Teaching Kitchen gets high marks in, out of the classroom

By Bob Cunningham ’18

Bowling Green State University added some culinary flair to campus with the debut of the Teaching Kitchen in January.  

With the opening, BGSU Dining found that students and community members have been hungry to learn more about food through cooking classes, demonstrations and tastings.  

The Teaching Kitchen, located in The Oaks dining hall, sold out just about every class and demonstration in its first six months. 

“I suggested a teaching kitchen because we had always tried to do cooking classes in the past with the students and the community but it was never in the same location, so you’re moving it around all the time because there’s no central location or permanent equipment,” said Marissa Riffle, executive chef at the University. “With the Teaching Kitchen, not only could we have our classes for the students in there, we could have community classes and a place to train our own culinarians, too. It was a threefold win.”

There are some introductory classes at the Teaching Kitchen, but Riffle and the other chefs wanted to have more diverse options. 

“We’ve had classes such as ‘Knife Skills 101,’ but we’ve also had ‘A Night in Tuscany’ and ‘A Night in Paris,’ which have been our dinner series classes,” Riffle said. “The themed dinner classes have been a big hit and we’ve had a lot of students attend. We’ve also had classes such as ‘No More Chinese Takeout,’ so you can learn how to make Chinese takeout food at home and you don’t have to order in. It’s all varieties and skill levels.” 

Allie Godfrey, a junior visual communication technology major at BGSU, attended the first class in January and liked it so much that she attended every class and demonstration through March. 

“One day I was talking to Chef Marissa and a girl asked me if I worked there,” Godfrey said. “I said no; right then Marissa asked if I did want to work for them. I said, ‘Absolutely.’ Of course, the chefs had started to recognize me because I was showing up at every event. That’s how I got started as an intern, but the Teaching Kitchen was something I thought would be really interesting and fun and I just kept up with it.”

Godfrey said she and her family ate out a lot when she was growing up in Centerville, Ohio, but when they would cook at home it was a lot of fun. She got into cooking when she returned home the summer before her sophomore year by watching videos on YouTube and trying recipes from Pinterest.

“When I found out the Teaching Kitchen was going to start, I was really excited that they were having on-campus cooking classes,” Godfrey said. “You can use your Falcon Dollars and your swipes with your meal plan, and the classes are relatively inexpensive.”

Thanks to her experience of working in the Teaching Kitchen, Godfrey said she wants to use her visual communication skills to work in the food media industry.

“Whether it’s menu design or making cookbooks or whatever, I want to share what I like about food with other people,” she said. “I’m not sure if I’m interested in being a chef, but I do know whatever I do, I want food to be involved. I definitely tell everyone I know to come to the Teaching Kitchen classes because it’s so much fun. We provide all the equipment, the ingredients and we even wash dishes for you. All you have to do is come and have fun and learn skills you wouldn’t necessarily learn in a classroom. It’s a lot of fun to develop those personal life skills that will be useful for the rest of your life.

“I can confidently say that 100 percent the Teaching Kitchen has been my favorite part of my college experience.” 

Typically, the Teaching Kitchen has up to 16 individual cooking stations and about four to six classes per month. Monthly beer tastings and other food demonstrations are given in the space as well.

“We want to give everyone the same experience, so we just modify what we do,” Riffle said. “We might have everything almost done for them and then we just talk them through the steps of how we prepare everything and then they do the finished product.”

Some classes planned for the fall semester include a butchering class, a burger and beer pair and “A Taste of the Caribbean.” 

The Teaching Kitchen, however, is more than learning how to cook; it’s about making a connection with other people.

“The great thing I love about the Teaching Kitchen,” Riffle said, “is that you have a diverse group of students and community members so that when they’re finished cooking, there is a table they all go to and sit and enjoy their meal together.”

Learn more about the Teaching Kitchen