NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — Jennifer Thornton is bringing a new cooking school to Northeast Ohio. Buttercream and Olive Oil is in a renovated convenience store in North Royalton and is on schedule to start classes in mid-April.
“This is what we’ve been dreaming about for years,” says Thornton. “We’re really close, waiting on cabinets, windows and doors from Europe.”
She founded her company in 2014 when she began teaching olive-oil themed classes. Her unique credential include living in France for five years where she worked many stages of olive oil production and sales. Using her extensive European culinary experiences, she grew curriculum to include French and Sicilian-inspired classes. And she’s passionately committed to local, sustainable and organic practices.
Until recently she’s been holding classes at Richardson Farms or Cool Beans Café in Medina and selling hard to find ingredients online. She currently offers 27 different classes including macarons, cassata cake, cannoli and so much more.
All the while Thornton has been dreaming of her own space.
“We’ve been trying to get a space for so long,” she says. “We were counting the spaces that fell through and lost count at 14.”
The hunt is over, and the dream is happening. She now has a 2,500-square-foot building with charming retail space and 12 stations for cooking students.
The stations are arranged in a U-formation with a middle demonstration station for the teacher. Each student station will be fitted with a mixer and other baking equipment.
Thornton describes the interior as a light-filled mix of architectural elements and with an English feel. Doorways are arced for a Mediterranean feel. And an espresso machine will offer European comforts.
“The wallpaper in bathroom,” she laughs, “is an Instagramable spot.”
Bakery cases will offer pastries and locally roasted Rising Star coffee.
Despite the bakery and coffee, Thornton cautions, “We’re not a café, we’re a cooking school and bakehouse with specialty goods.”
The retail area will sell European chocolate bars that are organic, plant-based and free of soy as well as tallow, pistachio flour, olive oils, almond oil from France, specialty almonds from Sicily and other imported ingredients. A small collection of French antiques and books Thornton has published are part of the inventory.
“These are things that match our philosophy. They are things that I consume in my personal life,” says Thornton, a big proponent of clean eating.
Phase two of the renovation will include gardening the half-acre around the building.
Thornton is planning to hold a grand opening once the final touches are in place.
Buttercream and Olive Oil is at 8021 West 130th, North Royalton.
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