A little history...

So, the official start to Cooking Club was September of 2001. It started with eight girls in a 650 square foot, studio apartment...cozy to say the least! The furniture had been delivered the day before; wine glasses, dishes, and silverware were purchased the morning of cooking club! Eight of us gathered, each with different relations to one another, each with a different background, a different story to tell, and different recipes to share...all enjoying each other’s company while we were scattered across a queen size bed and an over-sized chair! We have vivid memories of hovering over our bowls of chicken and steak stir fry, while sipping our wine. Who could have predicted the good fortune of that evening...we have developed friendships of a lifetime, over 600 recipes (and counting), and endless hours of laughter!

It was an idea that was borrowed from a friend who was in a similar supper club. We figured we could gather eight girls that enjoy cooking, love to eat and drink and who knew how to have FUN! Although we only have three original members...we have maintained the original concept. Each month the host chooses the main dish...each of the others is responsible for bringing their assigned dish or cocktail that compliments the main dish. The categories are as follows: Main dish, 2 appetizers, soup or salad, side dish, dessert, and two wine or cocktails. The only two "rules" that we have tried to maintain is that you have to make something that you have never made before, and it has to be made from scratch. These have been broken a time or two...purchasing fresh baked bagels and muffins from Panera Bread Company does not count as making it from scratch! We have had huge successes, a couple of flops and developed many "favorites" throughout the years!

Cooking Club has evolved over the years. We have been through a dozen or so different combinations of girls…each altering the dynamic to make each era unique. We have tried to keep it to eight girls…just enough to keep the table full! We have celebrated weddings, the births of children and personal successes. We have consoled one another through difficult times in each other’s lives and earned our alter ego “the drinking club” (This was a term coined by husbands and boyfriends of Cooking Clubs past…some have ended up as ex-husbands…just a little warning to you current offenders!) All of these Good and Bad times have all been over delicious meals, fabulous wine and great girls nights out!

Follow us through our savory, monthly journey as we gather with one another and create food for the soul!