Stupid Good

TV sandwiches come to life at Emma Berry’s Cedar Rapids cooking class, Nerdy People Cooking.

BY CRISTIN MITCHELL

Like many devotees of Bob’s Burgers, I’m a sucker for humor and hamburgers. When I learned about NewBo Market hosting a new cooking series called Nerdy People Cooking, I was immediately intrigued. I was the target audience for this particular series of classes; over the years, I have devoured so many episodes of Fox’s Bob’s Burgers that my television practically smells like the fictional diner’s sizzling griddle top.

This was my first cooking class, and I was drawn to it for simple reasons: I have little experience making burgers, am a fan of Bob’s Burgers and have always been fascinated with the way food and cooking can unite people.

I know I’m not the only one out there who has caught themselves daydreaming about fried food after watching 22 minutes of Bob’s Burgers. It’s easy to see why the writers of the show compiled each episode’s burger special into an official cookbook. Using her own personal copy, instructor Emma Berry of Lion Turtle Makings demonstrated how to make Bob’s season 5, episode 5’s burger contest entry: the Bet It All on Black Garlic Burger.

“I love cooking, and I love nerd cooking,” Emma announced to the attendees of her class— another in the books for her cooking series. Emma has always loved nerding out while cooking at home, so creating the Nerdy People Cooking series was a logical next step.

The class was located in NewBo Market’s spacious culinary kitchen, which was formerly deemed Kirkwood Kitchen. Kirkwood College ended their partnership and lease with NewBo Market last April in 2022, an initiative that the college undertook as a financial boon to the area hard-hit by the 2008 flood. Kirkwood College donated $46,000 of state-of-the-art kitchen equipment to the attraction, as reported by the Corridor Business Journal, strengthening NewBo Market through their former partnership.

Some cooking classes are hands-on, while others are more like demonstrations. This one was the latter. I sat with the seven other class attendees around a large countertop inside NewBo Market’s kitchen. Emma stood on the other side, taking us through the steps of assembling and cooking the burger of the day. Made with mostly easy-to-find ingredients, the Bet It All on Black Garlic Burger (a.k.a. Stupid Black Garlic Burger) is stupidly good—juicy, rich and oh-so delicious!

The setting was loose and fun. Emma established a playful tone right away. She made us feel as though we were in her home kitchen by letting us taste the ingredients as she prepared them. Emma’s charisma — and snack offerings—helped ease any nerdy nerves. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I shared the experience with a friend, which made everything more comfortable. (Shout-out to my burger buddy, Anna!)

It may seem like an unrealistic expectation, but feeling at home is exactly what I had hoped to feel during a cooking class. I was raised in a family for whom cooking is a bonding ritual, so gathered around a kitchen counter with good people and food is my happy place. With our focus on the demonstration at hand, we laughed, shared stories and communed with one another.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of cooking something you love. I always enjoyed watching my grandmother cook. I treasured seeing the passion and joy radiating out of her. I noticed this same thrill in Emma; her joy in the kitchen helped make the class so special.

When you’re trying to hone a new skill in the kitchen, it’s usually necessary to follow recipes exactly as they are written. On the other hand, it can be way more fulfilling and joyful to ignore the impulse of perfectionism. So it was a welcome surprise to me when, while assembling the ingredients for our burger of the day, there was a bit of improvisation.

Unable to source a bulb of black garlic, Emma substituted ground fermented black garlic, which can be found at Trader Joe’s. If you’ve seen the episode “Best Burger,” you understand how critically important black garlic was to the characters of the show and the pandemonium that unraveled because of it. Naturally, we were all curious about the ingredient from the moment we showed up to class. Emma passed around the container for everybody to take in a whiff of its sweet, rich flavor. Then, she mixed it in with some mayonnaise and—after getting the go-ahead from all eight of us—sriracha! We each got a dollop on our small plate, anticipating the tantalizing taste of the sandwich to come.

Later, while Emma was kneading the ground beef like dough, we made the unanimous decision to turn this burger up a notch, veer from the recipe and add the ground black garlic directly to the ground beef. The best chefs put their own spin on things, and I loved how Emma encouraged that skill in us.

Soon, the black-garlic-infused burgers sizzled on the griddle top and filled the kitchen with a mouthwatering aroma. Piled onto buns and topped with black garlic mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese and spinach, the climax of the event was finally here. Stunning in appearance and rich in flavor, the black garlic burger was perfect.

It was refreshing to be brought together through everybody’s shared enjoyment of a popular show. More importantly, it served as a good reminder to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and into situations where we can enjoy spontaneous experiences with old and new friends. By the end of this event, I believe we all got closer in that intimate way only food and sitcoms can foster.