Food & community are two of my favorite things, and what I do is bring them together for you in an educational context that is both fun and rewarding.

What is community cooking? 

I am SO glad you asked!

It all started on a cold Minnesota winter 5 years ago…..my partner and I wanted to have a consistent way to connect with friends and community, but it is not easy to leave the house when it is thirty below!  And I love to entertain, so the idea of hosting a weekly dinner was no problem, but not really sustainable—from a financial point, or from the perspective of being the one to clean the house, prep, cook and then wash all the dishes from a big dinner party every week!

               

Thus Community Cooking was born (which in our household, we call "Family Dinner Minneapolis"….a way to build community and make lasting connections with people that are important to us, whether they are family of origin, family of choice, or just friends that we are looking to get to know better!

               

Here’s how it works in our house:  every participant brings $6 worth of an ingredient (which I assign*), and when folks show up, I put out loads of cutting boards and knives and put everyone to work washing vegetables, chopping stuff, cooking, setting the table, etc.

My hope is that after learning my model, you will be inspired to continue you own community cooking event!

*when I am teaching my Community Cooking model (see private events) I can either bring all the food, or if you want the real-deal participatory experience, I can assign ingredients!

The key is, everyone works together to make the meal happen, from beginning to end.  After dinner, we all pitch in to clean up & divvy up the leftovers.  By the time everyone leaves, the kitchen is just as clean as when I started and everyone has lunch for the next day to boot! 

Community Cooking is a wonderful way to stay connected with the people that are important to you, and having everyone work together really builds a sense of community and teamwork beyond just eating together.  Try it once and you’ll never go back!

Why DIY (do it yourself) when you can DIT (do it together)?