Willy Street Co-op offering family cooking classes

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A local grocer is offering not only the ingredients for fresh meals, but an opportunity to learn the skills needed to serve them up. Willy Street Co-op offers cooking classes for kids and families, both virtually and in-person.

Chef Lily Kilfoy started teaching cooking courses 11 years ago at the Williamson Street location for kids as young as five years old. Since the pandemic hit, she has offered virtual classes only, but said in-person classes will start again soon.

Her “Kids in the Kitchen” classes are for children ages 5-12. After parents register their kids online, they are given a list of ingredients to purchase at Willy-Street Co-op ahead of tuning in from their own kitchens for the class.

“I do another series and that is called Cooking Together and that’s for ages 5 through any age. It’s for families and for various groups to be able to cook together,” added Kilfoy.

Kilfoy said she incorporates adventurous ingredients that attendees may not try otherwise. She also tries to offer as many Wisconsin grown and produced products as possible.

“I just get to watch them blossom and bloom. Watch their life skills grow and at the end we have a product that everybody can enjoy and it’s so much fun,” said Kilfoy.

Willy Street Co-op also has a partnership with the City of Madison and its library system to offer cooking classes on library grounds. The Co-op donates the food and Chef Kilfoy teaches the classes.

“I bring all the ingredients and all the equipment. We call it food literacy, so that kids can have an education and access to various ingredients that they might not otherwise be familiar with,” said Kilfoy.

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