Popular cooking class shutters after 22 years of classes, recipes and signature dishes

Kyla A Sanford, Tallahassee Democrat
·3 min read

A popular cooking course that provided novice chefs in the capital city with weekday classes, thousands of dishes, and recipes to last for years, is ending July 31.

The Publix Aprons Cooking School once served as a hub for date nights, a classroom for those from every walk of life, and a weekday hobby for 22 years.

In a shift to online, Publix is shuttering the conveniently located classrooms featured in 11 Publix locations in Georgia, Virginia, and Florida, including the Market at Village Square, 3521 Thomasville Road.

In Florida, Publix operated the cooking classes in Jacksonville, Plantation, Tampa, Lakeland, Sarasota, Winter Park, Orlando and Tallahassee.

Publix is shuttering its Aprons Cooking Schools at 11 sites across the Southeast and steering customers to its online cooking classes.
Publix is shuttering its Aprons Cooking Schools at 11 sites across the Southeast and steering customers to its online cooking classes.

“We’ve been consistently popular,” Village Square store manager Rhett Bagwell told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Bagwell said classes would bring in different audiences, selling out on a first-come, first-served basis.

Their most popular classes were the two-hour evening courses at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with registration starting at $50, and their summertime kids, teens, and juniors cooking courses held daily, also starting around the same price.

These exclusive courses would include a demonstration from an expert Publix Aprons chef displaying different techniques on how to prepare the featured recipe for the course, with samples and tips to take home.

The classes' final courses will include "Indulgent Eats: Upscale Diner Food", and "Summer Vegetable Celebration."

Jacob Taylor, who also manages the Village Square store, said the two chefs working at the cooking school will remain with the supermarket.

Full-service catering option also ending

Along with the Aprons Cooking School, Publix’s full-service catering option, which offered delivery and set-up services, is also ending July 31.

“Over the past several years, our customers’ needs have evolved,'' Hannah Herring, media relations manager for Publix, told the Tallahassee Democrat. “They’re learning to cook through online classes and ordering our wide variety of catering platters for pickup or delivery to host their own events.”

Publix now plans to highlight its "Gather and Share" feature online.

“Customers will still be able to choose from a selection of appetizers, sandwich platters, deli meals, desserts, and more from our ‘Gather and Share’ catalog and order those items for in-store pickup or Publix Delivery powered by Instacart,” Herring said.

How to still get access to cooking courses and catering options

White the kitchens closing, Publix is also highlighting its popular cooking classes online.

The free virtual classes are already available for streaming at consumers' convenience with over four seasons and 50 recipes to choose from on the show, featured on the Apron Cooking School website and YouTube channel.

Recipes range from summer treats to holiday platters, and worldly cuisines.

The virtual courses on the store’s YouTube channel are generating millions of views for several of their videos, including the blackened fish with triple corn grits and raspberry hot sauce recipe, posted on June 19.

Along with the step-by-step videos, the recipe is listed with links to also add these key ingredients directly to your Publix cart.

Democrat writer, Kyla Sanford can be reached at ksanford@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Publix closing Aprons Cooking School, ending full-service catering