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RETAIL COOKING SCHOOLS
FEATURE PRODUCE AS
A PRIME INGREDIENT
CURRICULUM VARIES BUT VIRTUALLY ALL FEATURE FRESH FRUITS AND VEGGIES.
Promotional ads for Publix Aprons School
PERSONAL JOURNAL: A rst-person perspective from Carol Bareuther, RD
Grace-Marie Johnston of Bristol Farms Cooking School
38 / OCTOBER 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
A chef at Publix Aprons Cooking School Howard Rosenthal of Mr. Food’s Test Ki
It’s the 20-plus year produce writer, regis- restaurant alternative, and us, all walked the
tered dietitian and Boomer in me who grew up hating jarred pickled beets, but thought the “Diggin’ the Beet” class at a Publix Aprons Cooking School would
be great fun.
My Millennial daughter, who already
counts roasted beets, kale smoothies and cauli ower rice as everyday friends, wanted to take a more ‘fun’ class, especially consid- ering her newly minted U.S. Coast Guard of cer status had kept her extra busy in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
So, we settled on a Friday-night Wine and Cheese Pairing class at the Plantation, FL-store, one of 11 cooking schools in the 1,000-plus store Lakeland, FL-headquar- tered chain.
To the delight of both of us, fresh produce featured in each of the four courses. In fact, there were more than a dozen fresh SKUs. To the aim of the retailer, the older couple in our class who came to learn how to prepare healthier fare, the two foodie couples who enjoyed a night out
aisles after class buying the ingredients to replicate the demoed dishes at home.
Publix Super Markets isn’t the only retailer to offer in-store cooking classes. In fact, the majority (71 percent) of retailers who responded to the 2017 Report on Retailer Contributions to Health & Wellness, published by the Arlington, VA-based Food Marketing Institute, provided health-focused cooking classes.
Interestingly, although the 2014 edition of this survey showed that more than half (58 percent) of these classes were oriented toward customers on restricted diets due to health issues, this focus fell to less than half (47 percent) in the most recent survey. More speci cally, in 2017, 53 percent of classes were for children, 47 percent centered on family meals, 35 percent were vegetarian/ plant-based classes, 12 percent related to organics/sustainable/local ingredients and 6 percent were vegan cooking classes. It’s easy to see fresh produce is at home in each of these themes.
(L-R) PHOTO CREDITS: CALIFORNIA AVOCADO COMMISSION; PUBLIX APRONS AND TOPS. ON OPPOSITE PAGE, (L-R) CALIFORNIA AVOCADO COMMISSION AND PUBLIX APRONS