So now that I have introduced you to the idea of a cooking club and shared the basics for forming a cooking club, let’s get down to business.

Early cooking club decisions

1. Decide how often you would like to get together with your cooking club.
2. Decide how many meals you will prepare at each gathering.
3. Decide what kind of meals you will make as a group. Your cooking club doesn’t need to be limited to just dinner. You can also make breakfasts or lunches for the freezer. If your club wants to meet frequently and prepare a wide variety of meals, maybe you could focus on breakfasts one day, lunches another, and dinners at still another time. Find what works best for you all as a group and don’t be afraid to experiment.
4. Choose a budget that you are all comfortable with and plan to stay within that budget each month.

Divide and Conquer

I think we’ve already seen the benefits of dividing and conquering when it comes to cooking. Now make sure you let that element carry over to the planning of club cooking days also.

• Have each member select an equal number of meals to prepare. Each member is then responsible for prepare the shopping list for their chosen meals. All of those lists can then easily be converted into one.
• It is probably easiest for one person to be responsible for the shopping each time. Shopping together the day you plan to do your cooking is an option, but keep in mind that you might get worn out before the real work even starts.

Next time I’ll share some tips from professional chef and Sam’s Club food writer Nicole Aloni. Then we’ll discuss the details of meal planning and grocery list making. There will also be forms available for download to help your cooking club plan meals and create your shopping lists.

What do you think of the idea of a cooking club? Do you see the benefits, and does it seem like a reasonable option for you?

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