Denton County Magazine • Nov_Dec 21 • Food & Drink

A new commercial kitchen in Aubrey is providing cooking classes and food to go. Those who sign up for classes can learn how to prepare entrees, desserts and even how to home-brew beer.

The Food Experience Co. in Aubrey in north Denton County is cultivating community in the kitchen. The brainchild of Angie and Jack O’Connor, this commercial kitchen concept provides culinary classes for kids and families, brew nights for adults and kitchen space for rent. The business also offers heat-and-eat cuisine for busy people who value locally sourced meals but lack the time to cook for themselves.

For years, Angie O’Connor worked behind the scenes running restaurants at luxury hotels. Her management role had her crunching numbers, but her heart was in the kitchen. Determined to elevate the typical suburban dinner party experience, the O’Connors hosted craft dinner parties, in which guests were greeted with appetizers hanging from the ceilings and dessert courses presented as avant-garde science experiments complete with pipettes of syrups accompanying artisan chocolates.

Yearning to break free from the corporate life, Angie dived into the research of entrepreneurship, looking into small business loans, joining local networking groups and crowdsourcing opinions on how to better support busy families in the kitchen. A simple twist of fate presented an opportunity the O’Connors’ could not refuse.

“Angie’s entire department [at the hotel] was moved overseas, and we took that as a sign that it was time to stake our claim in the small business world by launching The Food Experience Co.,” Jack said. Undaunted by the statistics on small business failures, the couple hit the ground running, purchasing a plot of land in Aubrey just months before COVID-19 forced businesses to close their doors. “We spent years preparing to launch when all of a sudden, the world stopped. Construction crews and building materials were in short supply; we wondered if we would fail before we served our first meal,” Jack said.

Nevertheless, the O’Connors persisted, leaning into their business and networking to rally support and awareness. The overwhelming interest from the “foodie fans” of Angie’s well-known dinner parties made the May 2020 opening of The Food Experience Co. a wild success.

“We’re blown away with the response we’ve received and are continuing to create new offerings and opportunities for our guests,” Jack said. “This fall we plan to install a kitchen garden and have a smorgasbord of entertainment plans in the works.” They also will start a beer garden with live music on their patio.

The Food Experience Co. is hot and fresh out the kitchen and standing firm in its mission to elevate the plate.