Learn how to make guacamole, salsa, margaritas, and authentic tacos & tortillas from scratch in our Mexican Master Cooking Class with Chef Ray of Pebbles

Message us to reserve your seat! Space is limited to 20 guests per session.

The Menu:

Tacos filled with Skirt Steak, Grilled Chicken, Chorizo con Papas, and Plant-Based “Meat” Zrou

Pico de Gallo & Salsa Verde

Guacamole

Classic Margaritas

Get ready for your Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo parties by learning how to make an authentic, delicious Mexican meal!

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/wbDmIFQXg9j7ZMPBhTuANg

Black Sesame Kitchen is kicking off a new program of international cooking classes at its new restaurant Qianmen Kitchen. The series is called “Master Chef Cooking Classes” and for our inaugural class, we’re partnering with Chef Ray Yue Heng of Pebbles Courtyard, a modern Mexican restaurant located in the hutongs of Beijing.

Mexican food seems a long way from Beijing, but as it happens, Black Sesame Kitchen founder Jen Lin-Liu was raised in San Diego, just miles away from the border of Mexico. “I practically grew up on fish tacos and carne asada burritos,” she says. And Chef Zhang Aifeng once worked as a consultant for a Las Vegas Chinese-Mexican restaurant called China Poblano by celebrity chef Jose Andres.

Ray Yue Heng, the co-owner and Chef de Cuisine of Pebbles, grew up in Beijing but moved to Australia as an adolescent. When he returned to Beijing as an adult, he wanted to start his own business. He initially opened Pebbles as a coffee shop and restaurant serving simple meals (jiancan). “I had zero knowledge of food in any type before I opened Pebbles,” he said. “A quesadilla recipe sparked our interest in Mexican food but the chef we hired didn’t like the food, so he left.”

Ray ended up taking over the kitchen and broadened his menu by looking up Tex-Mex recipes online and following them. In 2011, he went to Mexico for the first time and fell in love with authentic Mexican food, a far cry from the Tex-Mex he was making. He then went to culinary school in the United States, graduated from Kendall Culinary College, and studied under celebrity chef Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill.

“My knowledge of Mexican food grew like it was on steroids from then on,” Ray said.

He can now say that the restaurant specializes in traditional, authentic Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. Ray travels to Mexico every year seeking inspiration to bring back to the local Beijing audience. With a new passion for agave spirits, he is now also distributing tequilas and mezcals nationwide and educating the public about them.  

Join our Master Class with Ray by messaging us on WeChat. Tickets are first come, first serve and limited to 20 guests per session. 498rmb includes cooking class, lunch  and free-flow margaritas!

Pebbles is just the first in this series of Master Chef Cooking Classes  – we will be working with more Beijing restaurants including Susu, Maison Lyonnaise, and many others … stay tuned and visit our website www.blacksesamekitchen.com to see a full schedule of our upcoming activities and events.