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Hawker Fare, chef James Syhabout's often bustling, casual Northern Thai and Lao restaurant at Valencia and 18th, served its last meals on Sunday, adding to a string of closures across the Mission.
When Janejira Kalsmith was invited to guest teach one of RE Farm Café’s cooking classes, she initially hesitated. Even with her extensive experience in the restaurant world, Kalsmith says she “doesn’t like to brag about cooking.”
But, after about a year and a half of considering the option, Kalsmith took RE Farm Café up on its offer and taught a class over Zoom last year. The experience was a transformative one for Kalsmith.
“After I taught my class with RE Farm, I fell in love with it,” she says. “I used to teach college-level interior design and I always wanted to go back to teaching, but there was never an opportunity for me like that at Penn State, because they don’t have an interior design department. I woke up the next day after that class and told my husband that I wanted to keep doing this. The joy of seeing those people on my computer screen when they discover real, authentic Thai food with my homegrown herbs it’s unmatchable.”