The kitchen gardeners

Do gardeners make better cooks?

At Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar, the entire weekend was open to exploring that question, beginning Saturday with “Tomato Tasting with Steve Goto,” featuring over 80 varieties of the plump red fruit for sampling.

The real fun came Sunday, though, with Diane Weber’s instructional cooking course, “Cooking with Tomatoes,” where Weber wowed the audience by infusing her experience as a gardener into her dishes in the kitchen.

Weber, a former employee at Roger’s, uses her horticultural knowledge to spice up her dishes.

The 48-year-old Mission Viejo resident has spent the last 30 years juggling a spade and a spatula, working part-time as a culinary instructor at the Art Institute of California and at various garden supply stores.

“I’ve always kept one foot in the garden and one foot in the kitchen,” she said.

Weber prepared a three-course mini-meal at no charge during a two-hour seminar alongside several volunteers from the art institute. About 50 people watches the demonstration in the back courtyard of Roger’s. Attendees received advice from Weber on aphids, olive oil storage and herb gardening.

For the laziest of gardeners, Weber recommended growing rosemary, “the nuclear holocaust plant” claiming that, like a cockroach, if a nuclear war occurred, this herb would be the only plant to survive.

“If you kill a rosemary plant, you need to seriously reevaluate your gardening skills, or you have some really bad karma,” she joked.

“My kids know they have to work like two people, and they can do it,” Weber said of her volunteers.

She may have been demanding of them in the kitchen, but they were excited about their morning preparing meals for the audience.

“The was my third event at Roger’s and it’s awesome,” said Brian Schneider, the student in charge. “I get to share my food with other people and that’s why I do this.”

Shneider said that “serving the general public” helped him to “push the envelope.”

His three classmates, Jose Alaya, Brittany Cephas and Chris Garcia agreed, volunteering on Sunday, specifically for the experience outside of the school’s kitchen.

“It’s really helpful, a good experience,” Garcia said. “It’s like a restaurant, you have to get everything out to everyone and it has to be presentable.”

And people noticed the good service and educational atmosphere.

Jon Mostero, drives down from Redondo Beach to shop in the Roger’s Gardens experience. This Sunday he made a special trip to attend Weber’s class.

“She’s knowledgeable with a little bit of wit,” Mostero said. “She’s got a lot of talent.”

The food was fantastic as well, Mostero said.

“When no one is talking and all you hear is the flick of forks, you know you’ve done something right,” Weber said.

A little advice for any dish you learn at Weber’s class, “If anyone asks where you got the recipe, always tell them it’s an old family recipe.”