We could not be more thrilled to share this idea with you for an alternative bridal shower, bachelorette party, or a wedding gift. League of Kitchens offers small cooking workshops for you and your friends hosted by immigrant women in their New York City homes.

What is the mission of The League of Kitchens?

The League of Kitchens is an immersive culinary adventure in New York City where immigrants teach intimate cooking workshops in their homes. Our mission is to create opportunities for culinary learning and discovery, cultural engagement and exchange, meaningful connection and social interaction, and exceptional eating and drinking. Through this experience, we seek to build cross-cultural connection and understanding and increase access to traditional cooking knowledge.

What is The League of Kitchen's origin story?

The League of Kitchen’s origins are based in founder Lisa Gross’ own experience. Her mother is a Korean immigrant who came to the U.S. in the 1970s, and her father is American of Hungarian Jewish descent. When she was growing up, Lisa’s Korean grandmother lived with her family and cooked lots of amazing Korean food, but whenever Lisa wanted to help, her grandmother would shoo her out of the kitchen and tell her to focus on her studies. After college, when Lisa started cooking for herself and fell in love with cooking, she wanted to cook Korean food, but by that time her grandmother had passed away, so she couldn’t learn from her. Lisa tried to teach herself from cookbooks and the internet, but nothing she made was ever as good as when her grandmother made it. She realized that there are lots of small subtle techniques and methods that differentiate good food from great food and that you really have to learn those things from a person. This realization led to a fantasy of cooking with lots of “grandmothers” all over the city from different cultures and backgrounds. As Lisa further developed this idea, it became just as much about using food and cooking as a way to create meaningful opportunities for social interaction and cross-cultural exchange, as it was about culinary learning.

What is one of your favorite projects you've ever worked on?

Hiring a new instructor is a fantastic project, every time. We love learning about new cuisines and cultures from our instructors’ unique perspectives. The process of translating a new instructor’s generations-old, passed-down dishes into written recipes that we can share with our students is incredibly fun and rewarding.

How are you a "wedding space disrupter"?

League of Kitchens workshops disrupt both the traditional wedding activity-throwing and gift-giving spaces because they are unique, fun and meaningful experiences that will not be forgotten. Whether you’re trying to come up with a special and adventurous activity for a bachelor/ette party weekend in NYC, or looking to host an unexpected, tea sandwich-free bridal shower: a private League of Kitchens workshop provides a celebratory and delicious time for all. LK gift certificates are also a great, disruptive idea for the couple who would prefer the unique gift of cooking, connection, and culture over (another) set of plates.