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A perfect summer dinner...Flamiche
A perfect summer dinner...or brunch
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Applewood ManorCulinary
Small-group cooking and bread-baking classes taught by Robin Collins in her home kitchen at Applewood Manor.
Robin's love of cooking came from her mother, Mary Grace Ritchey. Cooking alongside her mother and sisters for family meals — drawing on her Italian and Lebanese heritage — gave her the confidence to explore other cuisines wherever life took her.
Robin has lived in several states and travelled widely, exploring each cuisine and often taking classes to master the techniques. Over the years she has hosted dinners for up to fifty, sharing her love of food, wine, and bread baking with friends, family, and her husband Stephen's work associates.
In 2020 Robin bought and ran the Applewood Manor Bed and Breakfast, where she continued cooking for guests, taught individual and group culinary classes and hosted multiple curated Michelin-star chef 3-day events. In 2024 the inn closed and Applewood Manor became home. Today, Robin is opening her kitchen again — to teach, to share, and perhaps to pass along a few family recipe secrets.
Each class is small — a maximum of four — and built so you'll leave with the confidence to make it again at home. Choose a class below, or get in touch and we'll build one together.
Baguettes and basic shapes by hand — shaping, scoring, baking. One dough, many breads to take home.
Mixed-grain breads, sourdough, ciabatta — and a real understanding of fermented dough that travels home with you.
Sweet enriched dough shaped into golden, glossy knots. Easier than they look. Better than any bakery's.
Boil-then-bake the proper way: chewy, crusted, and far better than anything store-bought. Plain or seeded.
Your weekly loaf, sorted. Soft, sliceable, freezes well. Never buy grocery-aisle bread again.
One supple dough; three things to do with it: pizza, focaccia, and an olive bread worth showing off.
Hand-rolled pasta with Robin's family red sauce — the recipe she grew up with, taught the way it was taught to her.
The proper Bologna way — slow-simmered ragù, fresh sheets, layered patiently. Vegetable lasagna option available.
Light, pillowy ricotta gnocchi — quicker than potato gnocchi, just as satisfying — with a bright pesto from scratch.
Lebanese-style hand pies for the freezer — quick lunches, easy snacks, real dinner when the day got away from you.
One crust, endless possibilities — quiches, tarts, fruit pies. Choose your direction; we bake all morning.
Coming up: summer pies, ice cream, holiday desserts, Christmas cookies. Or invite a few friends and we'll build something together.
Every class begins with one student's request — then opens up to fill the four seats. So your friends, neighbours, or someone new can join you at the table.
Browse the classes above. Each one runs about three hours unless noted, with a maximum of four students at the kitchen counter.
Tell her which class, your preferred dates, and how many of you. She'll confirm a date that works — and send pricing if the class needs more than the basic rate.
Once your date is set, Robin lists it under Upcoming on the site — friends, neighbours, or strangers can join you until the four seats are filled.
Show up hungry. Leave with full hands — what you made, what you learned, and a few of Robin's notes for at home.
A mix of seasonal classes Robin has put on the calendar and open classes from students who have already booked. If a date catches your eye, email Robin to claim a seat.
Saturday, 9am – 1pm (date & times are flexible, based on first person who books) Seasonal.
Saturday, 10am – 2pm · Classics for the holiday tin. Bring a box, take some home (date & times are flexible, based on first person who books) Seasonal.
Don't see what you're looking for? Email Robin and she'll schedule a class around you.
Mondays, mostly. Quick thoughts, a recipe, what to do when the dough doesn't rise — and small things from the week worth writing down.
Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association
The Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association (ABBA) is a collective of independently owned inns located in Asheville and the surrounding mountain towns of Western North Carolina, including Weaverville, Hendersonville, Waynesville, and Marion. Founded to champion the region's distinctive inns, ABBA's members range from historic homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places to rustic mountain lodges and working-farm retreats.
Every member inn is owner-operated — innkeepers live on the property, prepare a freshly made breakfast each morning, and offer the kind of local knowledge and personal hospitality a large hotel cannot. Guests choose an ABBA inn for an experience rooted in place: quiet, unhurried, and genuinely connected to the mountains around it.
Robin was part of ABBA during her years running the bed and breakfast at Applewood Manor, and keeps a personal friendship with the innkeepers across the Asheville area.
Tell Robin which class, when you'd like to come, and how many of you. She writes back personally — usually within a day or two.
culinary@applewoodmanor.com
