About Us

Lori Hinze, educator, chef, caterer, forager, and locavore began her career as a public school teacher before launching her own culinary businesses.  In June 2003, she began with the Kitchen Cottage, teaching private children’s cooking classes.  Simultaneously, she began her catering business specializing in creating special memories for a wide range of events.  In June 2007, after 10 years of teaching full time, Lori traded in her chalkboard for a cutting board to grow her ventures into a full time culinary/educational business. The Kitchen Cottage has grown into, Lori’s Culinary Co., a cooking and enrichment center and full time catering integrating Lori’s areas of expertise: education and cooking.  Her exciting classes combine a fun academic curriculum with hands-on cooking.  She’s also taught private kid’s classes for Central Market’s Cooking School and the Junior League’s Kid’s in the Kitchen program.

Lori has catered alongside of some of the country’s most elite chefs at the James Beard House in New York City including, LA Chefs Govand Armstrong and Ben Ford, Chef Eve Aronoff, Philadelphia’s Chef Georges Pierre and Chris Scarduzzi, Kendall Jackson’s Chef Justin Wrangler, NYC’s Chef Matt Hughes and many others.  Other catered events include Security State Bank’s Grand Opening, Private Houston weddings, Bayside Community Hospital’s Physician Appreciation Dinner, Intimate parties and celebrations, and more.  Lori is also a repeat demonstration chef at Becker Vineyard’s annual Lavender Festival in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.

Cooking in NY’s L’Ecole Restaurant and Claret Wine Bar also encompass her experience as well as working front of the house for Zagat’s #1 NYC most popular restaurant, Union Square Café.

In addition, Lori is founder and organizer of the Anahuac Spring Market, a fundraising event supporting local volunteer fire fighters. She is also co-founder of the Anahuac Farmer’s Market, a community project supporting local, sustainable small scale farming, backyard farmers and knowing where food comes from.

Lori has a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Lamar University and a Chef de Cuisine Diploma from the French Culinary Institute, NY, NY. She was also the recipient of the 2007 Wal-Mart Regional Teacher of the Year award.

Lori is passionate about teaching and feeding people, inspiring others to choose real, unprocessed food, and bringing integrity back to the dinner table. 

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
- 1 Corinthians 10:31