Monday, January 31, 2011

Starting A Cooking Club


Happy Monday everyone! Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend. I was just about to sit down and email my friends about the Cooking Club I am starting up when I thought that perhaps I'd do a quick post about it first and see if any of you have participated in something similar and have any suggestions or advice on things I should consider.

My idea is to get together a group of friends who are all interested in cooking so that we can share recipes and get ideas for new dishes to try. We will actually be tasting the recipes we are sharing but not judging or critiquing or anything, just sharing. Here are my thoughts so far:


  • Meet every two months - we are all busy with either work or children and I feel that monthly meet-ups would come around too soon.

  • We would alternate the days and times we meet - for example, one month we may meet up for a Friday night dinner, the next catch-up might be a Saturday morning tea.

  • Stick to six to eight girls, enough to be able to chat comfortably around a table.

  • There would be a 'theme' for each Cooking Club - so far I've listed a salad/dessert one, sweet treats and Christmas goodies. Does anyone have any more suggestions for this?

  • Everyone would bring along a dish to share along with enough copies of their recipe for all the girls.


I'm really eager to get my Cooking Club up and running, particularly because I can't wait to have an excuse to decorate the table prettily. I have so many images like the one above saved in my 'Entertaining' inspiration folder and I can't wait to try and recreate something similar.

Have any of you tried a Cooking Club before or do you have any suggestions for me and my friends?


Source of image above unknown

37 comments:

  1. That sounds like a fabulous idea Amanda. Definitely not monthly...have learnt that from book club. Despite the best of intentions it just doesn't happen! Look forward to seeing all the pics and getting lots of good recipes :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a fantastic idea Amanda! I haven't tried a cooking club so no advice , sorry xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow that's a fantastic idea Amanda! I love the sound of that group! What about dishes from a certain country and two people can do entree two main and two dessert so that you've got a whole dinner party menu or something like that.
    I can't wait to hear more about it and you'll have to share pics from your cooking club on the blog!
    Jxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kerry - will definitely share any winning recipes with you all :)

    Janette - I'll be sure to post photos here on my blog x

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is such a great idea mate! You will have so much fun, and the sharing of recipes is fab. I would do one just for cookies and biscuts, a 'winter warmers' theme and maybe one based on party finger food ideas.. I always need new recipes for those!! Have fun with it, I look forward to hearing how it goes. I hope all is going great for you,
    Love Flick xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Flick - your ideas are awesome! One of my friends had suggested the finger food idea too - will have to add these to my list.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great idea for a group.
    Will be following your progress with interest

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful idea! Can't wait to hear how it all goes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great idea for the sharing of food ideas, and also being able to have designated time with special people doing stuff that you like. I look forward to how it all goes, and what dishes are a hit!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great idea. We have incorporated recipes into our bookclub and it is great. I agree with Kerry, not every month. We meet roughly six weekly and that works well for us. 8 Is also a good number, any more and there are too many to coordinate. If one or two are away, it is still a reasonably sized group. I hope it all pans out and can't wait to hear how it goes. Have fun, Deb.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great idea! We used to do this, but we called it 'celebrity dinners'. Once a month four other couples together with my husband and I would get together and cook a feast with a 'theme'. Indian/American/Japanese. We would invite two other people (different each time) hence the 'celebrities'. It sounds rather cheesy, but we were only in our early 20's so was actually loads of fun. We learnt to cook a lot of new things!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi amanda, that is such a great idea!! I so wish i was more into cooking! anyway, I think you could also do dishes from other countries.. or cupcakes? would you all go to different homes each time to take turns? or at yours all the time? Sounds like fun!! You could have a blog; the cooking club! a book.. who knows! I wish you lots of luck and fun with it, let us know how it goes!! Laura xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a fabulous idea, Amanda. Good for you. If only we didn't live on other sides of the country. Sigh. I like Janette's idea of using countries as the themes. I can't wait to see what you create. J x

    ReplyDelete
  14. grand idea :) maybe a theme of one hour recipes - from go to eat they can only take an hour to do - or 30 mins same idea ... how about colour - a pink food party :) sweet - best le

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds great Amanda. You need a wine expert type as a friend to explain what wine would go with what...

    ReplyDelete
  16. What about an "easy mid-week dinners" theme? I am always looking for different ideas to inspire me to make healthy and yummy evening meals that aren't too time consuming to prepare after a long day at work.

    Nik

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your ideas sound great. I like the way you've structured the club too. I bet you'll all have a great time, if only I was closer so I could join in too:) I look forward to hearing more about your cooking club soon. xo

    ReplyDelete
  18. sounds fantastic...cant wait to see what you all come up with..every Sundays we meet up at my mother in-laws house for dinner, we started a while back that every week we have a different meal to bring relating to the theme.so much fun.. you will Love it xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sounds like so much fun! I might have to steal this idea!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely idea - i was going to suggest a country theme, but you could also do things like brunch ideas, savoury baking, pastry etc and occasional dishes like dish for easter, mothers day etc!

    I cant wait to see what you come up with
    Rachie xo

    ReplyDelete
  21. Cute idea! I love this and it's such a fun way to get the gals together. I would add something savory in there too. Maybe quick snacks/appetizers could be "10 Minute Munchies" or "Savory Snacks"... just to break it up a bit :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. what a fabulous idea!!!!! I wish I lived in Perth still so that I could come!!!
    Jane xx

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a nice idea! I especially like the idea of tasting the dishes. Being a vegetarian might be a hindrance for me, but I'd love the sweet recipes :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a fantastic idea. Make sure you share pictures after every meeting.

    x

    ReplyDelete
  25. oh how cool, wish i could join......i do enjoy cooking, i love the idea of sharing family reciepes that have been in your family for many years, your mother and your mother's mother etc, food that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.....look forward to your posts xx

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sounds great Amanda! I'm not really much of a cook (meals!) but I love to bake - cakes, slices, cookies etc. Some great suggestions in the other comments - especially the savoury idea. Also I think maybe you could do ideas for events such as Easter, Mother's day etc.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Great idea! We actually have a cooking club here in Singapore among the expat wives and it's great fun! It's called United Nations Cooking Club as we are 10+ nationalities. We meet every month and every time we cook from a different nation. Lots of fun and ideas :) Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I think you are going to have so much fun with this Amanda!! And I think once every two months is a really good time frame, oh and girls only even better, in my experience the boys just drag you to the pub instead : ) I like the theme idea too, you could do a christmas in july, that is something all my friends really look forward too, last year we had a swedish theme, they have some amazing food, jansson's temptation is one of my favourite dishes, so that could be another theme? Likewise tapas? I hope you are having a great week : )

    ReplyDelete
  29. Oh Amanda, that sounds like such a fabulous idea! I wish I was one of your real life friends, I would love to join a cooking club. I think your ideas are wonderful! Hope I am not repeating a suggestion someone else above may have made, but a good winter theme would be slow cooker meals:) I cannot wait to hear all about your cooking club meetings and see some pics:) Wish we had smell-a-vision or taste-a-vision:D Bon appetit ~ xx

    ReplyDelete
  30. Sounds like a wonderful idea! Also, I love all the yellow and cheeriness of your blog ;) XO

    ReplyDelete
  31. Sounds great - now you've got me thinking... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi Amanda
    It sounds like a great idea!!!
    Have fun!!!

    ReplyDelete
  33. What a brilliant idea! I'm pretty sure it's going to be a blast! Enjoy the gorgeous day, Kellie xx

    ReplyDelete
  34. I like Flick's idea. I always in need of different finger food that is fun for party guests and easy for me to make. Like Janette, oscar and ruby, and Rachie suggested, I was going to suggest the idea of different nationality of food, but this could be a bit challenging to gather ingredients or get good recipes. I also like Nik's idea to make easy mid-week meals.

    My friends did a cooking club where the members got together once a week at one of the members' house and made meals together with a new recipe and everyone always brought home dinner for their families. The members basically meet to learn how to cook something together (and the task becomes entertainment) and the family members got to taste it.

    I look forward to reading about your cooking club post, Amanda!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hi Amanda - my friend Emily started a cooking club with friends. She blogs about it here http://www.thefeedlot.blogspot.com/
    Good luck - it's an awesome idea

    ReplyDelete
  36. Wow Amanda, what a wonderful idea! And having themed dinners sounds like the perfect way to keep your clubs momentum going. I'd love to do something similar... you might just have inspired me :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Sounds fun Amanda! Look forward to seeing what you all come up with :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment - it really makes my day!!