I’ve just been told that in 90 minutes, I’ll be setting bananas on fire.
When I’d signed up for my first class through The Mix—food, drink and cooking classes offered to the community at Columbus State Community College’s Mitchell Hall—I didn’t foresee flambéing.
But here we are.
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It’s Feb. 17—Fat Tuesday—and the class is called Mardi Gras Celebration. Along with the 14 other students in the room, I’ll be making gumbo, corn maque choux and bananas foster over the next two hours. Instructor Shawnie Kelley has even promised we’ll have time to eat at the end.
Call me a skeptic. Or maybe flambé-a-phobic. I’m definitely a newbie to everything on the menu. But, knife in hand and ingredients in front of me, I’m ready to hear Kelley out. And luckily, unlike me, she has done this all before.
Kelley doesn’t have a traditional chef’s resume. She lived in Europe for five years, and her job required significant travel. “Cooking classes became my social outlet while I was there,” she tells me when we speak a few days after the class. “I’ve taken probably 250 cooking classes in my life all over the world from Turkey to Mexico to Sweden to around the States.”
She started teaching at The Mix in 2021, and she leads between two and four classes weekly. Her cooking classes are recipes that she designs—everything from Thai cuisine to pasta making to preparing Beef Wellington, which, she says is more approachable when broken up into manageable pieces.
The breadth is impressive, but so is the frequency. Kelley says she has taught New Orleans-themed classes roughly 30 times—a third of those at Mitchell Hall. Her experience shows in her instruction: Patient descriptions of how to achieve a deep brown roux for the gumbo; careful comments on when to stir more and when to adjust the temperature; a demo—which we watch on large television screens—on how, exactly, to flambé bananas.
It makes the process of assembling this meal less intimidating. (Also helpful were the pre-measured spices and ingredients laid out for us before class—a huge time saver allowing us to focus on chopping and cooking.)
I’ve gotten through the gumbo OK. It’s maybe a tad on the light side, but it’ll do, and the chicken, sausage and shrimp inside appear to be fully cooked. My maque choux is a beautiful creamy blend of vegetables and bacon.
There’s just one thing left for me to do.
The Story Behind The Mix
Mitchell Hall opened in 2019. The 80,000 square foot space “was born from my deep desire to give back to the industry that has given me so much joy and opportunity,” Cameron Mitchell, founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, says via email. “I wanted this building to stand as a beacon of opportunity—for anyone, from any background—who dreams of building a career in hospitality.”
(Mitchell and CMR contributed $3.5 million to the $34.5 million project, with Mitchell also leading the building’s capital campaign.)
Though Mitchell Hall might best be known for degree and certificate programs offered to the city’s next generation of culinary professionals, Tommy Tucker, program coordinator at The Mix, says The Mix was founded as a space “that would allow us to do more events for the wider community.”
Mix courses “are one-off classes, so you do not have to be enrolled in the college to participate,” Tucker says. “We also provide access to the community by inviting some of the local schools in for healthy eating classes.”
Cooking classes are capped at 16 people—two to a professional-sized stovetop—allowing teaching chefs to provide the type of hands-on instruction my fellow students and I received from Kelley.
There are also options for folks who prefer not to be behind the burner. Tucker says the mixology classes often “turn into kind of a party,” and that he’s learned a lot from sitting in on wine tasting classes. These courses—offered in Mitchell Hall’s Mixology Lab—have a capacity of 30.
Tucker says the facility serves the larger community as well. The first floor boasts Blend Café & Bakery and Degrees restaurant, both staffed by students and open to the public. Event space on the second floor is available for rentals. And nonprofit organization Growlers Dog Bones operates out of a donated kitchen space, employing individuals with disabilities to make popular pet treats. “I call them ‘the heart of Mitchell Hall’ because they’re just such a delight to see and to talk to,” Tucker says.
Completing Class at The Mix
Now, I need to flambé.
Kelley says the key to bananas flambé is lighting the rum on fire, not the bananas, which will be poached by proximity. We’re using the flames from industrial burners—much stronger than my gas stove at home—but my first attempt fails to catch.
Kelley comes back with her patient coaching, and I manage appropriate fire levels on my second attempt. Soon, my bananas bubble under a thick brown sugar and butter sauce that I top with vanilla ice cream in a bowl.
With the help of Kelley’s culinary assistants, the room was transformed while we cooked. Our prep areas have been cleared to become tables for the feast, with Mardi Gras masks, beads and Hurricane cocktails adding to the theme.
True to Kelley’s word, we got through the menu in 90 minutes, with time at the end to eat and celebrate. The best part? I’ve got three new recipes, including a flaming, crowd-pleasing showstopper, that I’m bringing home.
If you go:
The Mix at Mitchell Hall
250 Cleveland Ave., Downtown
614-287-5126
Class registration is online and spaces can fill quickly. Coordinator Tommy Tucker recommends checking the website often, especially early in the month when many classes are added to the schedule.
This story appeared in the May 2026 issue of Columbus Monthly. Subscribe here.
This article originally appeared on Columbus Monthly: How to Flambé Your Way to Fun at Columbus State’s Mitchell Hall
Reporting by Linda Lee Baird, Columbus Monthly / Columbus Monthly
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