NOTE: This is class is now full

There’s really only a small handful of opportunities for restaurants during these trying times outside of takeout, delivery, special meal kits, and feeding first responders.

Local breakfast and brunch favorite Prep & Pastry has been doing all that, but really wanted to get creative with being a valuable resource for the community. With the assistance from Summit Funding, they’re now offering free cooking classes. And while there’s value in a free cooking class by itself, this class includes all of the ingredients, too – for free.

“Our team has been doing our best to stay relevant and creative,” said Prep & Pastry owner Nathan Ares. “But we also wanted to continue connecting with people in the community, even though we can’t connect inside the restaurant.”

That’s when Prep & Pastry fan and regular Derrick Polder with Summit Funding’s Polder Group reached out to explore if there was a way they could lend a hand.

“After Derrick reached out about assisting us, Kyle (Nottingham) and I started throwing some ideas around,” said Ares. “We’d been having fun with cooking classes on Instagram but wanted to get a little more creative and try something that allowed us to connect a little more intimately. We’re so appreciative of Derrick Polder with the Polder Group in allowing us to do this at a time when every dime really counts.”

The first Prep & Pastry cooking class features Spring Carbonara. At this time, Ares says the classes will continue every other week until the quarantine is lifted. After that, classes may continue on a monthly basis.

Due to a high level of interest, the class is limited to the first 100 Tucson Foodie fans. To sign up, follow this link:

This class is now full.

Once you’ve signed up and been confirmed, instructions for required tools as well as instructions for where to pick up the pasta kits, which include Commoner & Co.’s housemade pasta, Prep & Pastry house bacon,  produce from Pivot Produce (local Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, and spinach), all ingredients for the sauce, and one organic egg.