America's Test Kitchen Cooking School is filled with passionate home cooks, and there’s nothing we enjoy more than learning about their cooking journeys. Today we’re spotlighting Michael Piepoli, a yoga studio owner from Alexandria, VA, who became a student in the summer of 2017.
Michael joined the Cooking School as a way to get out of a cooking rut. A couple of years earlier, in an effort to eat more healthfully, he started preparing more of his meals at home, where he could have more control over the ingredients and cooking methods. He focused on a handful of recipes, which he would turn to over and over (and over) again. Eventually, he was ready to add more dishes and techniques to his repertoire. That’s where the Cooking School came in. Armed with the desire to further improve his cooking skills, Michael joined the School and "hasn’t cooked the same recipe twice."
Michael's frequent gallery posts in the School—photos of dishes he's prepared (like the one below, from January), along with enthusiastic descriptions of his successes and missteps—caught our eyes, and we knew we wanted to learn more about how the School has helped him reach his cooking goals.