About the Owner

 You know how families don’t eat together like they used to? In decades past, families and friends lived in the same communities and same cities. Families had dinner together on Sundays and maintained relationships & communities to support each other. Today, we are all over the country, and have lost touch with our loved ones, and those who support us. 

Kelley Cole, owner and founder of Gia’s Italian Kitchen, brings friends and family together through interactive Italian cooking, where she comes to you for a private cooking experience (in-person or virtually). You select a custom menu, many of which are from her family in Tuscany, and you cook together.  Picture a zoom cooking experience with your family and friends across the country. Engage your parents, siblings, children and grandchildren. Reunite with high school or college friends or even your neighbors in a fun, learning environment!

Having grown up in the kitchen with a large Italian family, Kelley Cole, owner and founder of Gia’s Italian Kitchen, brings expertise, authentic recipes, and the love of connecting friends & family together through food. She offers interactive cooking instruction, in-person and virtually, for private group dinners, as well as personalized coaching in the kitchen, and employer teambuilding events. She prepares the participants with grocery and gadget lists ahead of time, so everyone is ready at showtime, and they are ready to catch up & laugh with friends & family.

Ms. Cole also supports her community by doing volunteer cooking classes once every month at the Marion Library, as well as sitting on the Board of Directors at Orchestra Iowa in Cedar Rapids. This is all served with a generous helping of amore...and 10% of the profits are donated to Feed Iowa First and Feeding America!

Her husband, Peter, is a chemical engineer at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and loves to support Gia’s Italian Kitchen as the chief taster. They have two children…and an Aussie-doodle named Enzo. 

 I have worked in finance all my life, but sharing my love of Italian cooking with others has always been a passion of mine.  I am thrilled to welcome you all to Gia’s Italian Kitchen.