Meet Monika Reti | owner and founder of Hipcooks

Hi, I’m Monika Reti, owner, and founder of Hipcooks. Hipcooks Cooking Schools are known for measurement-free cooking, delighting in the process, and inventing along the way. Every class (be it a public class with drop-in students or a private class for a group or team-building) ends with a dinner party, sipping wine, and making new friends around a large communal dining table.

I grew up in a multicultural family (Mom is from Germany, dad from Argentina) in a foodie household. My parents had a vibrant community of international friends, being immigrants themselves. There wasn’t money for restaurants, but there were copious roving dinner parties: everyone loved cooking, sharing new things, and spending days hanging out. As a kid, I was exposed to culture and food from France, India, Russia, Spain, Morocco, and the Caribbean (to name a few.) It inspired in me a curiosity to travel — literally and through my taste buds. When I lived in London, I cooked professionally at a series of international restaurants just for fun. I moved to LA to work at the RAND Corp in Santa Monica. I kept a toe in the kitchen, hosting dinners at my place often.

Hipcooks was born from a spark when hosting a spontaneous dinner party. I was fridge-diving (as usual) to whip up a fun meal when a friend said “I want to cook like you: you never freak out when a bunch of people show up. I would be a stress ball. You make delicious food from nothing — how do you do that?”

My friend ignited in me the driving concept behind Hipcooks and with this concept, everything else fell into place organically. The Hipcooks’ mission is to teach people to cook while delighting in the process. Rather than viewing cooking as a chore, or cooking for others as intimidating, let it be an act of love and exploration. Hipcooks invites you to take back the kitchen as a place of nourishment and creativity. And while we’re “taking back the kitchen,” how about we take back the dining room? It’s not a place for mail, it’s a place to connect with family, friends, and neighbors over a lingering meal.

I was very lucky (preparedness meets opportunity!) because Hipcooks received great media attention, top Google placement and grew quickly, but organically. To this, I have huge gratitude for my friend Dana Watanabe, who built the very first iteration of Hipcooks as a favor. This was in 2004, when websites for businesses like mine were still fairly new, and I grew by leaps and bounds because of it. Dana, you are solid gold!

When I opened my second location in West LA in 2006, I met my angel investor Harald Wusthof (of the best kitchen knives!) and together, we opened 5 more Hipcooks locations, before I bought him out in 2018. I am forever grateful for his mentorship.

And finally, thank you to all the journalists who have taken an interest in Hipcooks and have helped spread the word! We do not advertise anywhere, preferring word-of-mouth and reputation to be our driving force. Hipcooks is proud to be counted among the top 25 Cooking schools in America, and the only other beside Sur La Table with more than one location. Thank you for the recognition!