Our seasoned instructors and chefs are chosen to be part of our program because of their culinary expertise, sincere enthusiasm and talent for teaching. Along with great cooking ideas, our instructors share helpful nutrition advice and give you beyond-the-basic ways to incorporate your classroom experiences into your everyday cooking.
We’re always accepting applications for cooking instructors excited to share their skills and experience.
To apply, submit your resume and class proposal(s) to classes@pccmarkets.com. All applicants must develop a specific class and submit a Class Proposal Form.
More questions? Contact us.
Kausar is a chef, food stylist and cooking instructor with over 20 years of experience in South Asian culinary arts. She was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan where her mother taught her how to cook. She is the author of “The Karachi Kitchen”, a cookbook featuring classic and contemporary South Asian recipes from her childhood and motherhood. Kausar is best known for her work through Kitchen Craft, an organization she founded in 2009 that offers free nutrition and cooking workshops to women and youth in high-risk communities around Karachi, with the goal of promoting healthy eating and hygiene habits amongst impoverished families. The internationally-acclaimed entrepreneur has served as a chef, food stylist, cooking show producer and host, and culinary instructor in Pakistan and the United States.
Kausar's upcoming classesPaola grew up in Milan in a family devoted to making good food. When she moved to Seattle in 2005, she started matching local ingredients with regional Italian cooking. Paola began teaching cooking classes at PCC in 2011, and her background includes recipe development for the Italian branch of All Recipes. When she is not in the kitchen, Paola loves to spend time with her family, traveling and exploring new places and discovering new flavors. She believes a beautiful meal starts with fresh, seasonal ingredients, enjoyed with family and friends.
Paola's upcoming classesShawna is a former cook and baker, turned homeschool mom. After graduating culinary school, Shawna worked in several of Seattle's most acclaimed restaurants where she honed her culinary skills and developed a passion for Northern Italian cuisine, Middle Eastern cuisine, baking and pastry. These days, Shawna utilizes those professional skills in her home kitchen where she makes everything from butter to fermented foods, to multi-layer cakes and elaborate dinners. In the classroom Shawna looks forward to sharing her experience and knowledge to inspire the next generation of young chefs and bakers!
Shawna's upcoming classesLaurence grew up in Chantilly close to Paris with a family of food lovers. As a child, she spent time discovering the flavors of the local farmers markets where her parents were merchants. After more than 20 years in the telco business, she changed career paths to become a pastry chef. As a student at the Ateliers des Sens in Paris, she has been coached by world class teachers from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts in Paris. Laurence graduated with a French Pastry Chef professional certificate and shares her passion by teaching classes to students of all ages. Laurence loves revisiting traditional French pastries by updating them with spices and fresh herbs.
Sarah, or “Farmer Sarah,” has been farming and food gardening for over 20 years. She was Garden Coordinator for Seattle Tilth’s Wallingford, Bradner and Issaquah demonstration gardens, and taught both adults and children about food growing, seeds, soil, worms and other natural magic. In 1999, she and her husband Luke Woodward were the founding farmers of Oxbow Farm, where they farmed and taught until 2015. Now you’ll find Sarah at The Grange, her farm-to-table restaurant in Duvall, or farming at Hearth Farm in Carnation.
Sarah's upcoming classesLisa has loved the kitchen for as long as she can remember. While she has experience teaching school subjects to elementary students, as well as cooking and baking professionally, Lisa finds real delight helping people of all ages connect to food, empowering them to transform great ingredients into deliciousness for the whole family. When she’s not teaching, Lisa is busy bringing sourdough bread and other pastries, all made from locally-grown, locally-milled flours, to area Farmer’s Markets. Lisa is a member of the Bread Bakers Guild of America.
Lisa's upcoming classesRachel is the owner of Thyme to Nourish, a personal chef and food education service focused on whole foods and healthy eating. Trained at the Culinary Arts Program at The Art Institute of Seattle, Rachel spent her early years with a mom who loved to experiment with food. She also immersed herself in Southeast Asian and Indian cuisines while living in Malaysia. Today, Rachel focuses on providing good food to good people and can be found at Thyme2nourish.com.
Rachel's upcoming classesDarin Gagner began his culinary adventure more than two decades ago as a way to get out of a small town in Eastern Washington and into the city. Seeking out as many experiences as possible and moving from coast to coast, he worked at lobster shacks, pizza joints, fine dining restaurants, and landmark hotels. Not a born teacher or cook, he
was lucky enough to work with outstanding chefs that helped him become both.
Darin is a full-time chef and owner of Valley Sharp Knife Sharpening. He lives in Cle Elum with his wife and sons. When he is not in the kitchen or his shop (which is rare) he’s in the woods or by a lake enjoying fresh air and craft beer.
Zola was born and raised in Seattle by a family that loves to cook. She spent her early years cooking alongside her great-grandmother whom she credits as her greatest inspiration both in the kitchen and out. In 2016 she was offered a job as a pastry chef after making a wedding cake for her Aunt and Uncle and went on to gain experience in all manner of pastries and desserts from Italian gelatos to Parisian croissants. Though Zola has worked professionally as a pastry chef and baker, she maintains that her true passion is her role as a home cook and finds real reward in helping others find success in their own kitchens. When she's not teaching she spends her time writing, listening to history podcasts, and cooking extravagant meals for her family.
Zola's upcoming classesJay Guerrero has been working in food for over 15 years. After completing an MFA at Parsons School of Art in New York, Jay's creative interests moved into the culinary world and he ended up learning to cook under Gabrielle Hamilton, chef-owner of Prune restaurant. After time at Prune and then cooking in the Caribbean for a couple of seasons, Jay moved back to his hometown of Seattle and worked with Renee Erickson as head chef of Boat Street Cafe and Bar Melusine (now Boat Bar). In more recent years Jay has stepped off the line to concentrate on teaching at the Pantry, where he's been an instructor for several years. Teaching gives Jay a chance to share his experience in the kitchen so people can feel more comfortable trying out new flavors or techniques at home. When he's not teaching, Jay is learning about espresso, keeping a sourdough culture alive, and cuddling his dog (and 4 year old).
Jay's upcoming classesJane Hall is passionate about the home economy of cooking and baking, sustainable practices in the kitchen, health, wellness and delicious things for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She began working in the food industry at age 13 in a bakery and never looked back. After many years in bakeries and cafes, both front and back of house, she worked as a chef for a small software company. Having successfully raised her child on kale and goat cheese she is full of the desire to help others be creative in the kitchen while being mindful of the budget. In addition to teaching, Jane spends part of her time working at FareStart.
Jane's upcoming classesPranee learned to cook from her mother and grandmother in Phuket, Thailand. When she came to Seattle, she brought her mortar and pestle and began cooking for friends. She is now a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the owner of I Love Thai Cooking, where she teaches, and shares recipes and cooking wisdom. She goes to Thailand yearly to collect and preserve authentic recipes and is working on a cookbook. Pranee says, “You don’t need to visit Thailand to learn Thai cooking.”
Pranee's upcoming classesShama joined PCC after a 14-year tech career at Microsoft and a brief but wildly successful stint as food truck entrepreneur. Her truck, Roll OK Please, delighted locals with fresh paneer and kathi rolls and even received national recognition from Anthony Bourdain. Now she shares her passion for food and knowledge of regional Indian cuisine through cooking classes. Shama loves demystifying Indian culinary techniques, and showcasing the incredible diversity of dishes and flavors found in Indian cooking.
Shama's upcoming classesBrittany-born Emma is proud of her Celtic heritage. She learned to make crêpes from her mother, who learned from hers, probably before learning to read. Half of the restaurants in Brittany are crêperies, and Emma is passionate about sharing the authenticity of Breton culture and its cuisine with others. When not cooking, Emma runs a nonprofit, TINFA.org, dedicated to empowering teachers in underserved areas of the world.
Emma's upcoming classesChef Ben Leonard brings together cooks from around the world to bond over cooking fresh, delicious, healthy food (with a good helping of food puns sprinkled on). He believes that our lives are made better through our relationship with food and cooking - making for greater connections with ourselves, loved ones and communities.
Born and raised in central Maine, Ben has taken the flavors of his youth and built on them with a global perspective. For many years he worked his way up the ranks in one of Maine’s most celebrated restaurants before moving to Los Angeles and taking on the local food scene there. After working with renowned chefs in Los Angeles, he became the Resident Chef at Sur La Table in the Los Angeles area where he ran one of the most successful cooking programs in the company. Now living in Seattle with his husky, Graham, Ben has spent the last two years teaching thousands of people across the country and the world to cook via live, interactive, online cooking classes.
Joanna Lepore Dwyer is a chocolate maker, pastry chef, and artist. She is passionate about creating culinary experiences to encourage connections between individuals and where their food comes from! She holds a certificate in sensory science from The Institute of Food Technologists, a BFA in Sculpture, and 20+ years’ experience in fine pastry, chocolate making, and culinary training in NYC and Seattle including a 10-year stint at Theo Chocolate as head of Product Development.
When she is not helping national chocolate brands develop new products and training QC teams in sensory science, she works with a colleague under the moniker A Matter of Taste to incorporate culinary experiences into Corporate and Non-Profit professional development agendas.
Nancy Leson thinks cooking is fun and easy, and she’s here to prove it to you. The Seattle-based food writer and radio personality has been cooking since she was a kid and learned much of what she knows about food during her first career, waiting tables at some of the country’s finest restaurants. You may know her as "the mouth that scored" for the better part of two decades as the restaurant critic and food columnist for the Seattle Times and as a food commentator for NPR member station KNKX. These days, when she’s not busy in her favorite room in the house, her kitchen, you’ll find her teaching cooking classes, hosting food tours, and Goodwill-hunting for cookbooks and kitchenware. She is also helping to end hunger, one loaf at a time, as a neighborhood-coordinator for the non-profit baking brigade Community Loaves (ask her about it!). Find Nancy at www.nancyleson.com.
Nancy's upcoming classesYary Oslund is a Cuban national who came to the United States in 2003. She acquired her love and respect for food from her mother, who has been a chef for 40 years. Trained at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle, Yary shares her passion for cooking natural foods while giving students an unforgettable culinary experience. Yary also graduated as a Functional Nutrition Therapy Practitioner in 2001 and currently advises her clients on the nutritional value of food and different styles of eating.
Yary's upcoming classesBrandon Rouge is a local Seattle-born chef who is passionate about cooking healthy and delicious plant-based foods. Having struggled with his own personal health issues and dietary restrictions over the past two decades, Chef Rouge seeks to help people heal themselves while enjoying good food. He specializes in making allergen-friendly plant based versions of traditional comfort foods using whole food ingredients. In addition to cooking, Rouge is an avid Qi Gong Enthusiast, Meditation Practitioner, and Puppy Whisperer.
Brandon's upcoming classesMarianna is a pastry chef and Washington native who grew up in the central part of the state. After several years in the veterinary industry, Marianna switched careers and now teaches cooking all around the Puget Sound and as far east as Snoqualmie. Marianna focuses on technique-driven classes and loves to demystify the cooking and baking process and its associated sciences.
Marianna's upcoming classesChef Carol received a BS at the University of Illinois in Hotel Restaurant Management, an Associates in Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of America-NY, and a Masters in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Roosevelt University.
After working for various restaurant groups in Chicago, she went on to teach Culinary Arts at the Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago for 12 years as an Associate Professor. Carol and her partner moved to Seattle in 2016 to run a program teaching engineers to cook for a tech company.
Carol enjoys the outdoors and when the weather permits, you'll find her on the hiking trails and camping whenever possible. She is always thinking about what her next meal is and loves to cook for family and friends.
Eleni was born and raised in Ethiopia. After moving to the United states in 2001, she worked in accounting for a few years. After her first son was born Eleni found herself at home with a lot of time to recreate the kind of dishes she enjoyed growing up in Ethiopia. This time cooking inspired her to begin sharing those dishes with others, and she established her Ethiopian food business, Eleni’s Kitchen. Eleni’s kitchen has been catering traditional Ethiopian food in Portland, OR for the last eight years. Eleni also teaches Ethiopian cooking classes at Portland Community College.
Eleni's upcoming classesCam never planned to leave her career as an award-winning journalist, but a life spent cooking — and teaching others the joy of it — finally proved too irresistible. She received her professional culinary training from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to her work at PCC, she teaches several innovative multidisciplinary cooking classes at Edmonds Heights K-12, covering everything from world folklore and history to science and environmental policy. Her food writing has appeared in publications including The Boston Globe. Follow her on Instagram: @hummingbirdculinary.
Cam's upcoming classes