CookSpace Hawai‘i Is Back!
The space that taught kitchen skills and stress-free recipes is back in a new spot. First up: slow and easy Sunday dinners taught by local chefs.
The first class at CookSpace 2.0: Learn how to make tortillas on Oct. 6 with Raíz Tortillas. Photo: Courtesy of Raíz Tortillas
The final issue of Honolulu Weekly in June 2013 was all about food. I was on the editorial team that spent weeks hunting down 100-plus dishes, experiences and tidbits. Among them was a story by my friend Jamie Noguchi about a new 1,000-square-foot kitchen space at Ward Warehouse. CookSpace had just launched, offering classes that taught basic culinary skills and how to cook things like less-stress brunch and plant-based and gluten-free dishes.
Four years later CookSpace closed ahead of the warehouse’s demolition, and I regretted never having signed up for a class. So when I got an email last week announcing its return at nearby Ala Moana Center, I hopped on a call with co-founder Melanie Kosaka to find out more.
“We wanted to start doing this sooner than later. Part of the thinking was people now seem so divided, and we thought cooking is something that brings people together, and people can celebrate cultural differences,” says Kosaka, a passionate home cook with a background in food media. “So we need to do this now.”
CookSpace relaunches this weekend with Simmer Sundays, focusing on slow and easy meals. The first one is with chef Ramón Germán of Raíz Tortillas at the former Forty Carrots space in Bloomingdale’s at Ala Moana Center. A $90 ticket includes a welcome drink and appetizer, a lesson in making tortillas, then eating them with carnitas, guac and salsa. Participants will take home Raíz tortillas and get 25% off Le Creuset products at Bloomingdale’s that day. Classes will continue there through the end of the year and are geared toward anyone age 14 and up.
Photo: Courtesy of Raíz Tortillas
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Kosaka’s partner in the new CookSpace is Megan Tomino, a culinary producer and food stylist who helped start original CookSpace and returned home after spending time on the mainland. (Jason Kim, also involved in the beginning, has since moved to Los Angeles.)
“I think when we started, there was definitely an interest in cooking, but coming out of the pandemic, so many people have now gotten into cooking and really see it as something that they want to do, like an everyday activity,” Kosaka says. Plus, it’s a fun way to make friends and support small businesses and diverse food traditions. “The more that we can service that and bring that to life is a good thing.”
Follow CookSpace on Instagram or sign up for its newsletter for updates on the class schedule and other events. The next class will be with Istanbul Hawai‘i on Nov. 3.
Simmer Sundays with Raíz Tortillas, Oct. 6, 1–3 p.m., Bloomingdale’s Ala Moana, third floor, $90, cookspacehi.com, @cookspacehawaii
