Culinary Craft Workshop Opening This Fall In Catonsville

CATONSVILLE, MD — While business owners worked to stay afloat and restructure their way of conducting business during the coronavirus pandemic, foodie Mike Carter and cooking fanatic Joanie Robinson partnered up to launch a new business in Catonsville that has generated excitement in the community.

"As foodies, both Mike and I love trying new recipes and enjoy taking cooking classes. After having to wait several months to attend a class we were both really excited to take, we realized there was a need for more recreational cooking classes. As we explored this idea, we decided that if we were going to proceed, it was really important to do so in such a way as to make it more readily accessible. We really wanted to have a place that offered classes in a centrally located suburban setting with convenient parking and ample classroom size," Robinson told Patch.

The pair discovered that cooking classes offered by local schools often fill all of the seats in their classes weeks to months in advance, Carter noted. Shortly after announcing their intent to open Culinary Craft Workshop in Catonsville, the response from interested people was "staggering."

"The Culinary Craft Workshop offers entertainment options for individuals, couples and groups looking for a fun night out, to expand their horizons or just wanting an exciting new experience. In addition to our adult workshops, we will also be offering classes for kids and teens as well. CCW offers both education and entertainment. We will have classes for all skill levels from the beginner who needs to learn the basics to the advanced home chef who wants to learn something new or hone their craft," Robinson said.

Culinary Craft Workshop will offer everything from basic skills and recipe classes to more focused workshops focusing on such as topics as meal planning, kitchen organization, nutrition, advanced cooking tips and techniques. Culinary Craft Workshop also will offer dietary specific culinary courses such as healthy eating, vegetarian, vegan and gluten- free cooking.

Students will experience both hands-on learning and chef-led demonstration classes covering basic cooking skills and techniques to creating gourmet meals using equipment and kitchen tools easily accessible to the home cook, Robinson said.

"We plan to offer parent and child classes, children's classes and teen classes. We will be more than happy to adapt any class to accommodate a birthday party. We are creating a fun and informative environment and class offerings that are perfect for a ladies’ night out, adult birthday celebrations or date nights," she said.

As a mom of teens, Robinson herself experienced the challenge of fixing an endless stream of meals for her kids while quarantined. The pandemic also has refocused how people look at food and cooking.

"We think the pandemic caused a lot of people to rethink their dining options and realize the limits to their meal planning and cooking skills. With so many of us cooking at home now more than ever, there is a desire to try new things, have more meal options and expand our dining horizons. The paradigm shift created by the pandemic has stretched past just making bread into the desire to become more skilled home cooks," she said.