The Garden’s Kitchen Cooking Studio in San Luis Obispo will open its doors to the public in a grand opening doubling as a charity fundraiser Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.
Ashleigh Hutchison, the kitchen’s owner and operator, said she came up with the concept of the studio after having lived in, and been exposed to, the food culture of San Francisco and Hawaii.
After teaching private cooking lessons in people’s homes and catering events at local wineries, she realized a demand for this type of business.
“It’s just a really neat scene that we have on the Central Coast that has food and wine as a part of culture,” Hutchison said. “So I wanted to kinda do something different and I’d come up with the idea of opening a cooking studio where we could create what is really just going to be a hands on area that allows people to come in and learn how to cook something, but is still in a very informal setting.”
The open house will feature cooking demonstrations, wine pouring and a raffle to benefit Transitions Mental Health Association, a local nonprofit agency devoted to helping at-risk youth and disabled adults. There will also be live music and, of course, food for visitors to enjoy.
The studio, located at 710 Fiero Lane, has already seen action in its newly-renovated location in a converted warehouse, providing much more space than an ordinary kitchen.
“We’re really open to interpretation,” Hutchison said. “There’s so much that can be done there. It’s a 1,200 square foot place. The kitchen’s huge.”
Theme nights, including couples’ night, girls’ night, guys’ night and kids’ cooking lessons will be held in September and October.
“It’s just fun,” she said. ” We can probably have five or six people in the kitchen at a time.”
Since the studio has already been open for lessons, Hutchison said she sees Saturday’s event as an opportunity to give back to the community for her success.
Hutchison met representatives of Transitions while taking part as a vendor in another event, the June 7 SLO Wine and Grill Affair.
“When she (Hutchison) decided to hold her grand opening she offered to use part of it as a fundraiser for Transitions. Of course we were just thrilled and delighted and very grateful,” said Hannah Brown, a Transitions staff member.
“Any private donations are certainly appreciated right now,” she said. “The administrative costs of our programs are well under 10 percent, so people who donate can be confident knowing that the vast majority of what they donate goes to directly to client services.”
For a suggested $20 donation, attendees will receive a commemorative wine glass and five raffle tickets for a chance to win a range of items and services.
“Those who win the raffle are going to get some really great prizes,” Brown continued. “There’s massage packages and there’s also catering and wine and so on.”
Other prizes include plants from the program’s nursery that specializes in native flora, as well as gift certificates and products donated by merchants from around the county.
“I’m just really excited about it. I’m really excited at the opportunity to have this extension of myself and be able to share it with everybody,” Hutchison said.