Book Clubs, Ok -- but Cooking Clubs ??

[Bill]

Hey -- I just discovered the concept of "cooking clubs". Never heard of this and assume it's akin to participating in a book club. I'd like to hear from people who've done this: how does it work ? where can one find out about joining one, besides the obvious -- an invitation from friends.

Bill

[Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page]

If you don't want to go to the trouble of organizing your friends to bring ingredients and meeting at someone's home with a kitchen that's big enough to allow cooking together and a table big enough to allow sitting down to dinner together, there's another (albeit pricier) option that's guaranteed great fun:

Hiroko Shimbo, author of book THE JAPANESE KITCHEN, organizes intimate cooking evenings for 6-8 people during which she offers a cooking demo as well as hands-on cooking instruction, followed by a sumptuous group dinner with wine (or sake), in her chic Chelsea loft. We've done it a couple of times, and have found Hiroko to be a wonderful teacher, who is generous with information and insights about ingredients, equipment, technique, where to shop, etc. While she's a native of Japan and Japanese cuisine is her teaching specialty, she also offers evenings focusing on Thai or Vietnamese cooking. Also, in celebration of a friend's birthday in early March, we're spending an evening with six other friends at Hiroko's Kitchen learning to make sushi.

As an added bonus, we've also picked up some great tips re: some of Hiroko's favorite Japanese restaurants in Manhattan! (And, needless to say, we have no affiliation with Hiroko other than as enthusiastic fans of her not-yet-widely-known talent.)

We're adding a link to her Web site below.

Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page
Co-Authors, BECOMING A CHEF, CULINARY ARTISTRY, DINING OUT and CHEF'S NIGHT OUT
http://www.becomingachef.com

Link: http://www.hirokoskitchen.com

[Joanna]

I belong to a cooking club that was organized through the discussion boards of the Cooking Light website - check out the "Supper Club Hub." The one I'm in doesn't have room for new members, but there are a bunch in New York and new ones are always forming (although I should warn you that, due to the demographics of the magazine's readers, it seems to be only women who get involved). We meet once a month for a potluck dinner, with a specific cuisine or theme. Mostly, it gives us a chance to try out or sample a bunch of new recipes that we might not get to try otherwise - we'd love to cook together but New York kitchens rule that out. Good luck finding a cooking club that works for you!