Tea, Foraging, Pasta & Friendship: San Francisco with Linda & Viola

What’s Included in Your Ticket:

• Hands-on Cooking with Linda and Viola
• Clement Street Farmers Market and Restaurant Crawl
• Wild Foods Walk and Lunch with Expert Forager Maria Finn
• Private Tea Tasting at Song Tea & Ceramics
• Farewell Dinner at Viola’s House

Tickets purchased here are for the activities only and do not include transportation or lodging.

We start Sunday morning traversing Clement Street, a culinary paradise; we’ll be eating and shopping our way through a farmers market our teachers both frequent, plus Linda’s favorite dim sum shop, Viola’s preferred pasta provider and Linda’s regular grocery store. We’ll also be selecting a few choice ingredients for that evening’s hands-on cooking class. Viola and Linda love merging their cultures and flavors, and the class will feature both foods from their individual backgrounds and new ones they’ve created together. Our class is at 18 Reasons, the first cooking school Rosie ran—this is where her work with Viola began 15 years ago and where Viola and Linda became friends and collaborators.

Monday begins with another morning walk, albeit quite a different one. We’ll meet Maria Finn in Golden Gate Park to learn about wild edible plants like miner’s lettuce, sorrel, watercress and magnolia blossoms. Maria is a wild foods expert and friend of Viola’s and Linda’s. We’ll eat a light lunch of dishes made with foraged delicacies before heading to Song Tea & Ceramics, where founder-owner Peter Luong will host an in-depth tasting of the exquisite teas he sources from Taiwan, China and Japan. Happily caffeinated and full of tea stories, we’ll take a break before meeting at Viola’s home for a private dinner and our farewells.

LOCATION: San Francisco, CA. We will be exploring various parts of the city but focused mostly in the Inner Richmond and Golden Gate Park. Our cooking class will be at 18 Reasons in the Mission District.

TRANSPORTATION: Tickets for this workshop do not include transportation. Students are responsible for their own transportation to, from and during the event. Milk Street cannot provide carpooling services.

LODGING: Tickets for this workshop do not include lodging. You are expected to find your own lodging San Francisco.

DIET: We can accommodate most dietary requests with advanced notice. Please clearly note your dietary preferences and requirements on the Order Form.

About Viola Buitoni: Viola Buitoni is an Italian-born, California-based food expert, cooking instructor, and food writer. In 2020, the President of the Italian Republic honored her with the title Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia for her work furthering the culture and business of Italian food. “Italy by Ingredient” is her first book. Viola lead's Milk Street's trips in Emilia-Romagna and Campania, Italy.

About Linda Tay Esposito: Linda Tay Esposito is a teaching chef whose food represents a tribute and a commitment to the authenticity of the cuisines of the Pacific Rim. Since 2004, Linda has shared her passion and knowledge of Southeast Asian cuisines by using approachable techniques that students can recreate at home. Linda teaches at 18 Reasons, The Civic Kitchen and Milk Street. Outside of teaching, Linda is a food business consultant with a focus on placemaking and building equitable food systems through the intersectional lens of food, sustainability and equity. In her free time, she plants hard-to-find Asian herbs at the community garden at Fort Mason. In 2026, she will lead Milk Street’s inaugural trip in Penang, Malaysia.

About Maria Finn: Maria Finn is an author and chef who creates food and art experiences inspired by wild places. Her cookbook, Forage. Gather. Feast. was released in April of 2024. She is the founder of Flora & Fungi Adventures, where she hosts wild food-centric adventures from California all the way north to Alaska and The Institute for Ecosystem Based Living with pop-up events that bring together science, art and food. She also gives truffle talks, tastings and truffle hunting demonstrations with Flora Jayne. For more information, visit MariaFinn.com.

About Song Tea & Ceramics: Song Tea & Ceramics is a tea maker and tea importer from San Francisco, California. Each year, we work at origin to assemble a collection of skillfully crafted tea from clean growing regions. Founded by Peter Luong in 2013, Song Tea explores the boundaries of cultivar, craftsmanship, and culture that influence each leaf.

About 18 Reasons: 18 Reasons is a 501c3 nonprofit cooking school on a mission to empower our community with the confidence and creativity needed to buy, cook, and eat good food every day. 18 Reasons offers classes and dinners on a nightly basis in our 18th Street Kitchen, and offers free cooking classes to over 3,500 Bay Area adults, teens, and kids every year. We believe in the transformative and healing power of home cooking, and all our programs reflect this belief.

Is this an in-person event?

Yes. This two-day event takes place in San Francisco. Students are responsible for securing their own lodging at the location of their choice.

Are transportation and lodging included in my ticket?

No. Tickets for this retreat do not include transportation or lodging.

Students are responsible for their own transportation to, from and during the workshop. Milk Street cannot provide carpooling services.

Lodging: Tickets for this workshop do not include lodging. You are expected to find your own lodging in or near San Francisco.

Is my registration ticket refundable?

No. We do not offer refunds for in-person registrations. However, your ticket is fully transferable to another person for this event on these dates. You are responsible for finding someone to use your ticket, arranging reimbursement, and for sending us the new attendee's full name, contact information, and any special dietary requests.If you purchased tickets for this class on behalf of someone else, please be sure to forward this message to them so they can come prepared.

Are meals included?

Your ticket includes lunch, dinner and snacks on both Sunday and Monday. Breakfast is not included.

I have an allergy or dietary restriction. Can I still come?

We work hard to accommodate as many allergies and dietary needs as possible. You are welcome to write us at [email protected] to get more detailed information on whether this event is a good fit for you.

Are children allowed?

Children 11-17 are allowed to participate if they attend and cook with an adult parent or guardian. The minor and the adult must each have a ticket to the event.

How many people does one ticket cover?

One ticket covers one attendee.

I'm an Insider. Do I get a discount to the in-person classes?

This event is not hosted at Milk Street, so Insider benefits do not apply to it.

These dates don't work for me. Will this class be offered again soon?

We offer in-person events on a very limited basis. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that this class will be offered again soon.

Where can I contact the organizer with further questions?

Write to us with any other questions at [email protected].

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Host or Publisher Milk Street Cooking School