ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The patrons of Baker Arts Center have expressed interest in having more events in the center’s kitchen, and leaders at the center have answered with two events, both centered around the taste and pairing of adult beverages.
Following the success of its Wine Pairing Workshop last Friday, this coming Monday, Baker Arts, in conjunction with Tortuga Brewing Company, is giving beer lovers a chance to pair some of their favorite ale with food favorites as part of a Beer Flight Night called Flights & Flavors.
Baker Director Misty Martin recently met with Tortuga co-owner Shelly Williams to pick an assortment of beers and foods for patrons to pair up during what Martin promises to be a fun night to try some beers crafted at the brewery and the foods that go with them.
During the Wine Pairing Workshop, Vanessa Keating, who had received a degree in wine pairing from Washington State University, helped patrons match foods with wines. With two similar events taking place in a short amount of time, Martin said she feels patrons will learn much about how to pair foods with their favorite drinks.
“There’s a lot to understand,” she said. “There’s an art to it, to recognizing flavors and what goes with what and what pairs with what. When I was with Shelly the other day, we were tasting some of the beers they have crafted down there. I haven’t been much of a drinker in my lifetime, and there were two of them as I tasted them and in my mind, I thought of food.”
Martin said patrons are in store for a great time Monday at the Beer Flight Night.
“There’s something that happens there,” she said. “It’s not just a party thing. It’s this moment of sitting and relishing in something. It’s being able to experience something. It’s not just drinking to drink. It’s literally navigating an experience and actually getting to notice the detail in something.”
With food and drink pairing being considered an art, Martin said the idea is new to her, but after the wine pairing, she has learned a great deal about it just as Keating did at Washington State.
“That’s something several schools in that area of the world offer,” Martin said.
Martin said patrons did not necessarily ask specifically for the two recent events in the Baker kitchen, but they love the space and atmosphere the kitchen provides.
“It’s just a great vibe indoor and outdoor,” she said. “People have been asking what can we do at the kitchen. It’s such a fun space. Between the cooking classes we have been offering and the nights like the wine pairing or the Beer Flight Night, it’s a great atmosphere.”
Martin said events such as the Beer Flight Night are events to bring friends and spouses to, but they can also be enjoyed alone.
“It could be a date night, girls night, whatever you want it to be,” she said. “It’s fun. It’s light. It’s a good space.”
Martin said a brewer at Tortuga has put together a great menu of beers, and they will be paired with different foods, including the newly released Pancake Day brew named the Flippin Good Beer. Martin said the locally inspired craft beer is delicious.
“You take something like that where they’ve studied the flavors and put them all together in a way I would’ve never dreamt and paired there with a certain food, and you’ve got this moment of ‘Wow,’” she said. “They’ve got several beers. We’ve got a flight that’ll be set up. A flight is a wooden setup that holds a certain number of glasses, and you have your beers. We’ll have that all set up, and it will have specifically chosen beers and specifically chose foods to just make a great night.”
Martin was hired as director in December 2025, and she has hit the ground running with plenty of activities and events for her patrons.
“I am busy, but I am loving it,” she said. “I love to see the classes. People are enjoying things. Last week, Daniel Minde had his quilting class, and Zach Flowers had his pottery class. I didn’t take either of those classes, but I hung out to be around and watch everyone have fun.”
Martin said kids will simply come in and have a great time, adults may have a good time too, but with some, it takes more work.
“Adults come in nervous,” she said. “Adults come in not knowing how to relax, and by the end of their time here whether it’s making bread, trying new foods, quilting, pottery, painting, whatever it is, by the time the end of the night comes, there is this softness that starts to happen for everybody.”
Once relaxed, Martin said adults start to enjoy themselves and create.
“That’s one of my favorite things about being here,” she said. “We are facilitating a space that allows people to come in and learn how to be creative or allow themselves that outlet to be creative or just relax and have fun. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Art’s not perfect. Creativity’s not perfect, but it can be fun.”
In other parts of the world, Pancake Day is known as Mardi Gras, a day known for parties and drinking, as is St. Patrick’s Day coming up about a week after the Beer Flight Night. Martin said having the Wine Pairing Night and the Beer Flight Night in between the two holidays worked out great timing wise.
“We had Pancake Day, and we jumped right in,” she said. “We had this wine pairing with Vanessa, and right before St. Patty’s Day, we’ve got the Beer Flight Night. It gives an opportunity for our community to be able to get out and about, enjoy time and do things and be able to have a fun time.”
Registration is $30 for members and $40 for non-members and can be done by going to www.bakerarts.org, calling 620-624-2810 or going by the center at 624 N. Pershing in Liberal.
Flights & Flavors is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, March 9, in the Baker Arts kitchen, and Martin said the event promises to be a great night.
“This is on a Monday night,” she said. “We’re always looking for the end of the week to Friday night, if I can just get to Friday night, but I think this is offering to say Monday’s a great night to get together with some friends and hang out.”
