OU’s Cooking Club has returned for its second year on campus with plans to host cooking workshops with professional chefs, a “Hell’s Kitchen”-style cooking competition and event catering.
The club was founded in 2024 to address the lack of cooking organizations at OU. The founder, Aaron Lim, wanted to create a platform to share his knowledge and passion for cooking.
The new club president, Erin Lim, said her goal is to teach young people how to cook, inspired by her passion for baking and cooking her entire life. Originally from Korea, Lim said when she first moved to America, she saw an oven for the first time in her new apartment and decided to try baking a classic yellow box cake.
“I expanded on a lot of things I cooked,” Lim said.
Since then, Lim has baked different kinds of cakes, pies, tarts and other desserts. Lately, she said she’s learned how to perfect macarons.
“This club is about learning to cook together because a lot of people are living out on their own for the first time in college,” Erin Lim said. “A lot of people — most people — don't know how to cook.”
She said she hopes to create a safe space for students to learn without being intimidated by complicated recipes. While the basics may seem obvious, Lim said they are the foundation for everything.
“The first thing we're going to cover is safety, so there will be no burning down kitchens or houses,” Lim said.
By the end of the year, Lim said her goal is to host a timed, “Hell’s Kitchen”-style cooking competition. She emphasized the competition will be friendly and focused on learning — not yelling.
The club aims to explore foods from as many cultures as possible. Past events have included Korean barbecue night, pasta making and pancake and hot chocolate night.
“Food brings together a lot of communities, a lot of cultures together; it just brings everybody together,” Lim said.
She said she especially wants to highlight traditional Korean cuisine and raise awareness of how authentic dishes taste compared to trendy online versions.
“Not like your Carbonara Buldak that you see people consume with like 10 packs at once, just traditional, real Korean food,” Lim said. She appreciates how local grocery stores have begun to carry Korean foods like kimchi but says it doesn’t taste very good.
While Lim said baking is her favorite, she plans to teach the sweet and savory sides of cooking.
“If you love food, if you love cooking, then come,” Lim said.
The next meeting will be Korean barbecue night in collaboration with the Korean Student Association from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 7 at Traditions Square West Storm Shelter.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Tori Pham and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
