What shall I call my business?

[lontok2005]

Class Cooking

 

[ymu]

I don't think Cook to Cook is bad at all. It works well with the "101 things every cook should cook @ home" tagline suggestion, which ties it in well with your best asset - the 101 blog. If you can find a phone number which ends 101 121 that'd be absolutely perfect.

 

[scifisam]

I see what you're saying, but the bad puns just aren't doing it for me. Frantastic, Fran's Flans, Frannie rhymes with Fanny oh ho ho ho etc are not going to happen. Cook to Cook is what my business is - one cook teaching another how to. And cooking just for the sake of cooking - to have fun, to create, to take it beyond just being a chore, that's the sort of thing I want to do. And you're not going to mistake what the business is with that name. And it looks good on promo materials.

I'm not wedded to Cook to Cook though. Come up with something better and I'll consider it.

Cook to Cook makes it sound like it's for professional cooks, though. You're aiming at people who probably don't consider themselves cooks at all (and some people who probably don't want to consider themselves cooks, they just need to be able to make their own dinners).

 

[teuchter]

Cook to Cook makes it sound like it's for professional cooks, though. You're aiming at people who probably don't consider themselves cooks at all (and some people who probably don't want to consider themselves cooks, they just need to be able to make their own dinners).

Rookie to Cookie, then. Or Cookie to Rookie.

 

[Onslow]

Serious Question: Why would I pay for you to come round and show me how to cook when I can just go on your website and work through the step by step instructions?

 

[mrsfran]

Serious Question: Why would I pay for you to come round and show me how to cook when I can just go on your website and work through the step by step instructions?

Because there's a big difference between reading about how to do something and being shown how to do it. And there are only a limited number of recipes on the website. If I come to your house, I can show not just how to cook a kheema curry, but how to chop an onion properly, how to know what bread should feel like when you've kneeded it, and to give you the confidence that you can do it yourself.

Also, some people need that extra push of someone actually there, teaching them. You can read recipes all day but never actually cook anything. If you really want to learn, I'm physically there to supervise you.

It's a good question though, and I have nothing against anyone who wants to teach themselves from recipes. I did. It's just an option if you want to learn to cook.

 

[Dhimmi]

Cook in with Fran

 

[sam/phallocrat]

have you thought about asking mr tourette?

 

[Onslow]

Because there's a big difference between reading about how to do something and being shown how to do it. And there are only a limited number of recipes on the website. If I come to your house, I can show not just how to cook a kheema curry, but how to chop an onion properly, how to know what bread should feel like when you've kneeded it, and to give you the confidence that you can do it yourself.

Also, some people need that extra push of someone actually there, teaching them. You can read recipes all day but never actually cook anything. If you really want to learn, I'm physically there to supervise you.

It's a good question though, and I have nothing against anyone who wants to teach themselves from recipes. I did. It's just an option if you want to learn to cook.

I see.

I asked because I'm not a particularly good cook and managed to whip up you beef and onion hotpot the other day from following the website. ( Went down a treat).

I see what you're saying. What kind of person are you hoping to target? You do have alot of competition from the perspective of cook books, cooking channels, websites, Ramsey's cookalong on CH4 on Friday's etc. (as im sure you're already aware).

Thinking about the type of market you'd be going for. I'd say they'd need to have some kind of disposable income that they are willing to spend on this. And here comes the massive sweeping statement.......The type of people with disposable incomes are'nt the type of people who need to learn how to cook....

All of the above no doubt you have considered! And i wish you the best of luck with it all.

 

[DotCommunist]

Paradigm Secure Communications

and buy a persian

 

[mrsfran]

I see.

I asked because I'm not a particularly good cook and managed to whip up you beef and onion hotpot the other day from following the website. ( Went down a treat).

I see what you're saying. What kind of person are you hoping to target? You do have alot of competition from the perspective of cook books, cooking channels, websites, Ramsey's cookalong on CH4 on Friday's etc. (as im sure you're already aware).

Thinking about the type of market you'd be going for. I'd say they'd need to have some kind of disposable income that they are willing to spend on this. And here comes the massive sweeping statement.......The type of people with disposable incomes are'nt the type of people who need to learn how to cook....

All of the above no doubt you have considered! And i wish you the best of luck with it all.

I live in a pretty affluent area, so I'm basically targetting the people around me. I would disagree that the people with disposeable incomes aren't the type of people who need to learn how to to cook. In fact, to make a sweeping generalisation of my own, people are are doing well for themselves simply haven't had the time to learn, and are equally as likely to be living off ready meals, albeit M & S ones. People from all backgrounds and classes are hopeless cooks!

I recently posted on Freecycle offering free cookery lessons as a practice and got a huge response. Obviously, everyone wants it for free! But I had quite a few people asking me to get in touch once the business is up and running because they'd certainly be interested.

I am trying to keep my charges at a reasonable level. Cookery Schools in London can cost upwards of £150 for one morning, which is ludicrous. I am charging £35 for one hour, £50 for 2. Which is a lot if you're unemployed. I know that. But it's a lot cheaper than any of the competition I've checked out, including similar businesses to my own. I do also plan to do some pro bono/volunteer work with groups like Help the Aged.

Another angle that separates me from cookbooks/Gordon Ramsey etc is that I am not a chef and I'm not dictating what you cook. I'm a home cook, and I understand the practical realities of cooking at home. I won't demand that you have a 15 inch saute pan, and if you don't like mushrooms, we can leave them out! In part, it's as much about giving people the confidence to cook their own food as it is showing them how to stuff a partridge, if you see what I mean.

Thanks for the questions, it's good to be required to explain things. Glad the hotpot turned out well too.

 

[Onslow]

I live in a pretty affluent area, so I'm basically targetting the people around me. I would disagree that the people with disposeable incomes aren't the type of people who need to learn how to to cook. In fact, to make a sweeping generalisation of my own, people are are doing well for themselves simply haven't had the time to learn, and are equally as likely to be living off ready meals, albeit M & S ones. People from all backgrounds and classes are hopeless cooks!

I recently posted on Freecycle offering free cookery lessons as a practice and got a huge response. Obviously, everyone wants it for free! But I had quite a few people asking me to get in touch once the business is up and running because they'd certainly be interested.

I am trying to keep my charges at a reasonable level. Cookery Schools in London can cost upwards of £150 for one morning, which is ludicrous. I am charging £35 for one hour, £50 for 2. Which is a lot if you're unemployed. I know that. But it's a lot cheaper than any of the competition I've checked out, including similar businesses to my own. I do also plan to do some pro bono/volunteer work with groups like Help the Aged.

Another angle that separates me from cookbooks/Gordon Ramsey etc is that I am not a chef and I'm not dictating what you cook. I'm a home cook, and I understand the practical realities of cooking at home. I won't demand that you have a 15 inch saute pan, and if you don't like mushrooms, we can leave them out! In part, it's as much about giving people the confidence to cook their own food as it is showing them how to stuff a partridge, if you see what I mean.

Thanks for the questions, it's good to be required to explain things. Glad the hotpot turned out well too.

I agree, the tangible, personal aspects of the idea deffinetly benefit it and suppose give it a kind of niche. Also because its quite small, local and I presume relatively inexpensive to set up huge socio-market trends don't really apply in comparison to a national company targeting a whole country etc.

 

[mrsfran]

It pretty much has to be local - I don't drive

 

[Ceej]

I do like 'Meals on Heels' though!

 

[5t3IIa]

Serious Question: Why would I pay for you to come round and show me how to cook when I can just go on your website and work through the step by step instructions?

I have been thinking about this, and it ties sorta in with that Jamie Oliver prog that got a thread in TV too.

If noone's ever shown you how to cook a 'pinch' of this and a 'splash' of that are totally alien. A friend of mine is a great cook and he doesn't use measurements so much anymore as he's just totally got the hang of it, and has great confidence that he knows what he's doing. But someone who is trying to, for instance, make pastry could cover the countertop in flour and dry out thier wodge and be totally confused about why it's stopped working. And stuff like putting sugar in bolagese is counter-inutitive but actually makes perfect sense.

MissFran - your biz sounds wonderful and I wish you all good luck with it. Have you settled on a name yet?