July is Culinary Arts Month, a celebratory month that highlights professional cooks and the unique flavors that they bring to the table. We have quite the lineup of incredible cooks who share their talents in the Teaching Kitchen at Red Stick Spice. Indeed, every class is a celebration.

I am so lucky to be surrounded by tons of cooking talent. If you’ve spent time in the Teaching Kitchen, you know that the mainstays are Matthew, Tessa and Lili. My managers Matt and Tessa make my job incredibly easy. And while not a staff member, instructor Lili Courtney is woven into the Teaching Kitchen fabric. When she’s in the room, there is such joy. And delicious food, of course.

I have been so lucky to host amazing visiting instructors like Jim Boitnott (paella master), Sarah Gardner (baking queen), Daphne Olivier (nutrition expert) and Celeste Baer (the ultimate host.) These talented folks are why I’m able to open the world of global cuisine, health and wellness and pure fun to all of you. 

One especially important instructor is my cardiologist Satish Gadi, M.D. Dr. Gadi has helped pave my road to wellness and lifelong heart health. His Cook with a Cardiologist classes are packed with solid information and amazing food – we are lucky to have him.

We’ve taught over 352 classes (yes, we counted) and that wouldn’t be possible without support staff. When you arrive for a cooking class, Sammy, Emily, Casey, Lori and Kaylie are the kind, helpful faces that greet you. Kaylie is heading to my alma mater, the John Folse Culinary Institute – I call that a really good reason to celebrate!

To show off all of the talented folks that make Culinary Arts something to celebrate this month and every month, our team was asked a variety of questions breaking down their passions and experiences teaching here at Red Stick Spice. Keep reading to hear what they had to say…

I was asked, “”How does your education and experience as a chef elevate or impact the way you teach classes inside Red Stick Spice’s Teaching Kitchen?” Simple – We are all learning the next thing. Every time I walk into the Teaching Kitchen, I learn something. Customers, staff – they’re all my teachers. Folks look to us as their cooking instructors, but what they don’t realize, is that they’re teaching us.

Matthew previously worked as a chef in the restaurant industry before working at Red Stick Spice. So we asked him, “What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned shifting from a chef in the restaurant industry to becoming the kitchen manager at Red Stick Spice?”
He said, “I’ve learned that every guest brings their own level of experience to the Teaching Kitchen. So, figuring out where they are on their cooking journey and meeting them there is the key to achieving those great moments of discovery that make the Teaching Kitchen such a special place.”

We asked Lili Courtney, “What is the biggest challenge home cooks face today and what are your thoughts on how one can overcome this challenge?”

Lili said, “LACK OF TIME + ENERGY to clean up afterwards.

Solution: I find a well-stocked pantry and freezer saves time. I have mustards, vinegars, onions, garlic and a bottled pasta sauce on hand at all times. Several packs of chicken, sausage and a skirt steak in the freezer. You can buy pre-cut vegetables to save time.

This is my favorite tip: Make more one pot meals such as skillet suppers and sheet pan dinners. Plus use a pressure cooker to cook things faster. Fill up a slow cooker in the morning and have a hot meal ready when you come home from a busy day. Make a pasta sauce and serve it one night and freeze the rest for the next week.

New menu ideas are also an obstacle, I cook double batches of chicken or skirt steaks. Then I can turn it into steak salads, burritos, or a rice bowl during the week.”

Tessa Kolb is our store manager and our in-house food art stylist and helps bring so many wonderful photos to our blog and website. Her passion shows through her work and she can tell a story through food.

So, we asked Tessa, “How has your experience working with customers daily as the store manager at Red Stick Spice helped you become a better cook?”

Tessa said, “Working with a unique array of home cooks, professional cooks, and people who cook for fun has made me view the word ‘cook’ in a different light. We all start somewhere in our journey to create a meal, and each meal is unique to each individual. Seeing the dynamics and personally speaking to these individuals and noticing how they all share similarities while in the store and ask the same questions- no matter their skill level- makes me value the knowledge we share here at Red Stick Spice. We provide an environment to step out of your comfort zone and try something new or just spice up your grandma’s old recipe. Hearing their personal stories resonates with me as the Store Manager. I value hearing different viewpoints and maybe learning a technique I’m unfamiliar with, so I can better serve customers in the future. Cooking brings everyone together, and knowing there will always be a community around food makes me a better cook in my day-to-day life.”

Many know Sammy Emery from our cooking classes. We asked Sammy, “What is one thing that you think Red Stick Spice adds to the culinary scene of Mid City?”

Sammy said, “I think Red Stick Spice creates a convivial atmosphere where people come together to learn and use spices and techniques they would not ordinarily use and hopefully make a new friend.”

Chef and Red Stick Spice cooking instructor, Jim Boitnott leads a few of our most popular cooking classes here, we decided to ask, “What’s the wildest thing you’ve heard in a cooking class at Red Stick Spice?”

Jim said, “One time, a student in the class picked up a knife and said, ‘The last time I was holding one of these I was being arrested.'”