Tampa Bay Chefs Run Free Cooking Classes To Help Build Community Skills

Local chefs teach cooking skills to Tampa Bay residents through hands-on classes. More than 1,000 people learn techniques from Mexican dishes to pasta-making. The sessions run each week in kitchens across the area.

"When I first started teaching classes, I tended to focus on more elaborate recipes that were harder to execute. But eventually I learned that people want to learn something that's more practical in their everyday lives," said Chef Rene Valenzuela to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

Students pay $75 to $100 per class. They master basics like grilling and pasta-making from scratch. At Streetlight Taco, Chef Michael Brannock shows masa techniques monthly. St. Pete Ferments hosts workshops where Sarah Arrazola shares preservation methods.

"While online resources can be great tools for people, I feel like a lot of food content creators are really curating things towards their audiences," Arrazola said. "But when you're surrounded by people at the workshops, it's like we're in our own little world."

The instruction spreads to local schools. Eight institutions, including Jefferson High and Erwin Technical College, offer kitchen training. This fall, Chef Guillermo Quezada returns to teach at Leto High, the same place where his cooking passion sparked at age 14.

"I think it's so invaluable to be in an environment with other people that are wanting to learn just as much as you do. You can't really get that sense of community from a YouTube video or a recipe," Quezada said.

At Pasta Packs, students watch Chef Nic Byron craft ravioli and fresh noodles. His methods take the mystery out of pasta-making for home cooks.

Teaching adds costs: extra staff, supplies, and kitchen space cut into earnings. Still, instructors find value in connecting with students face-to-face.

"I am literally a byproduct of people that stopped for a moment in their lives to invest in someone else," Quezada said. "When we ask ourselves the question 'How can we impact our communities as chefs?' It's certainly not from a distance."