DU’s revamped cooking club hosted a kick-off meal made for 75 students last Thursday at the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management to get the word out about the restructured club.

“We existed last year, but no one really knew about us,” club officer Grace Carpenter said.  “I’m impressed with the turnout, the food and the experience.”

Individuals who attend the club events held every few weeks will be required to sign up beforehand and then instructed on how to compose various dishes. Club members will be emailed with details for each meeting.

Carpenter, a junior in the HRTM program who is concentrating on restaurant management, attributed the choice to pre-make food for the first meeting of this school year, rather than teach, to a desire to attract a large crowd.

Cooking Club has 12 officers, most of whom are not students in HRTM.

“I saw the signs last year. I love to cook and I like to learn, so I signed up,” said Zach Gonzales, a sophomore in the Daniels College of Business .

Gonzales explained that he and other club members worked three hours Wednesday and another two the day of the event to concoct salad, three variations of lasagna, garlic bread, homemade tomato sauce and tiramisu for dessert for the event.

“It can get a little frantic – last minute runs to the store and gallons and gallons of sauce.  But it’s a lot of fun,” Gonzales said.

The club was created two years ago in the fall of 2009.  Carpenter and senior Judd McDonald approached Professor Raymond Liegl, casually called “Chef Raymond,” after taking a required first-year cooking class at HRTM. They suggested the concept for a  club in which students led cooking lessons for other interested students.

“We got $1,800 and had a couple events to test the waters,” McDonald said.

McDonald, who is classically trained in French and Italian cuisine and served as a chef at Wash Park Underground in 2010, explained that initially Cooking Club was DU’s “best kept secret.”

However, the manner in which cooking instructions were given and received by students was ineffective, he said. Therefore, this year, with much enthusiasm from the officers, they opted to break down the techniques.

“The evening was very organized, they had the timing down and plenty of food,” Liegl, an adjunct professor in HRTM said. “In general, there is one student chef that takes the lead, chooses the menu, gives instruction, buys the products.”

McDonald will lead the next event, on Friday, March 5.  Students will be required to pay between $5 and $10 depending on the ingredients required for the meal.

According to Carpenter, the cooking lessons will occur a couple times per month and locations will vary.  For each event, the number of participants is limited to 25 students.

“Cooking is awesome and a $5 gourmet dinner is even better,” said junior Max Eden, who attended the inaugural Cooking Club event.

This week’s sign up is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Driscoll Underground.

Though McDonald is unsure what his menu will consist of, the first lesson he intends to teach will include baking and sautéing.

“This will be a hands-on experience where students get to create and then consume what they created,” Liegl said.