Master craftsman at new culinary, craft school
demonstrates her love of cooking and new opportunities.
By Deborah Reinhardt Palmer

With the sound of sausage sizzling in a skillet and the aroma of pumpkin and spices wafting from the saucepan simmering on a stove, Debbie Dance Uhrig explains to her attentive audience her cooking philosophy.

Top: Debbie Dance Uhrig Bottom: The demonstration kitchen at Silver Dollar City’s Culinary & Craft School is a welcoming space. Silver Dollar City photos

“I’m not an exact measurer, once I’ve made it a few times,” she says. “Simple, simple. You don’t have to struggle in the kitchen.”

Uhrig is the master craftsman of culinary arts for Silver Dollar City’s new Culinary and Craft School that opened in September. On a recent Friday morning, she was making Pumpkin Sausage Soup for the class of about 30 guests.

She refers to the demonstration kitchen as “the house” and her warmth radiates throughout the large room filled with items created by other master craftsmen at Silver Dollar City. Uhrig goes through a mental list giving credit to the coppersmith, potter and carpenter for their contributions.

As she pulls the soup together, she offers tips: don’t buy a pumpkin that weighs more than five pounds for cooking; try the manchego cheese grated on the top–it’s wonderful. The idea of the cheese came after she’d made the soup a few times.

“The first time you make something, stick to the recipe. Then tweak it,” she says.

Uhrig invites a guest to help her grate this aromatic cheese to garnish the soup, for which the class is eagerly waiting. They share cooking stories as they work side-by-side. There’s not a lot of hands-on opportunities in the class, but Uhrig tries to involve a guest when she can.

After dishing out samples of the wonderful, comforting soup–which Uhrig says is a Thanksgiving staple at her home–she moves on to the next recipe, her grandma’s apple salad. As she deftly slices apples that are soaking in diluted pineapple juice (it helps the apples keep their fresh color), Uhrig shares a family story of how she and other grandkids loved this salad because they got the leftover orange candy that is diced into the mix. In just a few minutes, she is passing out samples of the crunchy, sweet salad to the class, which now seems more like a room full of friends.

Recipes are shared, thank-you-for-coming farewells are offered, and Uhrig sticks around to talk to a few guests who want to say hello or ask for an autographed copy of her cookbook, “Simply Yours.”

After the kitchen clears, I confess to Uhrig that she has my dream job. She smiles, knowingly, and says “I have every woman’s dream job. And it’s a God thing how I got to be here.”

This native Missourian was working as a music educator in Kansas City up until late summer this year. Along with teaching and performing, Uhrig added cooking education and catering to her busy life. She wrote cooking columns for local papers, penned a cookbook and taught cooking classes under her business name The Covered Dish.

In the spring, Uhrig, upon visiting Silver Dollar City with family, contacted the administrative offices about selling her cookbook in their gift shops. Discussions led to an interview for the position, and by mid-July, she accepted the job.

“I love to cook, I love to teach and I love to entertain, so the culinary classes will include great recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, delicious samples and a lot of fun,” Uhrig says.

The plan seems to be working, as Uhrig already sees repeat guests in her kitchen, which has been open about a month. Seeing folks come back is one of the rewards to her new job. One of the challenges is coming up with inventive recipes that various guests will enjoy. Next year, she’s introducing dishes for vegetarians and for people with dietary needs. Next year also will offer a greater variety of dishes in the culinary classes, and of course, the craft classes will alternate with cooking in the same space.

But for the remainder of this year, Uhrig is working on recipes to include pies, cookies, pumpkin and harvest skillets, a perfect blend for the upcoming holidays.

When asked about her favorite holiday and recipe, Uhrig quickly replied “Thanksgiving” and “seafood casserole,” something a bit unexpected. And she shared perhaps one of the most important tips for a hostess.

“Allow your guests to have ownership of the meal,” she says. “They have ownership if they are allowed to participate and bring something or help.

“When I prepare for a performance, I select a piece of music the audience will recognize. It gives them something to hook into.”

Whoa. A lightbulb moment for those of us who always say “oh no, you don’t have to bring anything.” I learned something this morning.

“Learning is an everyday thing,” Uhrig says with a smile.

Deborah Reinhardt Palmer is managing editor for AAA Midwest Traveler and AAA Southern Traveler magazines.