Our culinary instructors are THE best in the industry! We have more talent in our kitchens than you can shake a whisk at, and we’re growing our pool of rock stars all the time.
Our Instructor Spotlight today includes one of the newest instructors on our culinary teaching team and one with just about the longest tenure here! We’re proud to introduce you to CCKC instructors Cindy Newland and Mari Ruck.
Cindy Newland
Author, speaker, certified health coach and experienced cook Cindy Newland is the perfect person to show you what it means to eat for life, especially the uber-popular plant-based diet.
After struggling with a debilitating back injury, Cindy made drastic changes, lost 125 pounds (and kept it off) and discovered a whole new way of eating and nourishing her body. Now she shares that knowledge to help others interested in learning to eat for life. She shares her personal experiences, recipes and techniques for making delicious plant-based dishes, and she’s a master at explaining where to find ingredients locally and how to incorporate healthy substitutions into your current meals.
We just added Cindy’s first class to our schedule. Click on the title below for more information (and watch for more classes from Cindy in the near future):
·       Powered By Plants: Intro to Plant-Based Cooking (Sat 6/1)
Chef Mari Ruck
Cooking started as just a hobby for Mari when she was in high school. In college, she studied accounting at Oregon State, but food was really her passion.
She studied abroad in France, and the cooking school she attended there has inspired a lifelong love of French food.
Mari co-owned The Food Bin, a specialty food store, from 1983 to 2004.
After college, bread baking took priority for Mari, and it led her to the Chef Program at Johnson County Community College. After graduating from there in 1999, she started teaching cooking classes at The Culinary Center of Kansas City and in Lawrence the next year in 2000.
Since then she has taught over 200 cooking classes at The Culinary Center of Kansas City. That interprets to roughly 3600 students! Although she has taught a number of classes on subjects from Tofu, Chocolate and Vegetarian Cooking to French Cuisine and Gluten-Free Cooking, Mari’s classes most often have to do with baking. From Pie to Baguettes and Breakfast Breads to Dinner Rolls, she is the expert. She is most famous for her amazing instruction for Cinnamon Rolls. There are folks who have been making them using her recipe and guidance for the last 20 years! Now that’s a long-lasting value.
If you haven’t made cinnamon rolls with Mari, you’re missing out. Check out one her classes this summer. Just click on the title below:
·       Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (Sun 5/5)
·       It’s Father’s Day! Learn To Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Dad (ages 12 and up) (Sun 6/16)
·       Cinnamon Rolls 101 (Sun 8/11)
