Galya Sarner doesn’t only know how to make spectacular Israeli food. She also has an innate ability to teach people how to develop their skills in the kitchen and have a good time while they’re at it. In recent years, Galya has conducted numerous culinary workshops where she’s shared her passion for Israeli cuisine and demonstrated how to create various dishes.

She has lead workshops for groups, ranging in size from five to 30 people, in schools, synagogues, private homes, conferences and in her own kitchen at home in Toronto.
Bringing all the necessary ingredients and utensils, Galya sets the stage before the workshop begins, artfully displaying everything in advance on a long table that she decorates with food-related objects.

Galya makes each session as interactive as possible, asking questions of participants, walking around the room and passing around all the elements that go into a particular recipe. As she carefully explains each step, she assigns duties to people at every stage of the process so they feel more involved in the preparation of each dish.

In addition to the authoritative knowledge Galya imparts to her audience, she never fails to bring people together during her workshop. Her enthusiasm, animated presentation and personable nature have a lot to do with it, coupled with the fascination of participants for food-related matters and their joy of discovering appealing new tastes.

Of course, at the end, when it’s time for attendees to marvel at what they and Galya have just made and savour its taste, that gives everyone a sense of accomplishment and helps seal the deal.

For anyone with at least a mild interest in learning about food, it’s hard not to respond to Galya’s warm, exuberant, down-to-earth style and that the pleasure she derives from sharing with others her expertise in Israeli cuisine.  No mystery behind her success. It comes down to her way with food and her way with people. Now that’s a winning combination.