N E T W O R K : # B l o g H e r F o o d 1 6 / / P A S S W O R D : B L O G H E R F O O D 1 6

MARY HELEN

LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY

RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

A S A M P L E C O O K I N G C L A S S

I N T H E K I T C H E N

A Sample Cooking Class

A Sample Cooking Class

• Intro

• Cooking Demo (Tomato Chutney on Plantain Chips)

• Why Teach a Cooking Class?

• Planning Your Class

• Promoting Your Class

• Preparing For Class

• Q&A

Resources

http://bit.ly/BHFSampleClass

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Tomato Chutney on Plantain ChipsMore chutney recipes: http://bit.ly/ShefChutney

Directions

1. Heat oil to medium-high in a small saucepan or skillet until shimmering and hot.

2. Add mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add cumin seeds and

immediately lower heat.

3. Immediately add the chopped chili and garlic. Stir constantly to avoid burning

the garlic. Lower heat as necessary.

4. Add curry leaves, which may splatter in the hot oil. Keep a lid nearby.

5. Add tomatoes and stir well. Cook for a few minutes.

6. Add cilantro sprigs.

7. Add turmeric and salt. Mix well.

8. Cook covered on medium-low heat for about 6-8 minutes. You don’t want

too much of the liquid to evaporate. Cook until the tomatoes begin to

disintegrate into a sauce-like consistency.

9. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

10. Blend in a blender or mini-food processor.

11. Serve at room temperature over plantain chips. Top with black beans, cilantro,

and red bell pepper.

3

Ingredients (for chutney)

• 1 tablespoon canola oil

• 1/8 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 serrano chili or Thai bird chili, coarsely chopped

• 1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced

• 10-15 fresh curry leaves

• 2 juicy ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped

• 5 cilantro sprigs, thicker part of stems removed

• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

• ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients (for accompaniment)

• _ plantain chips

• _ black beans, drained and rinsed

• _ fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

• _ red bell pepper, minced

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Establish Expertise / Educate

• Enrich knowledge from teaching

• Share your passion

• Gain credibility as an authority on your topic

Earn Money

• Culinary instructors typically earn between $50 - $200 per class

• Opportunity to sell cookbooks, e-courses, or other products

Connect with Community

• Local food community

• Online food community

Build Skills / Gain Experience

• Public speaking

• Video

• Recipe Writing

• Business

• Marketing

W h y T e a c h a C o o k i n g C l a s s ?

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Some Examples of Great Teachers

• Food bloggers

• Professional chefs

• Cookbook authors

• Community leaders

Skills That Help

• Friendly, helpful attitude

• The ability to think on your feet and stay cool under pressure

• General culinary know-how or expertise in a specific topic

• Several years of cooking experience (at home or in professional setting)

• Organization and self-motivation

Certification / Licenses Required

• Local food handler or food manager certification

• Liability insurance (especially when working independently)

W h o C a n T e a c h a C o o k i n g C l a s s ?

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Online

• E-courses through platform

• E-courses / videos on your own site

Locally

• Through a culinary school or cooking class business

• Through local community centers and social groups (schools, senior centers,

churches, continuing ed.)

• Independently from your own home or at local venues with shared space

Privately

• Work as private instructor at client’s homes or rented venues for parties or group

sessions

• Offer private tutoring courses for individuals or couples

W h e r e C a n Y o u T e a c h a C o o k i n g C l a s s ?

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Online Venues

• Craftsy

• Skillshare

• Udemy

• Take Lessons

Things to Consider

• Digital Videography Skills

• Digital Materials

• Venue needs appropriate kitchen essentials based on your class needs

• Consider the sharing of revenue depending on online platform

P l a n n i n g Y o u r C l a s s

Picking a Venue

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Local Venues

• Culinary schools

• Libraries / community centers

• Grocery stores

• Cooking stores

• Restaurants / bars / coffee shops with rentable spaces

• Private homes

Things to Consider

• Outdoors vs indoors

• Commercial kitchen? Will host provide assistants?

• Your Home kitchen? Client home kitchen?

• Kitchenless?

• Capacity?

• Kitchen equipment availability?

• Tableware/Chairs ?

P l a n n i n g Y o u r C l a s s

Picking a Venue

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Menu needs to fit the venue AND style of class

Style of Class

• Hands-on / Participation Style

• Demo Style

• Combination Style

• Tastings or a full meal?

Example 1: Venue is indoors at a kitchenware store with a full demo-style kitchen. Style is

demo. Menu for this could include appetizer, main, dessert with prep done in advance.

Example 2: Venue is outdoors with access to a sink. Style is combination. Menu for this needs

to involve participants cooking so you can have individuals sharing the work (while you teach

skills) and putting each course together. This would be an eat-as-you-go class.

Example 2: Client’s private home:

P l a n n i n g Y o u r C l a s s

Choosing Your Menu

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Other things to consider

• Skill level of audience

• Length of class

• Cost and availability of ingredients

• Available equipment

• Popular / compelling topics

• Key takeaways and skills

• Recipe credit and copyright

Examples of classes

• Shef: Indian Street Foods

• Shef: Spices and Spreads, Indian Style.

• Shef: Instant Pot Indian Cooking

• Mary Helen: Japanese Restaurant Favorites

• Mary Helen: Seasonal Artisan Ice Creams

• Mary Helen: Home-style Chinese cooking

P l a n n i n g Y o u r C l a s s

Choosing Your Menu

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Costs of Class

• Cost of food

• Value of your time

• Printing costs

• Paid assistants

• Venue rental

• Marketing costs

• Materials or equipment

• Ticketing platform costs

Things to Consider

• How many seats need to be filled to make a profit?

• Perceived value

• Ticket pricing for comparable classes

• Time spent preparing for class as well as teaching

• Your hourly rate of pay

• Profit goal per overall business plan

Sample Budget (Public Class)

Costs of Class

• Cost of food: $50

• Your hourly pay: (3hrs at $50/hr) $150

• Printing costs: $15

• Paid assistants: (3hrs for $20/hr) $60

• Venue rental: $20

• Marketing Costs (Facebook ads): $50

• Materials or equipment: (pint containers) $20

• Ticketing platform costs: 15% of ticket price

Formula

Cost Total: $365

Minimum Students: 5 (cost = $73.00 per student)

Maximum Students: 10

Price per ticket (at 120% cost): $88

Ticket Sales $440 (5 students) - $880 (10 students) – 15% ($66 - $132) = $374 - $748

Profit: $9 - $383

P l a n n i n g Y o u r C l a s s

Your Class Budget and Setting Ticket Prices

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Don’t forget:

• Set up a ticketing system

• Eventbrite

• Mind Body

• Take Lessons

• Your own checkout system: Shopify / Paypal / Big Cartel

• Venue takes over ticketing

• Include registration details such as:

• Cancellation policy

• What students should bring, wear, etc.

• Publish a close-date for registration

• Create contract when:

• Private Parties

• Working as independent contractor for venue/third party

P r e p a r i n g F o r C l a s s

Administrative Details

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Establish your audience

• Who would take this class?

• What can you offer them?

• How do you connect with them?

C l a s s t i t l e a n d d e s c r i p t i o n

• Be specific, compelling, concise

• Hands-on or demo?

• Skills or recipes featured

• Value to students (what do students make/keep/taste?)

• Teacher’s qualifications (if applicable)

S a m p l e C l a s s D e s c r i p t i o n

Japanese Restaurant Favorites

Faraday’s Kitchen Store, Austin TX

Wednesday, Oct. 9th, 6 pm to 8 pm - Chef Mary Helen Leonard teaches you how to make your Japanese Restaurant Favorites. Menu includes: Dashi - a rich, flavorful stock for soups and sauces; Miso Soup, a simple, healthy, and delicious soup that can be made in just a few minutes with your Dashi; Ginger Carrot Salad Dressing - a real treat, served with fresh garden salad; and Vegetable Tempura -makes any vegetable into comfort food. Learn how to make a simple tempura batter at home, and how to prepare veggies for deep frying. The cost for this class is $45 per person.

P r o m o t i n g Y o u r C l a s s

Naming Your Class

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

Your Audience:

• Blog

• Email list

• Social media (w or w/o boosted ads)

C o m m u n i t y M e d i a O u t l e t s

• Local: newspapers, news Shows, local bloggers, local event websites

• Online: forums, Facebook groups, relevant organizations

C o l l a b o r a t i v e P r o m o t e r s

• Local: Dabble, Verlocal, Groupon, Mind Body

• Online: Meetup, Take Lessons, Eventbrite

B r a n d S p o n s o r s h i p

• Reach out to relevant brands to provide:

– Ingredients

– Refreshments

– Promotion

P r o m o t i n g Y o u r C l a s s

Where to Promote Your Class

Download Promo Calendar Template: http://bit.ly/BHFSampleClass

P r o m o t i n g Y o u r C l a s s

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

T h i n g s t o C o n s i d e r

• Which ingredients need to be prepared before students arrive?

• Creating work stations for hands-on portions of class

• How long will each recipe take to prepare?

• What will you discuss while waiting for water to boil, chickens to roast, etc. ?

• Are you working alone or wil l you have assistance?

• Equipment for cooking

• Dishes and cutlery for serving

• Skil l s to demo vs. ski l l s to skip

P r e p a r i n g f o r C l a s s

Planning your class flow / lesson plan

Stir Fry

Prep veggies with students: cut asparagus, carrots. bok choy, garlic, ginger, chile peppers

Blanch veggies - talk about how different veggies require different cook methods prior to stir fry

Heat oil, and scramble egg - talk about how Beijing cooks may use even more oil - discuss healthy oils vs. non-healthy oils, high heat vs. low heat oils

Cook bok choy, stems first, then leaves, - talk about crowding the pan

Mention meat option.

Cook sauce: garlic, ginger, chiles, then liquids - talk about variations on this pan sauce (replacing soy sauce for stock, omitting sugar, adding orange juice, etc.)

Combine ingredients again, then toss.

Serve with Goji Sesame Rice.

Ice Cream

Talk about Beijing corn obsession.

Heat oil in wok, then fry wontons. Brush with sesame oil, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Make custard: heat milk, cream, corn, sugar, corn syrup until boiled. Boil 4 mins, then strain. Add corn starch, boil for one minute. Pour into cream cheese and salt. Whisk, then transfer to ice bath.

Serve pre-made ice cream with fried wontons and strawberries.

Dishes

Spicy Tomato Soup with Crab and Scallion

Home Style Chinese Stir Fry with Seasonal Vegetables and Farm Egg

Steamed Rice with Black Sesame and Goji Berry

Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Crispy Sesame Wontons

Intro

Students arrive, we say hello and make small talk until everyone arrives.

I introduce myself, and talk about how I learned to cook Chinese food, and go over the dishes we’ll be making.

Stir Fry Oil

Prep garlic and ginger with students.

Describe this combination of flavors as the foundation flavors for Chinese cooking.

Talk about ingredients.

Get oil started, and set a timer for 15 minutes.

Soup

Prep scallions, ginger, garlic and spinach with students.

Fry ginger, garlic, chile pepper in soup pot, add stock, soy sauce, and tomato sauce, bring to simmer, add crab and spinach. Stir till spinach melts, season as needed.

Talk about the use of tomato in Northern Chinese cuisine, and how this broth can be used in other dishes: hot pot, chicken and noodles, egg and tomato soup

Prep Work

Enough Stir Fry Oil for the soup

Roast Cherry Tomatoes

Make Goji Sesame Rice

Veggies - rinse and ready for prep

Fry wontons

Setup

Have pot of water boiling

2 small sauce pans (for stir fry oil and ice cream)

1 soup pot

wooden spoon (for soup)

ladle (for soup)

2 woks

2 bamboo paddles (for stir fry)

2 large sauce pan (rice)

spoon/paddle (for rice)

spatula (for ice cream)

whisk (for ice cream)

3 mixing bowls (for ice cream)

15 cutting boards and knives

15 small soup bowls

15 soup spoons

4 serving plates/bowls

15 rice bowls

15 pairs of chopsticks

15 dessert bowls

15 dessert spoons

platters for ingredients

salt cellar/ pinch bowl

P r e p a r i n g f o r Y o u r C l a s s

A sample class flow plan

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

D r e s s t h e p a r t :

• Tie hair back

• Wear closed-toed shoes

• Dress in chef coat or use apron

A n t i c i p a t e q u e s t i o n s a n d c o n v e r s a t i o n

• Ingredient info (favorite brands, availability, substitutions)

• History (food origin, rise to popularity, restaurant recommendations)

• Resources for further info/learning (related sites, books, etc.)

• It’s OK to tell them you don’t know – but try to suggest who to ask instead

P r e p a r e t o t e a c h b a s i c s k i l l s

• Knife skills (dice, mince, etc.)

• Safe cooking temperatures

• Basic kitchen terminology (saute, blanche, etc.)

P r a c t i c e

• Test out recipe to make sure directions make sense

• Give free class to family and friends to warm up or work out the kinks

P r e p a r i n g f o r C l a s s

Tips for teaching an awesome class

MARY HELEN LEONARD

@MaryMakesGood

SHEFALY RAVULA

@ShefsKitchen

D o w n l o a d s

http://bit.ly/BHFSampleClass

• Shef’s Tomato Chutney recipe:

• Recipe writing resources

• Promo Calendar Template

• Austin Promo List

R e a c h u s

• Mary Helen Leonard | www.marymakesgood.com | maryhelen@marymakesgood.com

• Shefaly Ravula | www.shefskitchen.com | shef@shefskitchen.com

R e s o u r c e s

Learn more