Our Story
Since our start in 1973 as "Thrice" in St. Paul, to our current identity as Cooks of Crocus Hill, we've remained true to our roots. We believe that "life happens in the kitchen." We embody this through our dedication to our customers and our craft of sharing discoveries about food through cooking classes, events, our crop share program and a highly curated retail assortment of culinary tools.
1973
Thrice, St. Paul
Martha Kaemmer and her sister Mary Rice started “Thrice” (original name) as a way to share their enthusiasm for good food and products they discovered from a life filled with travel, good food, cooking and entertaining.
Originally located in St. Paul, near the corner of Lexington and Grand Avenue.
1973
1974
Cooking School with a Store Attached
Pillsbury Flour Mills Company contacted Martha with an inquiry: would she like to acquire their five test kitchens? They were color coded with an assortment of cooking equipment and kitchen furniture.
She took it all and stored it in her garage until Thrice expanded into the storefront next door and added the cooking school.
Tagline at that time was “Cooking School with a store attached.”
1977
Our First Notable Guest Chef
Jacques Pépin visited and taught a cooking class to eight students! This was the start of a long history of having Guest Chefs present.
1988
1988
Cooks of Crocus Hill
Thrice became “Cooks of Crocus Hill” and moved to its current location at 877 Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Martha reimagined a residential brownstone apartment building into the current cooking school & retail store hosting neighborhood guests for over 50 years.
1997
Karl Benson Joined the Team
Karl joined Cooks and brought along new ideas to keep it thriving. Corporate Events and Crop Shares/Farm Shares were added to the offering.
1999
2000
2001
Marshall Field's Department Store Partnership
Marshall Field’s partnership included 15 “shop in shop” locations in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit. Captured the essence of Cooks with guest chefs, cooking demonstrations and a curated culinary retail assortment.
2005
2011
2017
North Loop Opened
2020
Partnership with Bellecour Bakery in North Loop
2021
Bellecour Bakery at Cooks Opened in St. Paul
2023
Cooks | Bellecour was Launched
The pop-up became permanent, fully delivering on the immersive culinary experience we’ve been dreaming up together all of these years: to gather guests of any generation or level of cooking experience around a one-stop shop that offers opportunities to eat, engage with each other, and enjoy food to its fullest.
2025
Cooks of Crocus Hill
Back to our roots! Offering unique cooking classes, events, crop shares, shopping and a coffee concept. Improving culinary lives and community through sharing experiences about food, along with “life in the kitchen.”
