Thyme in the Kitchen offers everything a person needs to become a home chef extraordinaire with countless kitchen accessories, gadgets, and cookware and, of course, its popular cooking classes.
“We definitely wanted to create that experience and have our customers get more excited about cooking,” says General Manager Ruth Richmond, who has worked at Thyme in the Kitchen since it opened in December 2013 at 2308 W. Franklin St.
Though the store operators do not teach the classes themselves, all types of instructors are featured in the classes, including chefs from area restaurants, caterers, vendor specialists, and cooking enthusiasts.
Some classes involve teaching techniques with baking, while most classes offer a full meal with a salad, entrée, and dessert. Participants watch as the chef prepares everything from start to finish using many of the products and tools found throughout the store. Thyme in the Kitchen also offers hands-on learning classes, but those have not yet returned from their pandemic-related pause.
“I love the human interactions,” says chef April Boeke, who teaches three to four classes a month at Thyme in the Kitchen. “I like the creativity of it and empowering people to be comfortable in the kitchen.”
Boeke is the owner of Culinary Innovations, a catering and private event cooking company located inside Thyme in the Kitchen. She says the classes are a great way to meet others who have a passion for cooking.
A typical class size is 18 people, though classes have been limited since restarting in July 2020. The store hosts about 25 classes a month plus private events such as wedding showers, bachelorette parties, and corporate events.
Lunch classes are an hour and cost $25. Evening classes are about two and one half hours. Each class focuses on a certain type of cuisine, including Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Argentinian, Caribbean, Spanish, Greek, and everything in between. Thyme in the Kitchen also offers sushi rolling and barbecue grilling classes.
The store also offers children’s classes for varying age ranges throughout the summer. These are focused more on fun than teaching techniques, though they do instruct on simple cooking practices.
“We encourage tons of questions,” says Richmond. “We give everybody recipe cards when they take a class, so they can go home and make the recipe and learn some other tips and tricks from the chefs, like how to cut up a pepper or how to keep your chicken moist so it doesn’t dry out.”
To sign up for classes, customers can visit Thyme in the Kitchen location on Franklin Street or call the store at 812-437-2726.
Teaching Technique
thymeinthekitchen.com
