Courtesy Kitchen Social
A bacon-wrapped beef filet, the main course at a "Cooking with Pork" class at Kitchen Social that also included cobb salad with bacon, fall fruits, and goat cheese; sautéed wild mushrooms with bacon and garlic; hasselback potatoes topped with parmesan and bacon; and vanilla bean pots de crème with bacon brittle
Courtesy Kitchen Social
Kitchen Social is one of those brainstorms that grew out of wanting to improve the status quo. Charlie Ragle, a native who splits his time between St. Louis and Florida, was a fan of cooking classes and had taken them for years but says there was always something missing.
“I never took one that I thought was that good,” he admits. “Too rigid, too commercial, too contrived...and presented either from a chef’s perspective or a product sales standpoint.”
Over the years, he kept notes on how he’d improve the experience. The result is the breezily named Kitchen Social, which he launched in 2019 in Fort Myers, his second home. At the events, held daily until the pandemic struck, attendees learn to prepare a four-course meal alongside a bona fide chef and then enjoy the food with their fellow students. Each class is based on a different culinary theme (pizza, tacos, sushi, vegan) or cooking concept (pasta-making, grilling, sous vide). The pasta-making class is by far the most popular, according to Ragle, who spins the construct “a dozen different ways."
Courtesy Kitchen Social
Pasta-making at Kitchen Social
Sensing a need for such a cooking experience in St. Louis and having attained "proof of concept" in Florida, Ragle started looking for a site in his hometown. He leased space at 124 Chesterfield Commons East which he says will look identical to the flagship location. Construction is underway, and a mid-summer opening is expected. "The demographics are better up here," he says of St. Louis. "We should do well."
Courtesy Kitchen Social
Dumpling night at Kitchen Social
In each class, 18 individuals are seated around a bow-shaped counter (12 in response to the pandemic), with the instructor-chef holding court in the middle. (“A friend joked that during COVID, I should change the name to Kitchen Social Distancing,” Ragle says.)
Part of the concept is that the chefs are as entertaining and engaging as they are qualified. “They don’t need to be a four-star master chef, but they have to be able to engage the guest,” Ragle says. “Our customer is not out looking for a culinary degree; they’re here to enjoy themselves and learn how to cook a meal.”
In that regard, Ragle says he has an advantage over similar classes. “Hands-on classes usually aren’t,” he cautions. “Maybe you get to do one course, but with us, you are the only one who touches your food.” (To facilitate those results, each guest is issued chef’s knives, a cutting board, and an induction cooker.)
Ragle admits that his classes (averaging $70 per person) are pricier than some alternatives but says they offer much more. “Our guests are entertained, they learn something, they share a meal, and they leave happy,” he says. “And they can drink.” At Kitchen Social, all drinks are BYO. “It starts off like a dinner party, with the chef providing passed apps and guests drinking whatever they’re drinking,” he explains, hence the tagline "Eat.Meet.Create.Cook."
Courtesy Kitchen Social
Pizza-making class for kids
Unlike Florida, where the demographic skews older, Ragle anticipates guests from all age groups. And while many participants are individuals and couples, Kitchen Social also hosts birthday and anniversary parties, corporate or team-building events, and other group offerings. Come summer, Ragle will also provide classes for kids.
Ragle eventually hopes to franchise Kitchen Social, a business that's led to countless memories. “One guy took our chicken marsala class and admitted to eating chicken marsala for the next two weeks, so he had to take another class,” Ragle says. “Next time, we paired him with a single woman. They came back for another class, and now they're together. He’s 82, and she’s in her 70s.”
