Brooklyn Skillshare Class: Homemade Baby Food

On any given afternoon it is not an odd sight to see mothers bearing strollers in a café in Park Slope.

But back against the far wall in the , at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, a group of women with their babies in arm and strollers parked close by, sat around a large table while a chef taught them how to make food for their infants from scratch.

Chef Megan Saynisch, who was trained at the French Culinary Institute, taught the mothers how to make interesting foods for their little ones which will hopefully promote good eating habits when they get older.

Her menu did not include bland dishes like canned pureed squash by Gerber, but rather palate-building, organic foods like roasted beet puree with goat cheese, pureed white beans with sage and garlic, pear, blueberry, and apple compote (applesauce), spinach puree and roasted kabocha squash with butter and cumin. 

“My goal is to shape babies’ palates and give parents an arsenal of ideas and techniques that they can build upon,” said Saynisch, who has a 1-year-old boy and runs the blog Brooklyn Farmhouse, which focuses on sustainable foods while merging the urban with the rural. “When you are tired, it is hard to think of a meal and then make it, but hopefully this class helped show that it isn’t that hard.”

The class was part of The Brooklyn Skillshare’s “Second Tuesdays” seminar, which is held in the Tea Lounge on the second Tuesday of each month and each session is centered around a different topic, skill or hobby. Each class is taught by Brooklynites who are professionals in certain field or enthusiasts. 

The Brooklyn Skillshare believes that “education is a right” for all, “not a commodity” and that everyone has a skill, hobby or profession that they can teach others. The program holds communal and hands-on classes, which are mostly free.

The Brooklyn Skillshare was founded two years ago by Meg Wachter, who is a photographer, but thought of the idea after hearing about a similar program in Boston, Mass., which is in its 10th year. She is also involved in starting the same program in Dublin, Ireland and San Francisco.

As for the “Homemade Baby Food” class, well, mothers left satisfied and ready to whip up some food for their infants.

Kristen Mucci, who was at the class with her 4-month-year-old daughter named Brooklyn, said, “It is coming up to the time when she will be eating solid foods, so I want to prepare and be creative and confident in the kitchen."

Chef Saynisch is a strong believer in exposing children to organic, well-prepared foods.  

“People think babies need to have their food dumbed down, but that’s not the case,” Saynisch explained while she put away the mixing bowls and various ingredients after the class. “Babies have the same taste buds as we do.”

Make sure you check out the PDF of Chef Megan Saynisch's recipes attached.

Some other interesting Brooklyn Skillshare classes include: “How to Make a Documentary by Scratch,” taught by the award-winning documentarian David Sauvage, “,” which taught attendees how to make their own beer, and “How to Plan for and Enjoy a Multi-Day Bike Trip,” which was taught by veteran bikers Joel Martin and David Little.