Dorothy  first walked into The Culinary Center of Kansas City™ in June 1998. It’s been tough to get her out of there ever since. She started taking classes when “Main Dish†herself was teaching and all recipes were hand written. Her passion for the place led to volunteering in lots of positions. She then became a class assistant and began designing the “Kids in the Kitchen†series. Teaching has always been dear to her heart. She was a teacher/itinerate in the Shawnee Mission School District for 20 years. Her emphasis was working with special needs children. Her first cooking classes were designed for these kids.
CCKC “L’il Kids in the Kitchen†classes start at 2 years of age (with an adult helper); 4-8 years (with an adult helper). “Kids in the Kitchenâ€, 9-14 years, branch out on their own. We have included taking our kids to the Overland Park Farmer’s Market; they return with their produce and create a delicious lunch.
Prior to the fire in Downtown Overland Park, Dorothy was in charge of our CCKC garden. She included herbs, flowers, a worm farm and of course a compost pile. It had a small patio and the trees were strung with white lights. Bird feeders and houses were abundant. Sadly,the garden went down with the fire; now Dorothy is in charge of the baskets and trees on Santa Fe Dr. and Foster Street.
Another area of interest has been keeping an eye on The Kitchen Shop, our retail shop specializing in unique culinary merchandise. She includes whimsy and humor to the mix as well. Here you will find a retail shop offering serious culinary therapy for your cooking and entertaining “addiction.†She has worked as the liaison between our kitchens and the final stages of placing fabulous dishes into our “Dinners on Demandâ€.
As time marches on, so has the explosion of Social Networking. Dorothy manages our Facebook, twitter and blog pages under the guidance of “Main Dishâ€. Her title…”Social Networking Senior Scribbler”.