Pasadena is cooking

Esther Carrillo works during a class on centerpieces and cake decorating this month at Le Cordon Bleu. In the foreground are filler flowers to fill in gaps on wedding cakes.   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Students in the Cuisine Across Cultures class at Le Cordon Bleu listen to Chef Richard Hanna as he speaks about making pot stickers.   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Jacqueline Huynh is chef de cuisine at Noir Food & Wine in Pasadena, which Zagat named best new L.A. restaurant for 2011.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Racion is a new Basque tapas restaurant on Green Street.  (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)

The Racion dining room.  (Katie Falkenberg / For the Times)

This 1992 file photo shows chef and author Julia Child showing off tomatoes in the kitchen at her home in Cambridge, Mass. Today’s Pasadena, unlike the one where Child grew up, has become less stuffy, more Asian, more French and may one day contend with the Westside as a serious culinary destination.  (Jon Chase / Associated Press)