Cooking classes add to the foodie fun at O’Fallon shop. Here’s how to sign up

Since opening in April 2024, Toast & Table Kitchen Store continues to provide a playground for foodies who love to cook and bake, offering a variety of kitchen tools, dishes and other fun gadgets.

It’s the cooking classes, however, that are really popular with the customers.

“The classes have taken off,” said co-owner Stacy Fangmeyer.

December classes were recently posted on the Toast & Table website, and five of the nine classes are already sold out.

Fangmeyer, who co-owns the business with Amanda Krause, said that their email subscribers get first dibs on all classes, which are opened up to the public at a later date.

Two or three classes take place each week and are led by trained chefs.

Toast & Table’s in-house chef, Megan Shafer, trained in Florence, Italy. Her specialty is creating gourmet meals for fine dining. Upcoming classes include “Taste of Asia-Orange Chicken” and “Gather At The Mesa -Birria Tacos.”

Guest chef Jessica Mode also trained in Italy and specializes in breads and pastas at Toast & Table. She’ll be teaching classes over the next couple of months that include “Winter Holiday Cookie Box” and “Make, Take & Bake - Cinnamon Rolls.”

Mode’s blog, “Homebody Eats,” includes a variety of recipes that include pumpkin sage Italian risotto, fresh Italian egg pasta dough and cranberry cheesecake bars.

For info about upcoming classes, visit toastandtable.com.

Shopping fun for cooks, bakers & foodies

In addition to the classes, more brands and products are available at Toast & Table.

Fangmeyer said they carry a line of Epicurean cutting boards that are “going like hotcakes.” These boards look like wood but are made of a paper composite. They’re thin, which is great if your kitchen doesn’t have a lot of storage space. They also come in different sizes and are dishwasher-safe.

Cutting boards by O’Fallon-based AB Woodworking are also available. These boards, beautiful as well as functional, are made by Aaron Brauer, a self-taught woodworker.

Another product line available at Toast & Table is Made In, which consists of pots, pans, baking dishes, Dutch ovens and a carbon steel wok that is now on my wishlist.

Other items that drew my attention were the ramen sets (bowls, spoons and chopsticks), a bamboo sushi tray, pretty bowls perfect for rice and ramen, and other dishes I think I need at home.

Toast & Table also sells cookbooks. Fangmeyer pointed out one by local author Lia Holter that features everyday baking recipes for from-scratch pastries and other goodies.

Edible products are also available at Toast & Table. Canned items from Granite City-based Earth Candy are a more recent addition and include pickled beets and small batches of preserved lemons, candied jalapeños and spiced oranges.

Folks will also find seasonings, spices and rubs from Made In, The Deliciouser and Finch & Fennel and a variety of chocolates from Seattle Chocolate.

If you’re making a shopping list for the O’Fallon business, you may be interested to know that Toast & Table will have a one-day sale to mark the end of the season and make room for holiday inventory.

Fangmeyer said that inventory will be 20% off during the sale, which takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, the day of the last Vine Street Market of the season.

About Toast & Table Kitchen Store

Toast & Table is located at 227 W. 1st St., Unit B, in O’Fallon.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Online shopping is also available.

For more info, call 618-206-6405 or visit toastandtable.com. For updates, follow the business on Facebook or Instagram.