With free food and innovative cookware, The Cupboard shows off their products weekly.

The Cupboard, an independent kitchen specialty store in Fort Collins, has hosted demonstrations in their store since 1972, in addition to participating in citywide events like the Fort Collins Foodie Walk, which takes place on the third Friday of the month, and other events.

The demonstrations that The Cupboard puts on bring the environment of the store together by allowing customers to learn more about the products, according to Jennifer Davey, the demonstration coordinator. 

“I think it just allows people to see the products in action, and also to participate,” Davey said. “So you’re not just walking through the store, you can engage with somebody who’s sampling their local product or a representative who’s showing how cookware works. So you get a more involved experience. We try to create as magical of an experience as possible.”

It’s not just about selling products. We want to be a source to learn more about cooking.” – Jennifer Davey, demonstration coordinator at The Cupboard

The people demonstrating the store’s products are brought in through various ways. The employees will sometimes make something with the cookware, especially with the Foodie Walk. Other times, sales representatives are brought in to share their more professional knowledge of the product or local vendors also sample their products in the store.

“We bring in local vendors as much as possible,” Davey said. “It’s great because they can speak directly about why they made their product, and people can put a face to the name of something and sample it.”

This past Saturday, sales representative Jason Schmidt, and his wife Robin Schmidt demonstrated a Le Creuset pot and a Swiss Diamond pan for The Cupboard’s cookware sale. The Schmidts’ have presented demonstrations at The Cupboard around three times a year for the past five years.

“My favorite part is making people smile, and feeding people,” Jason Schmidt said about the demonstrations.

Throughout the presentations, the Schmidts’ enjoyed sharing their food and knowledge with customers. Many customers going through the store inquired more about the products as they sampled the food.

“It’s really fun,” Robin Schmidt said. “I love to cook, so this is great for me.”

Upcoming Demonstrations:

Friday, Feb. 23 at 12 p.m.–3 p.m.: Learning all about Woks

Saturday, Feb. 24 at 12 p.m.–4 p.m.: Mauviel Pans, the New Non-Stick

Overall, The Cupboard offers demonstrations of free food and their products in order to teach people more about how to improve their experience in the kitchen.

“Our goal is always to educate people,” Davey said. “It’s not just about selling products. We want to be a source to learn more about cooking, about all aspects of that, and have that information to help, not only shopping, but what they do in their kitchen.”

Collegian reporter Julia Trowbridge can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on twitter @chapin_jules.