If you harbor an equal hunger for food and literature, you’ll find healthy helpings of both at the Plot to Plate Book Club at The Kitchen House in College Park.
Once a month, foodie bookworms assemble at the culinary center to prepare five to six dishes themed to a specific novel or nonfiction work. The results are served buffet style and attendees sit around a big table to eat and talk about the book being read.
The next sessions will spotlight The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living (Tuesday, November 10), a semi-autobiographical fish-out-of-water story by novelist and pastry chef Louise Miller, and The School of Essential Ingredients (Thursday, December 3), a tale of a cooking class that evolves into a journey of personal discovery by Erica Bauermeister. Start time is always 6 p.m.
Each monthly meeting is facilitated by Kitchen House Program Manager Megan Amnott, a professional chef who holds a degree in culinary science from Le Cordon Bleu’s College of Culinary Arts, and Program Director Juliana Calloway, co-owner of the Black Rooster Taqueria in the ViMi District.
Some ingredients used when cooking are harvested from the garden just outside the facility. Recipes may be for dishes featured expressly in the relevant text or simply inspired by it in other ways. Literary genres explored by the club run the gamut from memoirs to fantasy to mystery to novels that have been turned into hit films.
“People are always giving us suggestions about books that they want to do,” says Calloway. “It’s really endless.” (But if you ever see that they’re featuring To Kill a Mockingbird, perhaps don’t ask for seconds.)
Opened in 2017, The Kitchen House today maintains an events calendar that includes several classes and gatherings per month, some targeted to adults and others to kids. The Plot to Plate meetings, though, are for ages 18 and up. Advance tickets are required and participation is capped at 20 attendees per session.
The Kitchen House is located at 26 East King Street, Orlando. For more information, visit the website.
