From a young age, Barrett Round saw the importance of learning his way around the kitchen and how cooking seemed to have a special way of bringing people together. Now he hopes to share his skills with Columbia through the introduction of Foodcademy in a way that will allow both kids and adults to feel more confident in their ability to whip up a nice meal.
Foodcademy offers a hands-on learning experience for people of all ages who want to sharpen their skills in the kitchen. Round hosts each seminar himself and demonstrates helpful lessons and techniques before allowing each guest to take part in the fun and cook their own meal. The goal is to spice up the process of learning a helpful skill that guests can utilize in their own lives on a daily basis.
For Round, a Laurel native, cooking almost came second-nature to him thanks to the time he spent bonding with his grandmother in the kitchen as a young kid. Although there are always opportunities to learn new skills as an adult, he still believes learning in his youth was a significant advantage that more people should take hold of.
Barrett Round cut his teeth as a chef in the French Quarter in New Orleans cooking Bananas Foster tableside for
customers. Above, he demonstrates how to catch the sweet mixture on fire without having to use a lighter.
"I was in the kitchen cooking with my grandmother and engaging in the process as early as the age of six," Round said. "I remember reading recipes that called for adding water, and then I would notice the creaminess of milk inside my mouth and think to myself, 'Wouldn't it make more sense to use that instead and add a little bit of that component to the dish?' So I sort of developed an affinity for the technical side of cooking and finding ways to enhance whatever I was cooking, and I benefitted from that in so many ways. Working with adults is great, but that's why my heart is having an opportunity to share these skills with youth"
The time he spent harnessing the craft at home, along with inspiration from a few of his favorite Food Network stars, drove him to seize an opportunity to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York after graduating from the University of Southern Miss. He then took his talents to the French Quarter of New Orleans, which is where he first learned he had a knack for putting on cooking demonstrations. That's where the vision for Foodcademy was first born.
"It's an experiential service. I want to have a structured and educational program, embedded in pockets of time throughout the week, to share these important skills through both public and private lessons," Round explained. "To say it's a necessity to learn is an understatement. To achieve in life, sacrifices must be made, but you shouldn't sacrifice health for time because poor health is going to take away time.
The younger you start, the easier it will be to implement healthy eating habits.
“You've got to know how to cook for yourself in order to avoid the drive through and all the other unhealthy options that are out there. That's why Foodcademy is here."
Round's eccentric personality and people skills, refined through years of educating and entertaining, make it easy for people of all ages and levels of understanding to enjoy themselves while learning something new. The Columbian-Progress staff was recently given the opportunity to experience Foodcademy first hand with a lesson on how to make Bananas Foster, just as it's been made for decades throughout New Orleans.
Round has already begun booking lessons at his location on Church Street, right next to Uptown Soul Food Diner. Although he hadn't visited the area until just months before opening shop, he said he knew from his very first visit to Downtown Columbia that there would be no better place to bring this business to life.
"I drove into town on Broad Street and started to get the feels. I had never driven through this town before in my life, but I remember seeing everything and just thinking, 'This is Americana,'" Round said. "I was already in the real estate business, and I told my real estate agent that it was time to find a house for me to live in. This is it. This is the place for me to be."
As the holiday season draws near and the downtown area comes to life in all its splendor, Round is excited to introduce Foodcademy and enhance the lives of people throughout the community one meal at a time.
"At the end of the day, my goal is to educate, entertain and enrich," he said. "We're going to have fun, we're going to have fellowship, and we're going to learn things from each other that can help add value to our lives at home."
