It's a Wednesday afternoon and sweet, sour, salty and spicy aromas fill the new kitchen at The Bay Leaf, a culinary store at
"Who wants to try some pad kee mao?" the chef, Dawn Haverkate-Ens, asks a group of shoppers standing near her steaming wok firing on a Viking range. Garlic pops in a glaze of hot peanut oil and Heverkate-Ens adds bok choy, basil and rice noodles to create pad kee mao, a Thai dish known in English as "drunken noodles."
"It's fun to get other people excited about what I love," said Haverkate-Ens, who teaches Thai cooking classes and considers Thai food her favorite. Cooking classes at the Bay Leaf, which began in June 2007, are held throughout the week to help people learn new cooking techniques and dishes. Each class costs $30-$50.
For owner Geri Riekhof, the addition of cooking classes is not only about getting people excited to try food from different cultures, but also getting people in the door.
"We are doing significantly better because of people's interests in creating new menus, new kinds of food, ethnic food and baking at home," Riekhof said.
Riekhof isn't the only one who has noticed an increase of interest in cooking. The culinary market seems to be on the rise both locally and nationally.
Lisa Bakke, manager at the Lawrence Borders, has noticed an increase in both production of cookbooks and culinary magazines.
"There is more of something for everyone these days," Bakke said. While the cooking section itself has not expanded, the nature of the books has. Bakke said she noticed the celebrity cookbook aisle has grown, particularly cookbooks authored by The Food Network chefs.
Borders also added a children's cookbook section, which contains books by Williams-Sonoma and Food Network star Sandra Lee.
"The reality TV trend has prompted people's interest," she said. Not only are more people making their way to the cookbook section, but they're also buying culinary magazines. Bakke said they sell out of magazine issues every month, particularly a magazine called Clean Eating.
Cision, which is Bacon's Magazine Directory, reported that established culinary magazines like Bon Appetit and Gourmet have seen their circulations increase more than 120,000 readers each since 2002. Cision also reported that during this same time period the magazine business has welcomed 50 new cooking and food publications.
Partnered with an increase in food program viewers, cooking is quickly becoming a way many Americans are spending their time.
"Food Network today is the fastest growing, one of the most popular networks in all of cable," said EW Scripps Vice President John Lansing during a July investor's conference call.
Multichannel News reported in July that The Food Network viewership is up 12 percent year to year, making it one of the most popular cable networks today.
With more people turning to cookbooks, magazines and television, the installment of a professional culinary classroom at The Bay Leaf has proved to be a good idea.
Although Riekhof won't know whether the kitchen increases business until after the holiday season, she has noticed an abundance of new attention after a 1,500-square-foot renovation. She said nearly all scheduled classes are full because of the high visibility of the kitchen.
"We needed a facelift," Riekhof said. The new kitchen allows culinary enthusiasts to learn everything from how to make the perfect pie crust to preparing a six-course dinner. Classes are taught by Haverkate-Ens and other local chefs, including Robert Krause, who owns and operates
The rise of culinary interest is also noticeable in other culinary classrooms around
"We are completely filling classes," said Nancy O'Connor, director of education and outreach for The Merc. Cooking classes at The Merc cost $15 for two hours and are taught in a variety of areas including cake making, diabetic cooking, vegetarian cooking, preparing different cultural dishes and cooking for children.
"On a practical level, classes get people in the door," O'Connor said, adding that the mission of The Merc is to make education assessable and affordable. "Attending a cooking class is the same price as going to a movie."
The Culinary Center of Kansas City has also seen its classes fill to capacity. The culinary center, located in
"People in grade school, high school, college and other careers take classes as a stress release," said Renee Lais, who makes class reservations at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. "We are here to help the average person acquire skills." Classes are taught by the center's chefs and guest chefs from the
While many people are interested in cooking classes for their own leisure, others are considering cooking as a career path.
"Without a hesitation, we have had to add classes because of the influx of applications," said Ona Ashley, associate professor of the hospitality and management department at
The college has added more professional cooking classes and now teaches classes on Thursdays and Fridays, which has never happened in the department's history.
Ashley is glad to see people are interested in the culinary field because jobs are available. Restaurants are always looking for skilled chefs and new restaurants are opening every day. Ashley also said fewer people are eating at home these days.
As cooking classes are filling up around the community, program coordinators are thanking The Food Network.
"The food channel helps and hurts us," Ashley said. She said that channel has helped increase interest in cooking for a living but does not show the entire job description of professional cooking. "People are excited about what they see on TV, but they don't understand that people in the culinary business work evenings and weekends."
For people who are just interested in learning new cooking skills and recipes, The Food Network has sparked the right attention.
"I noticed that a lot of parents are saying all their children watch is The Food Network," Lais said. She said the trend of children watching The Food Network and wanting to cook is different than in previous years, which has helped fill cooking classes for children.
Riekhof also suspects the recent surge of culinary interest is due to The Food Network, which she watches for product ideas. Riekhof pays close attention to what equipment the celebrity chefs are using while they cook. She said her children have grown up with The Food Network because it is always on at home.
Riekhof intends to keep up with the demands for classes and make the kitchen as professional as possible. Her next step is installing ceiling mirrors so students can see what everyone else is doing at their workstations.
Haverkate-Ens is interested in teaching as much as she can at The Bay Leaf.
"What I love about ethnic food is you get a lot of new tastes," Haverkate-Ens said. Haverkate-Ens learned about the Thai diet when she taught Hmong refugees from
Cooking is therapeutic for Haverkate-Ens, and she hopes she can effectively share her passion for food with everyone who attends her classes at The Bay Leaf.
"Making and eating good food adds so much to the quality of life."
Leave a comment