On Saturday March 15, 2025, St. John Armenian Church again welcomed Justin Aprahamian, owner of Sanford Restaurant, as he conducted another wonderful cooking demonstration to a class of 35 guests. The entrée of the day’s session was Manti, an Armenian delicacy that is quite labor intensive but a favorite of all. Many remember their grandmothers preparing this dish decades ago. Justin demonstrated the preparation of the dough, the lamb filling, the broth, the yogurt, and the parsley garnish, and how to put it all together in an artistic presentation.
Feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive. Mary Keutelian from Chicago stated that it was a very approachable demonstration of an intimidating recipe. The lemon flavor in the broth added a unique twist to a comfort food. Justin’s style is very personable and entertaining.
Taleen Kelegian said that our grandmothers would definitely approve!
Dave Schmitt said that for a world-class chef to come to a church on a Saturday morning is unbelievable. Justin is so humble and an outstanding teacher.
Jan Avakian Kopatich
