Hispanic Heritage Month Culinary Experience: A Levantine & Salvadoran Fusion Celebration

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month through a unique culinary experience that brings together the flavors, stories, and traditions of two vibrant cultures.

Join two members of DC Les Dames d’Escoffier for this special collaborative culinary experience. Levantine Culinary Creator, Nura Sakati Mendez and Ana Reyes, Owner of El Tamarindo for a special hands-on Pupusa Making Class with a Levantine-inspired twist, where the beloved Salvadoran pupusa meets the flavors of a traditional Levantine fatayer.

You’ll learn to create handmade pupusas inspired by a classic beef and spinach fatayer featuring savory spiced beef, spinach, herbs, roasted pine nuts, and bright notes of lemon. The experience also includes a fresh curtido salad and a family-style Levantine and a Salvadoran mezza served tableside filled with vibrant dips and flavors.

This fusion celebrates the historic connection between the Levant and Latin America. Beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, immigrants from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine brought their food traditions, hospitality, and love of gathering around the table to Central and South America. Their influence continues today through generations of shared recipes and culinary traditions.

Come cook, connect, and celebrate how food tells our stories, bringing cultures and communities together one bite at a time.

Experience Includes

Hands-on individual pupusa making with a Levantine-inspired filling (2 per person) Levantine demo of fillings and fusion curtido preparation Break bread with tableside family-style Levantine & Salvadoran mezza A fun, interactive cultural cooking experience.

Optional cocktail or mocktail package available as an add-on.

What to Expect

This is an in-person, hands-on cooking class where guests will work in small groups, share workstations, cook, taste, and connect.

Bring yourself and your cooking spirit, we’ll provide the rest!

️ Please note: Many dishes include nuts, dairy, and gluten.

**A portion of ticket sales from this special culinary experience will be donated to Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), supporting its mission to advance women in food, beverage, and hospitality.

Through scholarships, educational opportunities, grants, mentorship, and philanthropic initiatives, LDEI helps women pursue and grow their careers across the culinary and hospitality industries. Your participation in this experience not only brings cultures together around the table—it also helps create opportunities for the next generation of women leaders in food and hospitality.

Sahtain! Buen provecho!