As Red Stick Spice Company settles into its new location in Mid City, owner Anne Milneck recently started hosting cooking classes based around the company’s mission that home cooking, even with the use of exotic spices and ingredients, shouldn’t be as daunting as it sometimes seems.
Milneck says she’s still in the process of developing potential classes, but three public classes are already available: Cooking & Insta with Teens, Supper in 30 and Kraut with Kaitlynn.
The 30-minute demo class is designed to show participants that making dinner at home can be quick and easy.
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“If you can convince someone that they can cook a great, healthy meal in 30 minutes, there’s a good chance they’ll decrease the amount they order takeout and increase their home cooking,” Milneck says. “And that’s what we’re all about at Red Stick Spice. Cooking at home is where it’s at.”
The first Supper in 30 was Saturday, June 25, and even though Milneck—a professionally trained chef—surpassed the 30-minute time slot by three minutes, she says the class was a success.
“I feel like I’m training for a race with these,” she says with a laugh. “I ran a few minutes over, but I’ll cut a little off my time each class as I get used to the process.”
Of the three classes, Supper in 30 offers the most variety and will likely be held most often once a class schedule is set, Milneck says. The classes will be seasonal and loosely themed around holidays or types of cuisine, but every class will introduce a cooking technique or ingredient unfamiliar to many participants.
Milneck is also working with local chefs and food artisans to serve as guest hosts using their own products. At the next class July 21, Sarah Vincent of Re: Salad Dressing will demo a meal using the brand’s Greek salad dressing. Others on the guest host lineup include Celeste Gill of Chef Celeste’s Bistro, Kathleen Cooper of Forte Grove Bakery in Plaquemine and Lili Courtney of Delightful Palate.
While Supper in 30 is a demo class—participants follow the host through the process and take a meal to-go—Cooking & Insta with Teens and Kraut with Kaitlynn are hands-on classes.
Milneck developed Cooking & Insta with Teens based on the growing food photography industry and the popularity of meal photos on Instagram.
“I have teenagers, and they always have their phones,” Milneck says. “And so many people take pictures of their plates before they eat, so I thought it would be fun to let teenagers incorporate their technology into the classes.”
Red Stick Spice’s social media manager Scotty Chachere will be on hand for the teen classes, helping participants with food presentation and cell phone photography skills. The first Cooking & Insta with Teens is Tuesday, July 12.
Kraut with Kaitlynn, in which participants create their own jars of sauerkraut, might have the most room for growth, Milneck says. The class is based on the science of micro-foods and taught by Red Stick Spice’s microbiologist, Kaitlynn Fenley. Fenley is the scientist and food artisan behind Microbial Universe, a website with travel, health, food and science blogs dedicated to discovering and explaining microbes and how they affect humans and our food.
Milneck says the first Kraut class received phenomenal feedback and classes on other fermented or micro-foods such as sourdough bread and kimchi are possible.
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As for private classes, Milneck says they are customizable and hands-on. Red Stick Spice staff is available to put together or assist with a menu, but Milneck says customers have the option to create their own. At the end of the class, staff members clean the cooking area, convert the classroom into a full-fledged dining room and serve the meal course-by-course to attendees.
Class prices range from $20 to $35. Private classes are $100 per person with a minimum of six students. See the official class descriptions and register here. Red Stick Spice Company is at 660 Jefferson Highway, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and noon-4 p.m. on Sundays.
Read about more culinary classes happening this summer at Louisiana Culinary Institute, LSU and more.