Cooking Classes & Lessons
Learn to cook West African cuisine with Chef Kuukua Yomekpe's plant-based cooking classes and lessons at Asempe Kitchen in Ithaca, NY. Her passion for creating connections through food will leave you inspired to cook at home!
Cooking Classes
We just wrapped up our Winter classes but will be adding more for Spring soon!
Please submit your email address and we’ll notify you when they become available.
“My wife and I just did a private cooking class with Kuukua and had a blast! She was a great teacher and we learned a lot. She knows her stuff, very knowledgeable! We have already discussed doing another session with our daughter!” -Peter Dials
Private Lessons
For Individuals or Groups
Immerse yourself in a culinary journey, originating from my childhood in the lively city of Accra, Ghana. In this hands-on cooking lesson, you'll master the preparation of an appetizer and a main course, using a unique blend of local and imported ingredients.
Upon arrival, we'll kick off our session with a refreshing beverage, offering a window into my personal gastronomic journey. We'll then move into the kitchen, where we'll craft the dishes you've chosen in advance. Once our culinary creations are ready, we'll sit together, savoring our meals while sharing personal stories.
Please inform me of any food or spice sensitivities ahead of time. Aprons will be provided, and the cost is per person. Experience the fusion of flavors and storytelling in this memorable cooking lesson!
A Culinary Experience takes many forms. It could be a one-on-one with Chef Kuukua at your event, a Cultural presentation about the foods of Ghana interspersed with music or a food demonstration with your organization or institution. These start at $1000 for 20 or more people and are hosted at your venue. After 20 people, the fee is $40 per each additional guest. Adult and children groups are welcome.
Culinary Experiences
Your instructor
Chef Kuukua
Akwaaba! Atomo oo! Welcome! Let's eat! Chef Kuukua has been cooking for the past 28 years in various venues from Columbus, Ohio to Berkeley, California, and now in Ithaca, NY. She made it official and opened her own West African catering company and pop-up in 2016. She loves cooking, but she also loves sharing her culture with others and bridging the cultural divide through sharing a meal. She has won many an award and much recognition but what lingers is what people share with others and write back to say to her after they share a meal.
Chef Kuukua is a self-taught chef with influences from her maternal grandmother, Mama Kakraba, who was part British and Scottish and her nanny, Aunty Mercy who hailed from Cape Coast. At the feet of these two, over a charcoal stove called the Coal Pot, her love for food and its transformations was born. At the age of 18, Chef Kuukua arrived in the United States to join her family and pursue higher education and immediately got into cooking for her college mates. When she was not in class or doing her work-study jobs, she could be found creating meals with a skillet and wooden spoon alongside her best friend Carmen. Over the 28 years of being in the Unites States, Chef Kuukua has cooked and fed, and eaten with a great many people, most of whom remain friends today. When she meets someone for the first time, the first thing she says to them is: "Do you have any food allergies?" Then she proceeds to promise that she will cook for them.
I am Chef Kuukua and you are welcome in my kitchen. Oye edziban a...dzidzi. It's merely food…eat!