Learn to make soup at Tree of Life

Downtown Fresno eatery Tree of Life Café and Bakery wants to help you learn how to make soup.

The cooking class will take place Saturday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. Students will learn the ins and outs of making three of Tree of Life’s favorite soup recipes: Albondigas, Tomato Basil, and Minestrone.

“This will be a classroom experience where students watch the instructors and learn how to do all the procedures,” says Carolyn Ocheltree, owner of Tree of Life. “Then students will eat the soups with homemade bread and take home the recipes to make later.”

A modern diner

Tree of Life Café and Bakery is located at 2139 Kern Street between Van Ness and L Street. The eatery opened in March 2016 and has been evolving ever since.

“We started from the ground up, building a downtown family, serving good food at reasonable prices, giving excellent service, and sharing life with our customers,” Ocheltree says. “We have learned what people’s favorites are and now we are building our menu around our customers’ likes and dislikes.”

Tree of Life calls itself a “modern diner.” They serve home-cooked comfort food in a farm-to-table fashion. Menu items include pot roast with root vegetables, stuffed meatloaf, hummus, cinnamon rolls, fruit pies, and cookies.

They have healthy options, too. “We have a lot of food that is good for your health, your heart, and your metabolism,” Ocheltree says. “We have a modern mindset that understands the need for vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dishes.” (Check out their menu here.)

Ocheltree says she sees her restaurant as being a “community-builder.” That’s where things like the cooking classes come in.

“We want to share our love for the produce, meat, and dairy products that we produce right here in the Valley,” she says. “So, our classes focus on fun and easy ways to use those agricultural treasures to make our daily lives healthier and tastier.”

Building community in the new year

In 2018, Tree of Life is planning to offer even more for the community. On ArtHop nights, they’ll be hosting a Jazz Jam Session with Trio Organique, a new group made up of piano, saxophone, and bass.

Paint Nights and special themed dinners are also in the works. On the first Saturday night of each month, folks can have dinner and “binge watch” the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”

Tree of Life Café and Bakery is part of Uber Eats and they cater, too. “We are happy to come to you,” Ocheltree says. “Or, you can reserve our beautiful venue for your party. We plan to have a lot of fun in 2018.”

Event details

The Jan. 13 soup making class is $10 per person. You can reserve your spot by calling (559) 663-7776. For more information, check out Tree of Life’s event page on Facebook.