Yep....several groups...one was called something like "Things I Never Had Before" and you had to bring something new....and another was just a pot luck with each person assigned a part of the meal....sometimes there was a theme....sometimes not.
It's fun!
Linda C

Tim, first of all welcome and never worry about starting a thread here that may have been discussed before. We are very laid back and casual and love talking cooking, not too many rules but you are taking your life in your hands if you want to talk cornbread!

I have belonged to two different types of cooking clubs over the years. Both were a lot of fun.

The first was when I was younger, much younger. There were three couples at first and then four. We really cooked together. We had a theme that we all agreed on and then we were each assigned a course. The courses were rotated so if you did appetizers one month you may do dessert the next.
Each person selected their recipe, bought the ingredients and then we cooked the recipes together. It was fun and we learned a lot from each other. We rotated homes.

The second one was different. Together we agreed on the theme or cuisine and then the host for that month prepared the entire meal.

I have heard of dinner clubs where everyone brings a dish based on a theme, just never did that, but think it would work just fine.

One word of caution, share recipes, enjoy the food , crank up the music, chat and laugh...but don't help each other understand how they could have made the dish better! LOL

Sounds good to me and fun!

For several years I belonged to a "Gourmet" group that centered around herbs - growing, cooking with herbs, preserving, etc. We got together about once a month or so with usually a theme for dinner. One time we made fresh stuffed pasta ravioli, another time we fixed osso bucco, and in late winter we prepared several soups and served lunch to a group of farmers who grew herbs commercially and were having a meeting in our area.

I think one important factor is that all the participants really enjoy cooking and are not in the habit of stopping by and picking up some slaw or chips from the local deli to bring to the meal. If homemade, "from scratch" dishes are what you want to focus on, then, make that known from the very start. There is not a thing wrong with setting high standards. And, there is nothing wrong with having a potluck where some make dishes from scratch and others bring a bucket of chicken from KFC. You just have to decide what the standards are for your group.

My parents belonged to a cooking club years ago. There would be a theme such as "Hawaiian Night", etc. and each couple was assigned part of a meal-appetizers, main course, side dishes, dessert, paper goods, decorations. Meetings rotated from one home to the next. Good planning went into fun times for all.

Belonged to a cooking group that met once/month. Each month, we chose a different country & everybody brought a dish representative of that country. We didn't really worry about appetizer, entree, & dessert...just bring something from that country. It was fun & lasted a couple years before child rearing interrupted our schedules.

/tricia

Wow! Sounds like there is a lot of great cooking and sharing recipes going on all around me and I didn't even know it. I loved hearing all the different ways food brings people together.

I know the two other people I am starting this group with are very much into cooking from scratch. We enjoy all the different combinations of ingredients, and the really fun part of changing recipes to try to improve them for our individual taste. Teresa, your thoughts are good as the group grows. We need to make sure that we all clearly understand what we want out of the group.

Chase, I understand that we don't want this to become a critique of anyones recipe or taste. What I was kind of thinking was that someone in the group might have experience with an ingredient or cooking technique that could help the rest of the group grow in their cooking skills. It does become a slippery-slope. To make sure no one has their feelings hurt, we should probably avoid it all together.

I just sent out our first note to get together in March. I am sure we will discuss how the group will operate. I will let you all know how things turn out.

Thanks for your discussion. Can't wait to tell you more.

Tim

Hi, Tim. I'm jealous! Now that I finally have time to participate in something like this again, it seems like all my friends are so enjoying the early stages of Empty Nest Syndrome they don't even want to think about cooking for awhile. lol I'm hoping they'll get over the burn-out from the three-meals-a-day-every-day grind soon.

It's been my experience that the first kind of club chase mentioned (the one where you actually cook the meal together instead of just eating with the group) has lots of advantages. One is sort of psychological. It eliminates a lot of potential competitiveness and stress. I have a good friend who used to break out in hives every time it was her turn to host the gourmet club dinner. She was a great cook, but she was terrified that her entree (which the host couple always prepared) might not meet the group's very high expectations. Sort of took all the fun out of it! If you make it together, nobody has to try to outdo anybody else, because everybody gets equal credit for the successes. And nobody has to feel miserable about a flop, because there's no individual 'blame' involved. It was just a group project that didn't quite work out. These things may not be of any concern at all among the original members -- but the more people you add, the more likely that competitiveness may become an issue.

The main thing, though, is that it's just so much more educational. One may be a fabulous baker but be seriously challenged when it comes to making a roux. Another may be a past master at preparing seafood dishes but have poorer knife skills than the rest of you. Only by working together in the same kitchen can you share your strengths and improve your weaknesses. Otherwise, it can still be great fun, but it's really more of a 'tasting' club than a cooking club. jmo

Hope it works out great! Let us hear.

sm

We had a group of 10 ladies at work that did this once a month. I always got "stuck" coordinating this - I would send out an email to everyone with the "theme" for the month. Then we would start a sign-up list of sorts. We rotated every month on who brought the main dish.

It was loads of fun. We did Mexican, Italian, Down-home Southern, Retro 50's and 60's, etc. etc. etc.

Please keep us posted on your progress and give us details and pictures if possible!!!

Tim, it sounds kind of like the virtual dinners we do on this forum, but in person instead of across the wires and air waves. The most recent one we had was a pizza dinner.

I don't know enough people that actually cook, or have the same ideas about food that I do to have a club like you're describing, other than the people on this forum. It sounds like a fun way to have get togethers.

Sally

Here is a link that might be useful: Virtual pizza party