One of Tucson's only schools for at-home cooks will close May 1, the victim of a declining economy and rising food costs.
"It's just become harder and harder to run a profitable cooking school," Judith Baigent said of her 15-year-old Culinary Concepts, in Plaza Palomino, at East Fort Lowell and North Swan roads.
She and her staff are teaching their final classes on preparing tacos and cocktail appetizers, the art of Asian food and the basics of broiling and grilling.
Culinary Concepts' demise will leave the area with one outlet for home cooks — Cuisine Classique, run by Bob and Mardi Burden in their Oro Valley home — and several occasional community cooking classes, including sessions held by Janos Wilder at his namesake restaurant.
Culinary Concepts' retail business, where you could get the latest silicon bakeware alongside specialty sugars and handcrafted jams and condiments, already is winding down, Baigent said.
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Baigent has had the business on the market for the past year. There have been three serious offers, and all fell through when the potential buyers "decided they couldn't commit to the long hours," she said. Baigent and her staff work six days a week, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., she estimated.
Baigent opened Culinary Concepts 15 years ago to teach people basic cooking principles.
"My goal has always been for families and people to have fun in the kitchen," she said.
But it has become harder in light of rising gas and food prices. Most people are reining in their discretionary spending, which hurts businesses like Baigent's.
"I can't raise the cost of classes because this is a discretionary (purchase)," she said.
Gas prices have risen at least 10 percent since Jan. 1, and food costs have jumped 4 percent over last year, according to the latest federal economic analysis. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the price for staples such as bread, milk, eggs and flour are up even more over last year. Milk, for example, costs 26 percent more than it did a year ago; eggs, 40 percent more.
Cuisine Classique's Bob Burden said he, too, has been hurt by increased food costs, but he has taken creative steps to cushion the blow. He often buys in bulk and freezes when he can, and he buys his fresh fish and organic vegetables from the 17th Street Market instead of the pricier AJ's Fine Foods.
"At the same time, we've had so many customers come from Dove Mountain and places where the economy is not going to zap them," Burden said. "Food costs make a difference, but we probably have some built-in advantage in that we are doing it from our home."
Baigent, who recently married, said she plans to retire.
"I've worked very, very hard for the last 15 years here. I have a new husband, and I would like to have fun and not be tied down," said Baigent, a native of New Zealand who has lived in the United States 36 years.
Cooking classes
• Cuisine Classique — Premier gourmet cooking. Located at 1060 W. Magee Road, in Oro Valley. The nine-week basic cooking course starts Tuesday. Cost: $500 for all nine weeks, $59 for individual session. Register: 797-1677 or online at www.cuisineclassique.com.
• Janos Wilder will demonstrate chile use with recipes from his soon-to-be released book, "The Great Chiles Rellenos Cookbook," on April 26. The class is held at his restaurant, 3770 E. Sunrise Drive. Cost: $50. To reserve a spot, call 615-6100 or visit online at www.janos.com.
• The Tubac Culinary School, 50 Avenida Goya, in Tubac, offers classes Sundays and Mondays, and a Chef's Table — the chef will cook for you and answer your questions — Tuesdays-Saturdays. Costs: $44-$86. Details: 398-8501 or online at www.tubacculinaryschool.com.