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Region's live cooking classes: 'Dinner and a show'

At community centers, supermarkets, cooking schools, even churches, they've become a form of entertainment, sometimes allowing one-on-one work with experts.

At the Kitchen Kapers store in Moorestown, Brian Kratchman (center) and his uncle Ron Kratchman demonstrate the Omega 8004 juicer. The fastest-growing segment at Kitchen Kapers in the region is classes for tweens and teens.
At the Kitchen Kapers store in Moorestown, Brian Kratchman (center) and his uncle Ron Kratchman demonstrate the Omega 8004 juicer. The fastest-growing segment at Kitchen Kapers in the region is classes for tweens and teens.Read moreAPRIL SAUL / Staff Photographer
    by By Michael Klein, PHILLY.COM, Inquirer
    Published 

Cooking classes - the one-off, loosely structured gatherings of food fans around a chef's counter - have become a form of entertainment in this region.

Yes, we watch Food Network, the Cooking Channel, and Bravo. Iron Chef, Good Eats, and Top Chef are immensely popular.

"But if you have a question, you can't ask the TV, of course, and you can't taste the food," said Ed Countey, who runs the culinary school for Kitchen Kapers stores.

Thus the popularity of live cooking classes at community centers, supermarkets, cooking schools, and even church kitchens.

"Saturday nights tend to be our best crowds," said Countey, who books the chefs for the store in East Gate Square in Moorestown. "It's dinner and a show."

The fastest-growing segment at Kitchen Kapers is the series of classes aimed at tweens and teens.

La Cucina at the Market, Anna Florio's demo kitchen, was renovated as part of recent upgrades at Reading Terminal Market. Her programming, which includes seasonal cooking as well as "cooking for two" techniques, presents a slick, well-lit counterpoint to the market's homespun approach.

Additionally, many cooking classes nowadays allow one-on-one work with experts.

Greensgrow Farm in Kensington hosts its classes in a commercial kitchen at the nearby St. Michael's Church. Marisa McClellan, a home-canning specialist and blogger, will lead a hands-on class for 20 on Oct. 13. "We keep it small so people can get time with her," said Mary Seton Corboy, a founder of Greensgrow.

Greensgrow's classes can be exciting not just for the programming. The church is a magnet for the community, and other organizations come in to use it. At McClellan's last class, Corboy said, "a rock band rented the space above us and played through the whole event."

Hmmm. You were expecting pear jam and got Pearl Jam.