About Class Cooking
Kim had retired effective Oct 31 2023.
Class Cooking is the culmination of Chef Kim Mahan's years of training and exploration in the culinary field, complimented by a background in fine arts, psychology and education.
Chef Kim's small-group gourmet cooking classes will happen occasionally moving forward.
Kim Mahan is a Portland, Oregon native. Her passion for cooking and great food started auspiciously and early as a survival skill against her mother's 1960's era Hot Dog Pizza and homemade TV dinners. Her first paying job came at the age of 16 at Burgerville in Hillsboro. Kim earned degrees in Fine Arts and Developmental Psychology from Portland State University, and after years of teaching preschool and preschool education, decided to get serious about her growing passion for cooking. She trained at the Clark College Culinary Program and had internships at the Grant House Café under chef Chris Stone, the Bread and Ink Café, Vancouver Pizza (where else do you learn to throw a pizza crust?), and Chez Phillipe in Barcelona, Spain.
Kim's first professional culinary endeavor was a catering company called Chez Vous, which came to an early end when her husband Mark's career transferred to Barcelona for a couple of years. During the time the family was in Spain, they made a serious attempt at dining in as many excellent restaurants as possible, developing a great love for Spanish, Catalan, and other cuisines of the Mediterranean region. Kim began her culinary teaching career there, holding cooking classes for the expatriate trailing spouses. She professes that one of her greatest accomplishments was teaching an Italian woman how to make pasta.
Since her adventures in Spain, Kim has continued to teach cooking classes and to cater many different events. She has been a chef for the yearly "Our House" fundraiser for the Portland HIV/Aids support organization for 16 years. Managed the dinner part of the yearly Dinner Theater production at the Vancouver School for Arts and Academics for 5 years. Kim was the unofficial but greatly appreciated volunteer chef for her daughter's schools. She currently caters the bar tour for Tiki Kon, Tiki mugs and tropical drinks are a passion.
When Kim's home kitchen was transformed into a "classroom ready" space in 2005, it was time for Class Cooking and Catering to be born. After 8 years Kim designed and built a new commercial kitchen classroom and changed the business name to Class Cooking. Kim now teaches several cooking classes each month and caters regularly at Burnt Bridge Cellars to very appreciative clients in her new kitchen/classroom at 110 E. 15th St in downtown Vancouver, Washington.
