Ampersand Oil and Vinegar Tap House has found a way to give people the experience of taking a cooking class out of a box. Sent to homes around the nation, the cooking kit provides non-perishables from Ampersand along with the atmosphere of the tap house with online instruction.
On Feb. 24, the Office of Alumni Relations will host their fifth Vandal cooking class, “Gourmet Tailgate Cooking Class” with a four-course meal.
Keely Garrity, the owner of Ampersand, wanted to continue cooking classes when shops shut down in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, around the same time Office of Alumni Relations needed a way to facilitate their alumni program. Garrity, an alumna graduating from University of Idaho in 2006, thought it was the perfect opportunity to create something new.
“I was approached by the Vandal Alumni Association April last year right when the businesses were getting shut down for the two-week period,” Garrity said.” They asked if I would be interested in doing an online cooking class and I jumped at the opportunity.”
Starting Ampersand in 2014, Garrity has been instructing cooking classes at the tap house for years. Vandal Cooking Classes began in April 2020 as a way to engage people during the pandemic.
“I think it’s just been an innovative event that we have started throughout COVID-19 and people were looking for something to do,” Kristi Overfelt, Office of Alumni Relations assistant director, said. “Ampersand is a really nice business downtown it’s an owned business and I think people want to support it.”
Available to alumni, the Office of Alumni Relations has been marketing the event and adding it to their alumni newsletter. But even without advertising, the classes have been promoting themselves.
“In September Ampersand took a few months off and people were calling, asking when the event would be going on again,” Overfelt said. “People look forward to the event and are excited about it.”
During the upcoming event, Garrity will show how to make artichoke stuffed mushrooms, Ampersand’s award-winning chili, caprese stuffed bread and maple bacon cupcakes.
Customers will receive a box that provides everything they need to participate in the class. They will get non-perishable items from the tap house, a grocery list and a utensil list. Along with essentials, they will get a bit of Ampersand’s atmosphere.
“If you’ve ever been to the Ampersand it’s an experience store,” Garrity said. “I like to say we engage all five of your senses, it smells good, it’s beautiful, customers sample everything that tastes really good, the music is wonderful and the textiles are very luxurious. We wanted to make sure that we could package that all up in our box, and so it’s like receiving a little guest.”
With the rise in popularity of the class, they can now support 115 patrons. Hosting the event online has given them opportunities to extend the classes all over the country, and people order these boxes as far as Florida, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. according to Overfelt. There are more people attending the class outside of Moscow, with 60% outside the region and 40% within the region.
Although the Vandal Cooking Classes were created as a way to engage people during the pandemic, events will continue after quarantine and COVID-19 pandemic.
To learn more about the upcoming cooking class, visit or register here.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce