Advice on starting a cooking club?
I live in Vancouver and want to find foodies to start a cooking club. I've looked to see if one exists but none to my knowledge. Unfortunately, all my friends love eating my food but would never think of cooking/baking as something fun to do or talk about and I'm feeling a little lonely in my passion for food. (especially when I go gaga over the most recent burger article in Saveur and there are blank stares...gets a little dissatisfying on both ends)
So I'm thinking of starting my own cooking club but I'm unsure about a few things. For example, how do I get the word out? But mostly, I'm not sure how to deter crazy people or singles just wanting a hook up. I don't want to let just anyone in my home. I want to spend time with other foodies but not ones that have scary pasts or are completely obnoxious or keep trying to hit on everyone in the room.
Do you think I just need to wait to find some good foodie friends in the future or is it better to put it out to the public and see what happens?
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12 Comments:
Don't hold it in your home if you're inviting strangers. Plus you have to worry about your local laws-there may be something about having a certified kitchen
michichan at 5:53PM on 08/22/09
I belonged to such a club for a while, and while it was a great idea, it just didn't work. We met at a business that had a commercial kitchen, which had some drawbacks.
Personally, I wouldn't invite complete strangers into my home. Friends of friends would be fine, but I wouldn't be so happy to invite stranger #1 and two of her friends, and then find out that while I had my hands in a bowl of dough, one of them was digging through my jewelry box.
If you could start with at least one or two people you know, or who were at least recommended by someone you know, you could plan a couple outings to meet the people and make sure you're all compatible. They're probably thinking the same thing you are...do they want to show up at a stranger's house?
So maybe plan a lunch or dinner at a decent place, or go to a specialty market or farmer's market, and spend some time getting to know the people. Talk about what you all want out of this club, what everyone's skill level is, and what sorts of things everyone wants to cook at this club. And if other people are willing to open their kitchens, that could work, too, unless you have a great kitchen and don't mind being the one who hosts all the time.
And hammer out details of expenses. That's one thing that can go wrong. If you're all going to get together to make something to take home and freeze, and one person shops, pays for, then divides the cost by the number of club members, what do you do when a few people don't show up? Yes, everyone should pay more, but there will be some who say they didn't bring extra, they can't afford it, and they only want x amount anyway, so they aren't paying more. Same problem if it's a dinner, but even worse, because some people aren't going to want leftovers to take home and thus won't want to cover a share for the people who didn't show up.
dbcurrie at 6:55PM on 08/22/09
What to do:
Invite some friends over who you know will enjoy a meal made by you and charge them x amount of money to cover costs. Cook your ass off, impress people, be amazing.
Announce at this dinner that you are planning another in a few weeks, whatever, and you have x spots available, either for return diners or friends or friends of friends. At this point, at least a few folks will fall in love with your endevour, and want to help. Recruit them to help in the kitchen, assist planning the event, hosting, etc.
Repeat the process.
You now have a cooking club or an underground restaurant, depending on the direction you'd like to take it.
sailordave at 11:09PM on 08/22/09
why not try chatting up some of the folks who work at your favorite restaurants...I'm not saying you should invite them over, but maybe getting to know them will lead to friendships with people who appreciate food as much as you do.
And I bet you have some friends who are passionate about some foods...like cakes or cookies or sushi...why not see if you can interest them in making the best (insert their favorite food here) and go from there?
Good luck.
fiftycenthotdog at 11:59PM on 08/22/09
My sister once belonged to a pot-luck dinner club where the host/ess came up with a menu with recipes and then assigned members a side dish or dessert to bring, while s/he prepared the entree. Next month the entree and home rotated to another host/ess. It sounds like your friends might be able to ease into this, or that each might invite another friend they think might be interested in joining you. That way you all get to cook some new things, but your get together is for the meal, not the cooking.
lemonfair at 6:49AM on 08/23/09
I founded a cooking club in Brooklyn - but I was lucky as I didn't have to recruit anyone to be in it. My childhood friends (and my brother) were all avid cooks and didn't have to be asked twice to join the group.
Once a month, one member (and a member-helper) prepared a meal, soup to nuts, usually based on an ethnicity or regional cuisine. The meal was enjoyed by all the members and one guest of the host. These were gatherings to celebrate food and cooking - not parties with non-foodies. We had LOTS of parties - these gatherings were learning experiences and creativity-stretching events. Every six months we'd sit with calendars and mark dates for the next six events - and short of a death in the family, these dates were honored.
I'm happy to say these exercises in culinary exploration really worked to broaden our horizons. We started out with a classic American meal of roast cornish hens with Squash soup (served in the squash) and simple desserts to a Hawaiian luau complete with Suckling Pig and my own full formal Chinese dinner.
As a foodie, I highly recommend this type of club. When one member is responsible for the entire dinner, it's a real expression of that member's expertise and imagination. There are cooking clubs where members get together and cook together; and finally the clubs where a theme for a meal is established, each person is assigned a component of the meal which they cook at home and present at the gathering. A bunch of people going out to different restaurants every month is NOT a cooking club. It's a bunch of people going out to dinner. The hands-on cooking clubs are so much better.
therealchiffonade at 7:31AM on 08/23/09
All the above advice is great.
No foodies in your social circles, huh?
One idea I had was to sign up for a cooking classes at a local kitchen shop or tech school. There you will meet and and socialize with like minded people. Perhaps you could form a club out of members from the classes.
You may already be very proficient in a variety of techniques and cuisines. But the idea is to meet people who enjoy cooking as much as you do. And you get time to observe personalities before sticking your neck out.
CJ McD at 11:17AM on 08/23/09
@therealchiffonade, that is EXACTLY what I want to do!!!
@CJ McD, I've been taking lots of ccoking and baking courses over the years and have met some great people but I think I'm going to have to be more proactive about "recruiting" some foodie friends and be a little less hesitant.
There are some awesome ideas but in the meantime, I think I may do a underground supper club like sailordave was talking about. That way my friends would still be eating and not cooking as they prefer but I still get to cook and play without always having to pay for the meal. Hopefully, it can evolve and I can invite some foodies I meet to join me in cooking!
Thanks for all the advice!
bigfatmouth at 1:02PM on 08/23/09
Well, if you're ever in Oshkosh, Wi, let me know. We'll have a cooking party!
CJ McD at 3:52PM on 08/23/09
thank you for asking this question, it's great advice you're getting!
Weight WatchWoman at 9:54PM on 08/23/09
I'm in a group of 8.....Someone hosts dinner at their house each month and chooses an entree or theme and assigns courses to everyone else, who then picks what they want to make according the course they are assigned. Cooking is done at home and the dish is presented at dinner and we each talk about what we made. Once a year we go to the very best restaurant we can find and/or afford and arrange in advance to meet the chef. We are starting our 5th year and going strong in BelAir Md.
Gennavieve at 10:35AM on 08/24/09
A friend of mine wanted to start a cooking club with little success. So she tried a different tactic. A wine tasting group. Each month the group would bring a pre-determined type of wine and the host would prepare a simple appetizer or two.
Wel, it was a great success. Everyone felt less pressure to cook, but started bringing fabulous appetizers to the gatherings, even when it wasn't their turn. (You see, they were cooking after all.)
CJ McD at 11:48AM on 08/24/09