A look back but mainly a look at what lies ahead…
Happy New Year!
We have had a good 2022 thanks to everyone who joined us in class and online. We appreciate you! So, this blog post will be a bit more of a personal and specific nature.
The year saw continued COVID protocols everywhere including the kitchen where we socially distanced and encouraged masks but as more people got the vaccine and the dangers lessened, we opened up our classes to more people and relaxed a bit as the year went on.
With 2023, we will be returning to full-size classes of 16 and are so excited to do that! There is nothing like the energy of a class full of people ready to get their cooking skills on. And we will continue to add as many classes as we can to accommodate everyone. We like variety as much as you so you can expect to see new menus as well as the all-time favorites. Natalia and I started classes in 2009 in our Cherry Street Kitchen really not sure where it would lead. We just knew this was a better way for us to do the food industry than having a restaurant. We knew how many people were coming through the door and we could control so many more costs. After 14 years, we are the only ones left. There were a few places that taught cooking classes, but we are now the only professional brick and mortar cooking class business in the Tulsa area, and we are proud of that. We also kind of created a monster because we can’t replicate our business. Why? Because our business rests on who Natalia and I are. How we work with each other (after way over 14 years of friendship) and how we work with you. Our intent is to not only teach you about food and cooking but to also entertain you, so you are comfortable and have fun in our classes. And you do the cooking, you are hands-on, and it is my belief that that is the ONLY way to really learn something…do it yourself. No cooking demos in our kitchen. And no boring cooking classes. The problem is: we haven’t been able to teach anyone how to do what we do because well, it’s our personalities, like them or not.
Which leads us to online classes, and they are booming. With the demand placed on the in-person classes, they’re a great alternative. I mean, you still get all the entertainment (that is Natalia and me) plus you have more control over your learning experience because it’s in the comfort of your own home (maybe in your jammies or even naked!). We will be adding lots of new recipes to the Online Recipe Collection (Online Classes). A monthly subscription gets you 4 – 6 new videos every month plus ALL the previous videos. Virtual classes are coming in April, 2023. We will feature one class per month to start and then increase that monthly number. Virtual classes are LIVE and INTERACTIVE so we’re also super excited to be adding that to our offerings. More information about the virtual classes coming soon. Specialty pasta classes are on the way! Pasta In My Kitchen premieres in March. You pasta lovers who have already signed up for that mailing list have been getting lots of the inside intel and actually, that’s the whole point of these pasta intensives. You will be getting all the insider information for making the best pasta ever and more. If you’re not already on the mailing list, just email us and we’re happy to add you to the fun (and information-packed) emails.
If that weren’t enough, our food and cooking podcast, Not A Single Fork, continues with weekly episodes about everything from how to break down an artichoke to our opinions about the latest videos (food or not) streaming online. Let’s face it, we know a lot about food, but we have even more opinions about it! You may have already noticed some changes to our website but there are big changes coming ahead. With virtual and more online activities, we will have a completely NEW website. And this new website will make it easier to navigate, purchase classes and new merch as well as gift certificates for the online offerings and more. It will integrate with our social media and email marketing so our look will be much more consistent and give you a much better and user-friendly experience. All that to say, we appreciate you joining us on our long and varied journey through food and cooking. The coming year will bring a lot of changes to our little business, and we look forward to bringing you along with us.
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