How to start a cooking club

Shape, May, 2004 by Ellen Ullman

If you're tired of eating the same old meals and ready to sink your teeth into something new, start a cooking club--a group that meets regularly to try out new recipes and become better chefs. Recruit your members (five to eight people ensures a good time without too many cooks in the kitchen), then decide on a regular meeting time and a structure.

For example, whoever hosts selects a menu and theme (lowfat, Spanish, fruit) and buys the ingredients; members arrive and cook the entire meal together. Some groups operate more like a potluck and bring items they've prepared at home. "Old El Paso tacos were my idea of gourmet food when we started two years ago," says 34-year-old Kristina Sweet of Newton, Mass., "but last year I cooked an Ethiopian meal." However you slice it, make sure you don't leave out the key ingredient: fun!