{Disclosure: We are excited to partner with THAT Cooking School and share with you the unique cooking experiences this Twin Cities cooking school offers. To show us how much fun both parents and kids can have at their classes, they invited our contributor, Alice and her daughter, to attend their Kids Cook and Paint Class. Read below about her experience and find a special offer just for Twin Cities Familys Blog readers!}
Just outside St. Paul, in Lilydale, Minnesota, THAT (Teaching, Heart and Team Building) Cooking School is tucked into a sunny storefront. THAT Cooking School hosts classes, private parties, team building events and summer camps in their state-of-the-art kitchen and art studio. When you first walk into the THAT Cooking School you walk into a large room, lined with rustic wood walls, comforting music and a fun atmosphere. Upon entering their family business, you are warmly greeted by husband and wife team, Bill and Molly and their son Alex. The passion for their business shines and they treat each class participant like a welcomed guest.
My daughter and I arrived at their location on a weekend to attend their Kids Cook and Paint Class. I was excited for the opportunity to spend some alone time with my daughter and take a mommy daughter date. My daughter was excited for the opportunity to paint and for us to share a cooking experience together. Truthfully, I also was really excited that we could get creative and do some painting and cooking and not have to clean up the mess!
The Kids Cook and Paint Class offers attendees the opportunity to explore the joy of painting and cooking. The class time is split between the two lessons, during the painting portion, participants are given all the materials and simple step-by-step instruction to make an acrylic canvas painting that they can take home.
The painting instructor and owner, Molly, did a great job guiding the class and encouraging creativity in a very thoughtful and supportive manner. My daughter and I decided to paint ours different from the example and Molly and her son, Alex were so kind and supportive, encouraging my daughter and saying positive statements about her creativity. In fact, they did this to all the participants, walking around admiring the work, helping when needed and offering advice when asked. The class had a great flow and we felt comfortable and relaxed when we worked on our paintings.
One of the class participants shared with me that she had attended a previous class and a student had done a beautiful job painting an owl on the canvas and then painted it completely black and Molly responded by noting, “the owl was now in the dark.” As a parent, you want to be able to take your child to activities where they are welcomed, supported and encouraged in their creativity. Molly and her son did such a tremendous job making sure everyone felt like they were doing a great job. At the end of the painting class, participants could share their canvas work with the class. It was really fun to see all of the different interpretations of the frog paintings!
Once we finished our paintings we walked into the kitchen area. THAT Cooking School has a gorgeous state-of-the-art cooking studio, complete with several cooking stations and a demonstration area. The cooking class started with a demonstration by owner, Chef Bill. Chef Bill is a professionally trained chef and has over 35 years of experience in the cooking field. A highly recognized and notable chef, he notes that his pride is owning and operating his own cooking studio and providing a unique and memorable experience for participants.
Chef Bill walked through the snacks we were making during the cooking class. He was very comfortable instructing the children and adults and offering cooking tips and tricks during the demonstration. I really enjoyed his professional and heartfelt teaching style.
With Chef Bill’s instructions, we returned to our stations to work on our cooking projects. All of the materials we needed were at our station and we made the Pinterest popular, Apple Roses, as well as an easy banana penguin. Both recipes were perfectly geared for kids and could be easily replicated at home.
Attending the class was a perfect opportunity for us to escape the house and get some quality time together. The flow of the class gave us ample time to enjoy both the painting and cooking sections. It was a relaxing and unique experience. Attending a class at THAT Cooking School is a perfect way to inspire your child’s creativity and enjoy really great quality time together. Looking for summer camp ideas? THAT Cooking school offers Summer Camps as well as Team Building or private party opportunities, that include offerings like wine tasting dinners and chef challenges and this is all in addition to their great cooking class schedule. Check out all the details below about a special coupon offer to check out THAT Cooking School.
THAT Cooking School
805 Sibley Memorial Highway (Hwy 13)
Lilydale, MN 55118
651-401-7041
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