To create the best place for cooks to shop—it’s a goal that’s changed little since Sur La Table’s inception. Founded in 1972 by culinary aficionado Shirley Collins, Sur La Table was created at a time when it was difficult to find many of the premium-quality culinary tools Shirley had found on her travels.

Shirley began her dream with an intimate retail space located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the oldest continuously operated farmers market in the United States. As someone who cooks with fresh local ingredients, Shirley chose a location that made Seattle’s bounty of fresh produce and seafood easily accessible to Sur La Table customers.

Word quickly spread about the quirky little shop packed to the rafters with everything for cooks. Guided by Shirley’s culinary passion and prowess, Sur La Table’s expansive selection of hard-to-find and cutting-edge utensils soon had food enthusiasts from around the globe making a pilgrimage to Seattle.

Many successful years later, in 1995, Sur La Table was purchased by the Behnke family of Seattle (Sally Behnke, John and Shari Behnke, Carl and Renée Behnke). Kindred culinary spirits, the Behnkes soon set out to share this wonderful Seattle institution with other cities. Opening a second store in Berkeley that same year, Sur La Table has since expanded and currently operates locations throughout the United States.

Renée Behnke’s vision for Sur La Table was to offer customers a multi-cultural culinary experience by providing them with authentic tools and serving pieces to prepare cuisines from around the world. She also wanted to offer great service from knowledgeable employees who were educated about preparation, presentation, and all the tools Sur La Table carried. Renée developed the Sur La Table Culinary Program to educate and energize both employees and customers. “I realized so many people never had a chance to learn cooking—simple as well as more sophisticated cooking.”

Starting with the first program at Berkeley in 1996, ours is the largest nationwide, avocational cooking program in the United States, with energetic and up-to-date curricula teaching 50,000 cooking enthusiasts a year how and what to cook. Most classes are hands-on and focus on seasonal cuisine and technique-oriented courses; skill levels range from beginner to advanced, with special courses devoted just to kids and teens. Private cooking lessons are available in all programs.

Today, Sur La Table is a multimillion-dollar business with stores nationwide, a mail-order catalog, gift registry and retail Web site. Still based in Seattle, it’s owned by a group of private investors, including Freeman Spogli and the Behnke family. Carl Behnke is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Renée Behnke is President Emeritus.

More than three decades after first opening its doors, Sur La Table is the culinary mecca it set out to be. With thousands of products from vendors worldwide, it competes on a global level, attracting new devotees with its dedication to culinary diversity, innovation and authenticity.