Publix Aprons Cooking School ends after 22 years in Sarasota, other Florida locations

Samantha Gholar, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read

The Publix grocery chain, Florida's most well-known supermarket based in Winter Haven, ended its once-popular Publix Aprons Cooking School in store locations across the Sunshine State on July 31, including the large culinary space inside the University Parkway Publix Location in Sarasota.

The grocery giant famous for its Pub Sub sandwiches, local produce, and friendly employees and staff, once boasted 11 in-store culinary spaces in select stores. The Apron Cooking School, designed to give everyday customers the chance to enhance their cooking skills and enhance their recipe arsenal, nixed the in-store cooking classes after 22 years.

A Publix Aprons Cooking School class at the University Parkway Publix grocery store in 2015.
A Publix Aprons Cooking School class at the University Parkway Publix grocery store in 2015.

The Publix Apron Schools Univesity Walk location in Sarasota hosted its final class on July 31, a summer vegetable cooking celebration led by chef Jim Hendry, before transitioning its culinary education to a fully virtual experience on Aug. 1.

"Over the past 22 years since we opened our first cooking school, customer needs have evolved. So, we’ve decided to close our in-store Aprons Cooking Schools and discontinue our full-service catering efforts," Publix media relations manager Hannah Herring said.

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.

Publix moving cooking instruction online

All 11 chef-led, in-store cooking classes have now shifted online Publix officials said late last week. Besides Sarasota classes were offered in Jacksonville, Plantation, Tampa, Lakeland, Winter Park, Orlando and Tallahassee.

Customers and culinary novices are able to access hundreds of seasonal recipes, demonstration videos, and cooking tips through Publix's online YouTube channel and virtual classrooms.

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

"We are still here to help meet our customers’ entertaining and catering needs through our Gather & Share catalog and will continue to invest in our online cooking school," Herring said.

The store's new Gather & Share virtual option serves customers' catering needs and chooses from a selection of appetizers, sandwich platters, deli meals, desserts, and more. The items ordered through Gather & Share will be available for in-store pickup or Publix Delivery via Instacart.

This report includes reporting from the Tallahassee Democrat.

Samantha Gholar covers retail news for the Herald-Tribune and social justice USA TODAY Network-Florida. Connect with her at sgholar@gannett.com or on Twitter: @samanthagholar

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Publix closes Aprons Cooking School, ends full-service catering