Kitchen Rodeo
Kitchen Rodeo was an initiative I co-founded in 2020 in response to the circumstances we all found ourselves in during the COVID-19 pandemic - at home, with more time but less connection, and the need to feed ourselves. The idea was to bring people together to distance-cook with friends, enjoy tasty food, and give back to the community.
From late March 2020 to mid-2021, Kitchen Rodeo hosted over 80 virtual cooking events, or "rodeos," featuring both amateur and professional chefs. These interactive Zoom-based classes allowed participants to cook along, ask questions, and share their progress. The best part was that 100% of the proceeds from each rodeo went directly to a charity or restaurant employee fund chosen by the host.
In just over a year, Kitchen Rodeo raised more than $175,000 for various causes. Some of the longer-running rodeos, like the 20-hour focaccia class, demonstrated the community's enthusiasm for coming together over shared culinary experiences.
The name "Kitchen Rodeo" was inspired by the fun, spontaneity, and participatory nature of the format, as well as the idea that everyone could take their turn in the ring. We believed that in a time of uncertainty and isolation, community and creativity were more important than ever. Cooking was one of the great shared human experiences, and we were excited to re-emphasize this through Kitchen Rodeo.
My co-founders and I came from diverse backgrounds, including data science, design, and the culinary industry. Together, we built Kitchen Rodeo into a vibrant online community that brought people together over a shared love of food and a desire to make a positive impact.
This project allowed me to combine my passions for cooking, community building, and giving back. It showcased my ability to identify a need, create an innovative solution, and execute on it with a talented team. Although Kitchen Rodeo is no longer active, it was an incredibly rewarding and impactful endeavor that I'm proud to have been a part of.