Meet Isabel Coss, executive chef at Pascual on Capitol Hill and pastry chef at Lutece in Georgetown, whose sold-out master class happens on Feb. 23. The Hill Center impressed chef Isabel Coss the very first time she visited, and long before she knew she’d be teaching there. Washington City Paper named her one of its Change Makers for the 2024 People Issue and had brought the group in for a photo shoot. “I fell in love with the place,” she says. “I thought it would be the perfect spot for building a sense of community—and then I saw all the activities listed!” It echoes how the ebullient, 33-year-old Mexico City native feels about opening Pascual on Capitol Hill, which is celebrating its 1-year anniversary in February.

12 Days of Cooking Christmas: Stuffed Baked Apples with Spiced Figs
On the 6th Day of Cooking Christmas, we offer a tasty dessert from Chef Gérard Pangaud, our resident two-star Michelin Chef.
STUFFED BAKED APPLE WITH SPICED FIGS
(serves 4 people)
INGREDIENTS
Apple stuffing
6 dry figs
4 fresh figs
1 vanilla bean
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
1 pinch of ground clove
½ teaspoon of ginger
2 ounces of pistachios
Apples
4 large baking apple (Liberty or Granny Smith)
3 tbsp water
3 tbsp rum or calvados
2 or 3 fresh figs
3 ounces crème fraiche
DIRECTIONS
Prepare the stuffing
Cut the ends off the dry figs then mince them as thin as you can.
Put in a bowl.
Dice the fresh figs and add to the dry figs.
Chop the pistachios and add to the figs.
Split the vanilla bean, and scrape out the seeds. Add that and the spices to the figs. Mix very well.
Keep at room temperature.
Prepare the apples
Preheat the oven at 360 degrees.
Wash and dry the apples. Cut the top off and scoop out the majority of the flesh. Stuff the apples with the fig mixture, and press the stuffing down. Put the tops back on.
Put water and rum into a small roasting pan, and place apples in it.
Bake for 30 minutes and bathe with the liquid.
Cool down a little bit.
Finely slice the remaining fresh figs.
On each plate, put a spoon of crème fraiche, add the baked apple and decorate with slices of figs. Serve warm but not hot.
If you want to hear Chef Pangaud’s charming stories firsthand, check out our complete list of his classes.