Mary Kay Andrews Sets Out Welcome Mat for “The Beach House Cookbook” Release Party at The Cook’s Warehouse Midtown April 30

Breezy flair and summertime favorites fill “The Beach House Cookbook”, the newest release from New York Times bestseller and “Beach Read Queen” Mary Kay Andrews. Meet Andrews at a cookbook launch party on Sunday, April 30 at 4 p.m. at The Cook’s Warehouse in Midtown Atlanta and see how easy it is to offer beach house hospitality. She will demo easy recipes for entertaining and offer light bites and signature cocktails from the cookbook. Plus, she’s giving out swag bags loaded with goodies. Scan your horizon for summer vacation visits and buy a cookbook for yourself as well as a few for hostess gifts so Andrews can sign them at the party. Attendees can enter a drawing for prizes and help out The Giving Kitchen. Call 404-815-4993 or go online to RSVP. Visit www.marykayandrews.com for more information.

Drumstick, Please...Bantam + Biddy Ansley Celebrates Birthday #3 with Fall Festival October 25

The Ansley Mall Bantam + Biddy location is hatching plans for its third anniversary and outdoor fall festival on Sunday, October 25 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The B+B brood will steam up their signature tamales to sell along with October’s sweet nectar, cider. The eatery has invited vendors and friends like Hodges Honey & Bees, The Cook’s Warehouse and Highland Outfitters to fest with the best. Chicks, check out Maria’s stash of scarves for wearing now or holiday gifting. 

Bring the Whole Brood to Bantam + Biddy Spring Festival at Ansley Mall May 9

Go outside and play at the Bantam + Biddy Spring Festival at Ansley Mall on Saturday, May 9. On this Mother’s Day weekend, the casual eatery featuring regional, all-natural and pastured poultry fills the 11 a.m.-2 p.m. midday slot with family friendly festivities, live music, local vendors, a lemonade stand and a Mom’s Day card crafting table for children (adults, you should have your cards in the mail by now). Buy some steamy Bantam + Biddy chicken tamales and King of Pops popsicles if hunger pangs strike. Additionally, Jb Farm Fresh Eggs will be selling its grain-free, free-range chicken eggs and will bring baby goats for youngsters to pet. Grownups, check out The Cook’s Warehouse Big Green Egg cooking demonstration. To partake, steer your flock to the courtyard between Bantam + Biddy and Starbucks.

The Cook's Warehouse Brings a Taste of Japan to ATL

How's your Japanese? Mine, not so much. But here's a great way to improve your Japanese cooking skills with well-known chef and instructor Hiroko Shimbo. She will lead classes this month at the The Cook's Warehouse stores in Midtown and East Cobb. Her most recent book, "Hiroko's American Kitchen - Cooking with Japanese Flavors," won the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award 2013 under the American category. Shimbo's classes at The Cook's Warehouse will reflect her book's philosophy and demonstrate how easily we can integrate Japanese flavors, cooking techniques and staples into healthy dishes. Join Shimbo on Tuesday, January 28 from 6:30- 9 p.m. at the Midtown location to learn about "American Cooking with Japanese Flavors Hands On" and prepare miso-flavored beet soup, sukiyaki and chorizo and shrimp rice ($70 per person). On Wednesday, January 29, the chef will cross town to The Cook's Warehouse East Cobb to lead "Hiroko's American Kitchen" from 7-9 p.m. and create spiced kabocha squash soup, short ribs - Japanese style, and miso bacon potatoes ($50 per person). Register for classes online. According to Google, this means "see you there!"そこを参照してください。

Brush Up On Kitchen Skills with The Cook's Warehouse Winter Classes

Remember how awkward and hectic registering for classes in school used to be? Things are a lot different at The Cook's Warehouse. This time, you can pour yourself a glass of wine or cup of tea and open up the Winter 2014 class schedule to select some learning ops in a class led by a visiting or local chef. January's healthy topics include "Discover Vitamix," elegant low-fat French food, exploring a plant-based diet, New Year's resolution recipe makeovers, "New Year, New You," heart-healthy cooking, baby food basics and more. The catalog continues with global cuisines, knife skills, entertaining, breakfasts, baking - the fabulously filling list goes on and on. All four locations offer a variety of classes, so you can study up in Midtown, Brookhaven, East Cobb and Decatur. All classes include recipes, samples of food prepared, complimentary beverages plus a 10 percent discount off in-store purchases before and after class that day. Never stop learning... or cooking!

Celebrate the Longest Day of the Year at Southface Summer Solstice Party on June 19

It's almost the longest day of the year which means there's plenty of time to power up solar-churned ice cream for the Southface Summer Solstice party rising up on Wednesday, June 19 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Southface Energy Institute in Midtown. Southface members and friends will toast the impending arrival of summer and celebrate the biannual solstice with Southface Sangria and refreshing ice cream. With recipes provided by King + Duke Pastry Chef Chrysta Poulos, The Optimist Executive Chef Adam Evans and The Cook’s Warehouse Founder and CEO Mary Moore, there are sure to be plenty of summer sweets and savories to enjoy. These three top Atlanta foodies will be preparing dishes for the annual Southface Visionary Dinner at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on September 25. Come celebrate summer by attending one or both events. Southface members receive complimentary Summer Solstice party admission. By signing up for a membership on or before the party you'll get special perks such as a $25 discount per individual for a ticket to the Visionary Dinner, entry into a drawing for a free Visionary Dinner ticket and free admission on first visit to Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable. This day of fun is open to non-members too with a $25 Southface Fund donation. 

Enjoy All the Tastes of Atlanta This Weekend

Streetwise advice for the October 5-7 weekend is to move your mojo to Midtown for Taste of Atlanta surrounding Tech Square. Bantam + Biddy, Ecco, Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub, JCT. Kitchen & Bar, No. 246, The Optimist and Ray's Restaurants are a few of the more than 80 restaurants participating in the big foodie and sampling festival. Chill out with chefs, cocktails and grills gone wild at "The Big Grill" Friday night party at Tech Square. American Spirit Whiskey will shake up cocktails, beer and wine will flow and more than 20 restaurants will be represented at the kick-off event, including Ecco, JCT. Kitchen & Bar, No. 246 and The Optimist.

There's excitement brewing on the Home Plate Main Stage Saturday and Sunday as chefs go spoon to spoon. See Ecco's Craig Richards at 1:45 p.m. and No. 246's Drew Belline at 3 p.m. Saturday. JCT. Kitchen & Bar's Ford Fry will hit the stage Sunday at 12:30 p.m. for "Food that Rocks." The Optimist's Adam Evans will be in The Kitchen Workshop on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. followed by The Cook's Warehouse's Mary Moore at 4 p.m.  Will Harris of White Oak Pastures and Lance Gummere of Bantam + Biddy will lead a poultry session on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub Chef Joey Riley tackles tailgating by building steak sandwiches at 1 p.m. Saturday in The Grill Dome. Some events are over-21 only, but most are family friendly, including the Family Food Zone, which sizzles with fun classes and activities for all ages. Purchase tickets here.

Aria’s Gerry Klaskala Cooking Class at The Cook’s Warehouse on September 17

Put that bird to work! Gerry Klaskala of Aria finds a tantalizing way to use every part of the affordable bird, and he’s eager to share his ideas with attendees at a Simple Abundance cooking class at The Cook’s Warehouse – Brookhaven on Monday, September 17. 

Anyone who has dined at Aria knows Klaskala’s simple, modern dishes showcase the season’s freshest ingredients. And comfort food? Klaskala is king of slow food cooking that teases out every drop of flavor. His menu for the class, also on Facebook, includes honey- and soy-glazed almond wings, chicken soup with quick noodles, caramel black pepper drumsticks, coconut, lemongrass and red curry tenderloins, slow-braised thighs with preserved lemon and green olives, and breast with sweet garlic and goat cheese. 

The demonstration and wine tasting featuring wines from Sherlock’s Wine Merchant runs from 7 – 9 p.m., costs $55 per person and benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Sign up online.

Grill Master Robb Dillon of New York Butcher Shoppe Can Show You the Tricks of the Trade

On July 19, New York Butcher Shoppe's expert full-service butcher Robb Dillon is hosting a Grill Masters Workshop at The Cook's Warehouse in Brookhaven. The workshop is from 7 - 9 p.m. and will showcase the various ways you can fire up the perfect backyard cookout. Dillon will discuss different sizzling topics such as quality of meat, types of grills, how to choose and use the right grill and grilling vs. BBQ. The class menu includes burgers, steaks, beer can chicken, fish, vegetables and dessert. Cost is $50 per person and reservations can be made online.

The Cook's Warehouse - Brookhaven: 4062 Peachtree Road; 404-949-9945.

Learn to Cook Your Valentine’s Dinner with JCT Kitchen & Bar

Stay in with your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day to impress them with your sharpened cooking skills! JCT Kitchen & Bar executive chef/owner Ford Fry wants to teach you how to prepare the perfect dinner for your Valentine this year. The Simple Abundance cooking class will take place on Monday, February 7 at The Cook’s Warehouse – Ansley Mall and will benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Don’t worry about your Tupperware… With these items that you’ll learn to prepare, there won’t be any leftovers!

• Local arugula salad with bacon-wrapped figs and Thomasville bleu and burnt honey vinaigrette
• Poached oyster and Brunswick white shrimp with creamed Carolina Gold rice risotto
• Warm chocolate and banana brown butter almond cake with crème fraîche ice cream

The evening includes the demonstration and tasting of the meal and wine samples sponsored by National Distributors. There will also be a chance to win tasty door prizes, compliments of Bella Cucina Artful Foods and Cabot Cheese. The class is $55 per person and will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Seating is limited so make sure to purchase your tickets today!

The Cook’s Warehouse – Ansley Mall: 1544 Piedmont Road NE Ste. 403-R (Behind Blockbuster); 404-815-4993.

Heading Back to School This Winter

In need of a last minute gift for that foodie friend? How about a cooking class at The Cook's Warehouse? The Cook's Warehouse has released its Winter 2011 class schedule offering almost 150 classes across a broad spectrum of culinary interests and skill levels. Classes cover everything from basic knife skills to global cuisines to gluten-free cooking. Some of the upcoming guest chef instructors include Chef Ronen Skinezes of Manta Ray in Tel Aviv, Chef Jay Swift of 4th and Swift, Chef Khaled Chebbi of Social Resto, Chef Bennett Hollberg of Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse and Shane Thompson of Shane's Rib Shack.

If you want to build on your gift - add a cookbook from one of the visiting cookbook authors slated to visit such as Rebecca Lang, "Quick-Fix Southern;" Angie Mosier, Virginia Willis, Steven Satterfield and Lynne Sawicki, "Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook;" Gena Knox, "Southern My Way: Simple Recipes, Fresh Flavors;" and Anne Byrn, "The Cake Mix Doctor® Bakes Gluten-Free."

It's Follow Friday; Meet Our Tweep of the Week @cookswarehouse

From premier gourmet cookware and chef tools to a-ha moment classes and necessities for novices, Atlantans know they can turn to The Cook's Warehouse.  

Turns out you can follow them on Twitter at @cookswarehouse, too!  The Cook's Warehouse Owner Mary Moore unleashes volumes of info -- in tweets of 140 characters or less -- on classes, informative links, entertaining ideas, recipes and so on.  

We recently followed her tweets to find "10 Signs You're Wasting Money on Food," "Martha Stewart's 21 favorite Hanukkah recipes" and "The 7 best doughnut shops in America."  

Even on Twitter, The Cook's Warehouse lives up to its mission of providing "every excuse to cook!" 

Roasting, Tweeting and More - Oh My!

No doubt you've already heard about the Legends of Atlanta Hospitality Roast on Monday night - Chef Gerry Klaskala joining Anne Quatrano and Kevin Rathbun in the honoree chairs for this memorable evening benefiting the Atlanta Community Food Bank. BUT, have you already heard about the fantastic Twitter contest the ACFB is hosting in conjunction with this fun event?

The ACFB is having a giveaway on Twitter this Thursday (yes, tomorrow). At 2 p.m., a Tweet will be sent out with a video that has a question to answer. Respond within 30 minutes on Twitter with your answer and the hashtag #ACFBRoast, and you could win a really sweet prize courtesy of one of these amazing chefs or The Cook's Warehouse. Details and rules are on ACFB's Roast page. Start following ACFB on Twitter today to win!

Get Your Fill of Food, Fun and Five Bone Rack at Taste of Atlanta This Weekend!

Taste of Atlanta at Tech Square in Midtown is the place to be seen eating and drinking this Saturday and Sunday, October 23 and 24. With more than 70 restaurants participating, you're sure to leave satiated. Some of the highlights include the following Atlanta celebrity chef demos:

• Woodfire Grill Executive Chef/Partner and "Top Chef" star Kevin Gillespie will be on the main cooking stage from 2:45 - 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
• David DiCorpo of The Cook's Warehouse demonstrates his skills from 11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on Sunday
• JCT. Kitchen & Bar Executive Chef Ford Fry moves in Sunday afternoon from 2:15 - 3 p.m. to prepare lobster Carolina Gold rice
• Pacci Ristorante Chef Keira Moritz leads two cooking lessons on Sunday. At 1 p.m., she'll prepare lavender brown sugar-glazed braised pork belly on the Farm to Festival cooking stage. At 3:30 p.m. on the main stage, she'll be part of a Pink Power demo, showing off beef short rib with creamy polenta and auctioning off a few "pink" items to raise money for Susan G. Komen Foundation.

You won't want to miss Five Bone Rack, an all-chef band staring Ford Fry and Brian Horn of JCT. Kitchen & Bar, Gary Mennie of Woodruff Arts Center, Joe Truex of Watershed and Zeb Stevenson of Livingston, performing on Sunday from 3:45 - 4:15p.m.

Admission to Taste of Atlanta ($25 advance purchase, $35 at event) includes 15 taste tickets (attendees can buy more), and VIP Experience guests ($75) also have access to wine/beer/cocktail tasting tents, educational seminars and the Barcraft Competition. Click here for tickets!

How’s About Cooking Something Up With Me?

Apparently it’s not just to-die-for dishes and cutting edge cooking tips coming out of The Cook’s Warehouse kitchen these days – true love is on the menu! This past Friday night, cooking assistant Cyrus Bhedwar proposed to Naina Mehta as she taught an Indian cooking class. So sweet! 

The two have been dating for about a year and Cyrus thought that the class would be the perfect place to propose since they’ve had so much fun there together.

About 40 of the couples’ friends slipped in a back door to surprise Naina and celebrate her accepting the proposal! 

Congrats to the newly engaged couple – we wish you much happiness and lots of great times in the kitchen together in the years to come!

Sara Moulton Wows Crowds at Cook’s Warehouse

The culinarian’s calendar is always full in this town. After hearing reports about Sara Moulton’s recent classes at Cook’s Warehouse, we’re slapping our wrists for missing the event!
Current Good Morning America Food Editor and former Gourmet magazine chef Sara taught a class in each of Cook’s Warehouse’s three stores featuring recipes from her great new cookbook Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners. We hear reports that she was gracious and fun! If you missed the class, there’s still a limited supply of freshly autographed copies of her book available at Cook’s Warehouse.

Learn About Going Green at the 2010 Visionary Dinner Gala

If you’re green-minded, the 2010 Visionary Dinner Gala on Wednesday, March 31 at the Georgia Aquarium is for you! Plant funds and grow awareness for green job training, affordable housing, clean energy and high-performance building practices at the 5 – 10 p.m. event. We know of three green-conscious chefs heating up the evening: Chef Gerry Klaskala of Aria, Sous Chef E.J Hodgkinson from Woodfire Grill and Mary Moore of The Cook’s Warehouse. These three will join other star chefs to prepare a five-course feast featuring fresh, local items and ingredients from Whole Foods Market. Network, learn about profitable new ideas for greening the world, and listen to inspiring Jigar Shah of the Carbon War Room. Leave filled with good food, wine and visions of improving our world for future generations.

Uncork a Journey This Weekend

In case you haven't already heard, this weekend marks the 18th Annual High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction, one of the city's most popular events. From March 25 - 27, the nationally ranked wine auction will include several exciting food and wine events. If that doesn't have you revved up already, there is an extra element to this year's festivities: the March opening of The Allure of the Automobile exhibition at the High Museum of Art.

The custom-built schedule of activites includes events at The Cook's Warehouse - Midtown and The St. Regis Atlanta, winemaker dinners, wine seminars, the Beep Beep, Beep Beep, Yeah!: Vintners' Cup Golf Tournament at Eastlake Golf Club and the Vintners' Reception and Wine Auction under the tents at Atlantic Station on Saturday. Pacci Ristorante, Spice Market and Toulouse are Dine Around Dinner destinations on March 25. Aqua blue, Aria, JCT. Kitchen & Bar and Woodfire Grill also are participating in the weekend events.

Click here for more details.

Taste Of Atlanta Starts Tomorrow

It’s time to savor fall weather and fabulous food once again at this year’s Taste of Atlanta. The 8th annual outdoor food festival is being held in Midtown's Technology Square from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11. WaterHaven and EVOS will be among the more than 80 restaurants cooking up some of their specialties at the festival. In addition to trying all types of food, there will be demos by national and local chefs including a demonstration by Mary Moore, founder of The Cook's Warehouse, on the main cooking stage Sunday at 4 p.m. Tickets, including 15 taste coupons, are $25 per person through October 9 then $30 at the event; VIP tickets, available for guests 21 years of age and up, are $65 each and include the Wine and Beer Experience. Kids 13 and under are admitted free with a paid adult. Tasting coupons must be purchased for food samples. For more information, visit http://www.tasteofatlanta.net/.

The Cook's Warehouse in Midtown Hosts Pre-holiday Sale and Celebration November 14

Two weeks until Thanksgiving then it's a blink until New Year's Day! Perfect timing for the Friday, November 14 pre-holiday sale at The Cook's Warehouse Midtown, featuring discounts on Wusthof Trident knives and 10 percent off on Staub enameled cast iron cookware. Shoppers who stop in between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. that evening can sample wine and appetizers, watch cooking demos by Chef Michael Harnage from Toulouse and Chef Tony Ballester from Morton's Buckhead, and meet Staub Cookware Marketing Manager Matt Mozzer. Harold Wüsthof, seventh generation knife maker and president of Wüsthof Trident knives, will be at the store throughout the day. Add some $5 raffle tickets to your shopping basket for chances to win prizes and help Open Hand.

Open Hand helps people prevent or better manage chronic disease through Comprehensive Nutrition Care, which combines home-delivered meals and nutrition education as a means to reinforce the connection between informed food choices and improved quality of life.

The Cook's Warehouse - Midtown: 549-I Amsterdam Avenue; 404-815-4993.