okay, perfect SPECIAL EDITION: We bought a restaurant (?!?!)

Plus a LIVE cooking demo tomorrow (!!!!) AND a Cabbage Recipe

Today’s newsletter is especially for Super Supporters BUT everyone gets to read about OUR RESTAURANT! . Those who pay $200 a year to be here. And join me in super fun, and very intimate cooking classes a couple times a year. THE FIRST is tomorrow at Noon Eastern time. If you can’t make it live, I will post the recording here too! (Locked for super subscribers only)

If you still want to join, you can upgrade to a super supporter membership. And join us LIVE or get the recording.

I think the whole crew is still in a bit of shock. We bought a restaurant. And not just any restaurant. A two story, 1500+ square foot restaurant.

Even writing that (and I’ve written it multiple times) doesn’t feel real. I bought it because it was the right thing to do. Not necessarily the easy thing. But definitely the right thing. But the space has been in deep deep neglect for nearly three years. The interior looks as if the team threw a hula themed party, and then shut the doors for two years.

We’ve found trays of dirty dishes. Hawaiian shirts. A mannequin head. A shower. Asbestos (which we have since had to mitigate). Grease traps filled to the brim. Years of grease. It’s been…a lot to navigate. But there are lights at the end of the tunnel.

It’s kitchen is about three times the size of the La Peetch kitchen. There is a 20 person, private terrace. A 20 ish person dining room. A bar area for another dozen. And an upstairs that will soon be the FLAGSHIP location of the Courageous Cooking School. We’re working with Alison Kent to really maximise the space–a kitchen designer who we love fiercely and has been a lifetime member of our online school since 2020. She’s joining us here in France in just a few weeks to help us ensure we’re using the space effectively, especially for the new cooking school space.

What do I mean by the FLAGSHIP location? Since, yes, technically La Peetch is the first location. But the thing is, La Peetch isn’t really big enough for what we long to do. Our mission as a company is to provide world-class education programs that engage with increasing human capacity to flourish.

That’s a lot of words, but world-class education should be more attainable. And La Peetch’s small size makes our prices…expensive. Our colleagues in the ‘tourism as cooking school experience in France’ all have space for at least 10 people at a time. The math is just better for 10 to 12 people. Our programs require 6 full-time humans, 50 weeks a year, to keep the doors open. For only 6 people a week. We could easily scale that in terms of teaching efficacy but the minuscule size of La Peetch makes it nearly impossible.

BUT! Having a bigger space–built very much to be a cooking school–gives us infinitely more options.

What does that mean for us? We’re not sure…Yet. But we know that we have things to ponder, and systems to build to help make our company more equitable, share the ‘gospel of easy home cooking for food lovers’ for effectively, and we’re all ready for some changes.

NOW for SUPER SUPPORTERS! Below the paywall, you’ll see the log-in deets for tomorrow. AND a bonus early reveal of my FAVORITE recipe from my cookbook. It won’t be released until publication date to anyone else. ;) If you’re not a super supporter yet, consider joining.