Jody and Kirstie giving a cooking class

About Us

With over 20 years in the food industry, Jody and Kirstie have turned their passion for cooking into a thriving culinary education platform.

Grown from a mutual respect over perfectly cooked calamari, The Culinary Studio is a partnership between Red Seal trained Chefs Jody O’Malley and Kirstie Herbstreit.

Jody & Kirstie have been in the food industry for over 20 years (although you wouldn't think so!). After both completing University degrees, they set off to culinary school, in Stratford & Calgary respectively to feed their need to cook.

After restaurant apprenticeships and college-level instruction, they came together to open Kitchener-Waterloo's Premier Recreational cooking school.  After 10 years of in-person teaching, The Culinary Studio evolved into a global online cooking class platform in 2020. 

Jody & Kirstie quickly learned that there are no boundaries to share their knowledge, their humour and of course their love of food & time honoured cooking techniques.  Recipes taught are tried and true with absolutely no sacrifice in flavour.  You will be amazed and empowered with what you create in your own home kitchen!   The Culinary Studio motto: no cook is left behind! 

The Jody & Kirstie guarantee:  The Culinary Studio online cooking classes educate, entertain, and guarantee you restaurant results in your own home kitchen!

Meet Your Red Seal Chefs

With decades of experience and a shared passion for teaching, Jody and Kirstie have dedicated their careers to making gourmet cooking accessible to everyone.

Kirstie Herbstreit Chopping Vegetables

CHEF | CO-FOUNDER

Kirstie Herbstreit

Chef Kirstie Herbstreit started her cooks training at SAIT in Calgary, after completing a 4-Year Degree in History and Religion at Wilfrid Laurier University.

She began her apprenticeship under Chefs Michael Noble and Hyato Okimesku at Catch in Calgary. Born and raised in Waterloo, she returned here to complete her apprenticeship at various restaurants in Kitchener-Waterloo. After completing her Red Seal qualification, Kirstie began teaching people how to cook out of her house, at other people's homes and many other places in the community.

She met Jody teaching at the college level, and the rest is history! After a freelance home-based business, Jody and Kirstie opened The Culinary Studio, Kitchener-Waterloo's first recreational cooking school.

Jody O'Malley Headshot With Wine Glass

CHEF | CO-FOUNDER

Jody O'Malley

Red Seal qualified Chef Jody O'Malley started her chef training at Stratford Chef's School, after completing her 4-Year Sociology Degree at the University of Waterloo.

Her love of cooking and culture began in Europe where she lived and travelled in Germany, Spain and Ireland. Her cooking career brought her back to restaurant work from Toronto to Kitchener. Her love of the science behind cuisine started her teaching path from the high school level to teaching at Conestoga College.

Jody bonded with Kirstie over properly cooked calamari and the rest is history, as the doors of the Studio opened to teach the masses how to properly cook!

Read Our Google Reviews

Recent feedback from our online cooking classes.

Excellent
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Donna Turner
March 6, 2025
Love these ladies! Classes are easy to follow, informative, filled with all kinds of tricks & tips and best of all DELICIOUS!! This is our "night out" dining adventure that we can re-do & show off to our family & friends.
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Linda Brodrecht
February 17, 2025
My husband and I joined the Valentine's Day Date Night cooking class. Very enjoyable experience full of informative tips and thorough explanations followed by a delectable meal. Thank you Kirstie & Jodie. We'll be back!
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Jeff Eitel
January 31, 2025
Lots of fun and food turned out great.
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John H
January 30, 2025
I recently did an online Lamb Briyani class. It used some cooking techniques I wasn't familiar with and produced a dish that was as tasty as the best Indian food I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying.
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R S
January 27, 2025
I have done a few classes with the Culinary Studio and always enjoy the classes and the fabulous meals. They deliver the food to my door all prepped for the class if I like (which I do!). Highly recommended.
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Bruce White
January 24, 2025
We did a virtual zoom cooking class. It was better than cooking classes we have done in a actual class. We really enjoyed our ourselves. We have made the meal a couple of times since the class. We have friends over for the session and have great restaurant quality meals
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Iain Peck
November 25, 2024
The Culinary Studio is an wonderful online chef duo! You will learn delicious recipes taught in real time from start to end by two good friends who want nothing more than to teach you how to cook and and have fun doing it. Class presentation is practical and encouraging with one chef starting and one playing 'catch up' so you do not miss anything and no question will go unanswered! The recipe with food pack is perfectly packaged and always arrives on time to make it easy so you do not have to shop! Several recipes from the Culinary Studio are in our regular rotation! Excited to keep cooking with you Kirstie and Jody!
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Shirley Lichti
November 20, 2024
We've been doing cooking classes with Jody and Kirstie at The Culinary Studio since they first opened in 2010. You'd think after more than a decade, we would have done and seen it all. We have yet to tire of new classes and new cooking tips. Jody and Kirstie keep things fresh and make the online classes fun.
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Nancy Boudreau
November 20, 2024
In a word, Jody and Kirstie's Culinary Studio classes are "WOW!! " I've enjoyed cooking for many years but with every class I've learned so much more. They have such great tips and tricks that make a huge difference. Their classes also make fabulous gifts. I've given them as wedding gifts, birthday gifts and for Christmas. It's perfect since the recipient can choose their own class. Even novice cooks find the classes easy to follow and are thrilled with the results. The gift certificates are always a hit! With every class I've taken the food has been exceptional with very generous portions. They easily feed 4 people. My staff participated in a private group class and every single one of them was totally blown away by what they learned and how delicious the food was! It was fun chatting and joking while we cooked and Jody and Kirstie were a lot of fun. It was a wonderful, memorable party. Oh! I can't forget the wine!! Jody and Kirstie are experts at pairing wines with their menus and their selections are both interesting and delicious (and not available at the LCBO). I love trying new wines and their selections are excellent. The Culinary Studio concept and experience is incredibly innovative and fun! I'll be taking many more classes in the days to come. Well done Kirstie and Jody!
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Russ Lavoie
November 20, 2024
My wife and I have taken dozens of the online cooking classes offered by The Culinary Studio. We discovered that during the covid outbreak and have continued to enjoy the classes ever since. We particularly like the option of purchasing the prepackaged ingredients as this saves us time and effort. Kirstie and Jody make the classes on an entertaining and we have picked up many tips which have aided our day-to-day cooking. We highly recommend The Culinary Studio!

Ready to Get Cooking?

We offer live and on-demand cooking classes that reach aspiring chefs around the world.