A Strawberry Celebration: Planting the Seed! Day 2: Dinner and Cooking Classes @ Beverly Heritage Center
May 31 @ 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Join the Beverly Heritage Center in celebrating strawberries this spring! We in West Virginia love strawberries today, but their importance in our region predate our festivals by a long while. Strawberries, and the “wild” strawberry in particular, are celebrated by the Indigenous people and communities who have lived in these mountains since time immemorial.
We welcome Chef Lorinda to Beverly to lead us in learning more about Seneca connections to the strawberry, celebrating this first fruit of the spring. Chef Lorinda visits us from Cattaraugus Territory, Seneca Nation. She is a Spring 2025 graduate of SUNY Buffalo’s Hospitality program, and has presented her food and culture across the country, including in Elkins, WV in 2024. Chef Lorinda has partnered with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills as Hometown Chef, and has an established private chef and meal prepping business.
On Saturday evening, May 31st, Chef Lorinda will prepare a gourmet meal that highlights the magnificence of strawberries. This meal will be a ticketed event.
Return to the Beverly Heritage Center on Saturday for an afternoon and evening of celebrating the strawberry!
Chef Lorinda (Seneca) will prepare a strawberry-centered gourmet meal, with a vegetarian option available. Using ingredients produced in West Virginia when possible, John will demonstrate the connections that Indigenous communities have to this area, and how local foodways have been shaped by these mountains. The multicultural meal will include ingredients familiar to Appalachian kitchens, like maple syrup and sassafras, and John will highlight their role in Haudenosaunee foodways, medicine, and cosmology. After dinner, Chef Lorinda will lead an evening presentation about foodways and how her cooking is informed by traditional knowledge and practices.
Yearning for more learning? At 12pm and 3pm, adults and teens over 15 years of age are invited to join Chef Lorinda earlier in the afternoon for a hands-on workshop and prep class. She will share some of her recipes, and attendees will have a chance to learn from the Chef in a small group setting. Joining the prep class allows guests to attend dinner for a special price.
Each Saturday event requires a separate reservation.
Dinner tickets:
$25 per adult
$20 — BHC member price for adults
$15 per child.
Prep Class + Dinner tickets: $15.
Link to purchase tickets is under the Details section below.
Is cost a barrier? Call the Beverly Heritage Center for more information.
Prefer to purchase another way? Call the Beverly Heritage Center at 304-637-7424 or stop by in person Wed-Sun 10am-5pm.