Toy is the author of 6 popular cookbooks, a private chef, and has taught Asian-fusion cooking for several Maine community education programs. Cooking students will learn how to prepare a variety of recipes from Asia, Europe, and the Americas incorporating traditional and local ingredients. Each meal will actively engage cooks with the tools, techniques, and stories behind the dishes being created. Step back to a time when President Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor, and their family escaped to their “beautiful little island” in the Canadian Maritimes, Campobello Island. We will be exclusive guests of the international park, staying in historic Victorian cottages. Workshop participants will explore and paint the same coastal scenery enjoyed by the summer residents at the turn of the 20th century. All meals are included in the workshop fee as well as specially planned optional evening activities designed to extend your learning from the day’s workshops, including a private concert by award-winning Celtic Fiddle player, Katherine Moller, in the Victorian parlor of Hubbard House. Register for the retreat then call Sherry Mitchell at 506-752- 2922 to make room reservations. Acadian Arts Retreats participants will have exclusive overnight accommodations in the park.