Have you ever wanted to learn how to make French macarons, Vietnamese egg rolls, artisanal sourdough, or a delicious apple tart? Consider taking a class at The Recipe, a new culinary venue in Downtown Ames.
The venue is owned and operated by Patrick and Mindy Bergstrom, proprietors of other Downtown Ames businesses such as Nook & Nest, Z.W. Mercantile, and Cooks’ Emporium, where they previously taught classes.
Teaching cooking classes at Cooks’ dates back to 1981 with the original owner. In 2018, when the Bergstom’s took over, they continued the tradition and remodeled the business to accommodate. “One of the first things we did was figure out how to make the demo kitchen a little bigger,” said Patrick, noting that they immediately got requests for hands-on classes.
By 2021, the classes had been regularly selling out and they explored the idea of a dedicated space. That idea turned into The Recipe that opened this fall. Their most popular classes include Pasta 101 and 201, knife skills, and food prep, but their course offerings are wide-ranging. They sprinkle in sushi classes, those on Mediterranean cuisine, shrimp curry, or a course specifically on kids snacks and dips.
Both Mindy and Patrick come from entrepreneurial families, but their career background is in the corporate world. Mindy started working for a web design and advertising company when she was 19, and Patrick most recently worked as a technology executive. For Patrick, his love of cooking dates to childhood. When the opportunity to buy Cooks’ was available to them in 2017, they jumped at the chance and each year added another business to the mix.
Patrick hosts the majority of classes at The Recipe but brings in other chefs for some of the specialty classes. “The response has been great so far,” said Patrick. “People get excited to learn new skills, and they want to eat healthier and more inexpensively. We’ve heard from several people that coming to one or two classes has changed the way they eat at home.”
With the new space, The Recipe is able to entertain more private events and they are renting their space for retirement and graduation parties, or to cooks who need access to a fully licensed, commercial kitchen.
More information and a full list of classes can be found at:
www.TheRecipeAmes.com
The Recipe is located at 412 Burnett in Downtown Ames
