"WE TRY TOOFFER CLASSES THAT CATER TO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING.” NICOLE FLOWERS, OWNER
BUSINESS FEATURE
The Culinary Cottage allows groups of six to eight people per class with private classes up to 10 people.
PHOTOS COURTESY THE CULINARY COTTAGE
The Culinary Cottage
UPCOMING SUMMER CLASSES
Classes at The Culinary Cottage are best booked in advance with a waitlist option available for full classes. See additional class dates and times online.
Bracken Village business o ers cooking lessons
N icole Flowers, who has a classes in 2016. Starting out, Flowers held classes for children and had a passion for teaching young people how to cook. “That is where my love for culinary was born; [it] was being taught young to appreciate food and understand the feeling and power of it, and being able to teach kids to eat healthier,” Flowers said. The rst location for what became The Culinary Cottage was in Terrell Hills, Texas, after Flowers began long history with the culinary arts, began teaching cooking receiving requests for cooking classes and help while working in catering. “Within a fewmonths of receiving requests, my husband and I thought we were onto something and decided to take it outside of our kitchen,” Flowers said. The rst iteration of the business moved from the couple’s kitchen to a casita on their property, she said. In 2018, Flowers and her family relocated to New Braunfels, and she opened her shop in Bracken Village. Flowers said the goal of her classes is to give people a hands-on cooking experience that not only teaches reci- pes, but techniques and tips as well. “We try to o er classes that cater BY JARRETT WHITENER
to just about anything,” Flowers said. “We do French, Italian, Greek, vegetarian, seafood classes, pastries and baking, and anything that we can come up with.” During the pandemic, The Culinary Cottage faced similar challenges as restaurants. Flowers had to reduce her class size to allow clients to social distance and she took precautions to ensure her food remained safe. “We gured out ways to get creative,” Flowers said. “We did online classes over Zoom, and we started an online recipe planning thing where we sent you recipes for the week and a grocery list.” Once restrictions were lifted, class sizes returned to six to eight people with private classes taking up to 10. Classes are popular among New Braunfels and metrocom locals, with classes often lling up months in advance, she said. If classes are full, Flowers does o er a waitlist. Flowers said she takes pride in her classes and aims to continue providing an environment where people can learn how to cook while having fun. “It is just so great to see a class hap- pening,” Flowers said. “They usually last a couple of hours, but getting to watch a group of strangers interact with each other and bond over food is remarkable.”
JUNE 16 at 6 p.m. JUNE 9 at 6 p.m. JUNE 28 at 6 p.m.
Provencal Supper
Classes teach cooking techniques and recipes.
Date Night-Steak Night
Summer Italian
JULY 7 at 6 p.m.
Summer By The Sea
JULY 12 at 11:30 a.m. JULY 9 at 11:30 a.m.
Summer Pasta Workshop
Class times are held in the morning and evening.
Culinary Essentials Knife Skills
Classes last two hours on average.
Nicole Flowers opened The Culinary Cottage in Bracken Village in 2018.
The Culinary Cottage 18771 FM 2252, Bldg. 8, San Antonio 210-535-8912 www.theculinarycottage.net cooking@theculinarycottage.net Hours: Business hours vary based on class times
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