Cooking is a great way to learn important life skills but more than that is its capacity to bring connection and healing to those who eagerly want to learn about food. For 26-year licensed culinary arts teacher Melanie Underwood, cooking also builds curiosity, confidence, creativity, and calm in the kitchen and of course, enables people to practice and enhance their math, reading, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Growing up surrounded by family – specifically, her grandparents – in her hometown in Loudoun County, Virginia, Melanie witnessed first-hand how gathering around the kitchen and the dining table can be so empowering that it led her to establish Gather Culinary, a New York-based brand that provides cooking classes for kids and adults.
“Learning to cook is the medium to get people to connect and create, develop confidence and curiosity, and have a community through conversations in culinary arts,” said Melanie, founder of Gather Culinary.
Gather Culinary offers cooking classes, baking classes, afterschool classes, camps, and retreats for adults and kids in Westchester County, Fairfield County, Northern New Jersey, and New York City.
Melanie brings her vast experience as a culinary arts teacher to the brand, having seen the struggles of new cooks in the kitchen. Whether people are just plain clueless, lack time, or feel like they’re cooking the same thing all over again, she jumps in to help them overcome the challenges and develop their confidence in cooking.
“We focus on knife skills, techniques, seasonality, learning the best shopping practices, and no-waste cooking. Showing you how to work with what you have on hand and learning to use recipes as a guide, knowing they are not concrete but helpful inspiration. You’ll learn practical cooking strategies to help save time and money,” she said.
Melanie also stresses that people enrolling in her classes may find them brand-new as they will be encouraged to think on their own when it comes to learning certain recipes. She makes it a point that her students are free to question, learn, and deepen their knowledge while still following their intuition when cooking. She also sees to it that their cooking environment is set in a relaxed and nurturing atmosphere conducive to learning.
Cooking classes have become a hit since the pandemic, with many students young and young-at-heart booking one after the other. Also, with the holidays around the corner, kids, and adults looking forward to trying something new in the realm of cooking are certainly welcome to book slots in Melanie’s classes. For more information on Gather Culinary, visit https://www.melanieunderwood.com/.
About Gather Culinary
Gather Culinary provides engaging cooking classes with a traditional yet enriching approach. Led by 26-year licensed culinary arts instructor Melanie Underwood, the company ensures its students develop confidence and critical thinking in their relationship with food, while still connecting with others and getting the calming effect it brings.
Media Contact
Company Name: Gather Culinary
Contact Person: Melanie Underwood
Email: Send Email
Phone: 1-914-533-1717
Country: United States
Website: https://www.melanieunderwood.com/