Cooking Classes

Community Food Co-op partners with Whatcom Community College to connect you and other home cooks with expert cooking instructors, restauranteurs, and professional chefs. Find the class that’s right for you below.

A New Perspective on Home Cooking

Our diverse instructors bring with them culinary traditions from around the world. Each class expands your skill set and shows you what’s possible with the right techniques and fresh ingredients.

Aug 19

Simple Sauerkraut

Magdalena Theisen

Simple Sauerkraut

Demo

Magdalena Theisen

Tuesday, August 19

6:30 to 9:00 p.m. | $89

A highly nutritious and inexpensive food, sauerkraut is made from just green cabbage and salt. This simple combination creates a product that is rich in live cultures and enzymes, which are often absent in store-bought, pasteurized sauerkraut. Magdalena Theisen, originally from Poland, grew up surrounded by sauerkraut-making traditions passed down through generations. Magdalena will teach you this amazing process and share her recipe for the Polish dish known as hunter’s stew, featuring sauerkraut, kielbasa, pork belly, beef, and wild mushrooms. To conclude class, we’ll enjoy this delicious stew together. Demonstration.

Aug 21

Preserve the Harvest: Intro to Canning

Jennifer Bryan-Goforth

Preserve the Harvest: Intro to Canning

Demo

Jennifer Bryan-Goforth

Thursday, August 21

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. | $59

Learn the fundamentals of safe home canning and how to preserve food with confidence. This class covers the differences between water bath and pressure canning, including which foods require each method and why. Explore essential terminology, equipment, and how to find reliable, tested recipes to ensure safe and successful preservation. Instructor Jennie Goforth teaches food safety and preservation classes at WSU Skagit and has been preserving food at home for over 20 years. Demonstration.

Aug 28

Sustaining the Harvest: Food Preservation Beyond Canning

Jennifer Bryan-Goforth

Sustaining the Harvest: Food Preservation Beyond Canning

Demo

Jennifer Bryan-Goforth

Thursday, August 28

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. | $59

Preserving the harvest reduces food waste, extends seasonal abundance, and enhances food security. This class explores practical methods beyond canning, including fermentation, dehydration, freezing, and microclimate storage. Learn how these techniques maintain nutrients, improve flavor, and provide long-term, sustainable food storage solutions.

Sep 17

Let’s Make Mozzarella and Burrata! Class 1

Marisa Papetti

Let’s Make Mozzarella and Burrata! Class 1

Demo

Marisa Papetti

Wednesday, September 17

6-7:30 p.m. | $69

Transform milk into creamy mozzarella and luscious burrata with cheesemaker Marisa Papetti. Sample generous tastings while learning accessible techniques to create these Italian favorites in your home kitchen, where you’ll bring pasta dishes, cheese boards, or caprese salads to new heights. Marisa teaches cheesemaking across the Pacific Northwest and owns local honey company Marie’s Bees.

Sep 18

Third Thursday Kids’ Cooking Club (ages 7-12)

Annalee Dunn

Third Thursday Kids’ Cooking Club (ages 7-12)

Demo

Annalee Dunn

Thursday, September 18

2-4 p.m. | $49

Young chefs will build essential kitchen skills through hands-on cooking. Each class features two to three recipes mixing sweet and savory options, chosen based on allergies, seasonal ingredients, and group size. Kids practice techniques, explore flavors, and take home what they make. As a mom, chef, writer, educator, and founder of Tiny Onion Cooking School, Chef Annalee Dunn prioritizes fresh, local ingredients and entry-level techniques in every recipe. Designed for ages 7-12.

Sep 23

Southern Comfort Food: Gluten-Free Fried Chicken & Sides

Matthew Boudousquie

Southern Comfort Food: Gluten-Free Fried Chicken & Sides

Demo

Matthew Boudousquie

Tuesday, September 23

6:30-9:00 p.m. | $89

Discover Gluten-Free Southern Fried Chicken that’s just as crispy and juicy as the original. Chef Matthew will share secrets from Louisiana and Georgia kitchens, including his grandmother’s techniques, and yes, even lessons from Popeyes. Slow-Braised Collard Greens and Golden Skillet Cornbread round out the menu for a soul food feast that shows that being a Southern food lover who can’t eat wheat just requires extra know-how.

Sep 25

Fermenting & Pickling Veggies

Miranda LeonJones

Fermenting & Pickling Veggies

Demo

Miranda LeonJones

Thursday, September 25

6:00-8:00 p.m. | $79

Master the art of vegetable pickling with fermentation enthusiast Miranda LeonJones. Learn a versatile brine recipe that transforms cucumbers, carrots, radishes, green beans, or almost any garden bounty into complex, tangy preserves packed with probiotics. Discover how proper salt ratios, fermentation timing, and beneficial bacteria create deeper flavors and better nutrition than quick pickling. These skills are perfect for preserving peak-season produce while boosting gut health.

Sep 29

Wild Fermented Breads: Sourdough & Salt-Risen

Genevieve Bardwell

Wild Fermented Breads: Sourdough & Salt-Risen

Demo

Genevieve Bardwell

Monday, September 29

6:30-9:00 p.m. | $79

Explore two heritage bread traditions with Genevieve Bardwell, the nation’s leading salt-rising expert and owner of West Virginia’s Rising Creek Bakery. Learn the secrets of sourdough, which uses wild yeast, and salt-rising bread — an Appalachian invention from the 1700s that uses wild bacteria instead. See how a master kneads dough to create the perfect texture, tricks for crispy crusts, and the three-stage salt-rising process. Leave with warm bread, mini sourdough loaves to bake at home, 1890s Cripple Creek sourdough starter, and recipes.

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Our Classroom

The Co-op Connections classroom, located at 405 E. Holly St. #103 across from our Downtown store, features a fully equipped instructional kitchen designed for both hands-on classes and demonstrations. Professional cameras and audio ensure every student can clearly see techniques and actively engage with instructors.

Directions

Cooking Classes

A New Perspective on Home Cooking

Simple Sauerkraut

Simple Sauerkraut

Preserve the Harvest: Intro to Canning

Preserve the Harvest: Intro to Canning

Sustaining the Harvest: Food Preservation Beyond Canning

Sustaining the Harvest: Food Preservation Beyond Canning

Let’s Make Mozzarella and Burrata! Class 1

Let’s Make Mozzarella and Burrata! Class 1

Third Thursday Kids’ Cooking Club (ages 7-12)

Third Thursday Kids’ Cooking Club (ages 7-12)

Southern Comfort Food: Gluten-Free Fried Chicken & Sides

Southern Comfort Food: Gluten-Free Fried Chicken & Sides

Fermenting & Pickling Veggies

Fermenting & Pickling Veggies

Wild Fermented Breads: Sourdough & Salt-Risen

Wild Fermented Breads: Sourdough & Salt-Risen

Our Classroom

What Our Students Say

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