When Shellie Kark sat around her family’s dinner table growing up, she didn’t realize a business model was being formed.
Kark, a Denver native who graduated from RMHA in 1984, is the co-creator of KitchenCUE, an interactive DVD series that teaches people core techniques of cooking from the comfort of their own homes.
KitchenCUE strives to demystify cooking and make it easy to vary the cooking routine by using new ingredients. The goal is for users to gain the confidence to experiment with their cooking once the process is understood.
Kark says KitchenCUE was founded on the idea of family values.She and her husband, Kitchen- CUE co-creator Kevin Higgins, infuse that idea into both the name and practice of their company.
“We believe in the value of spending time around the table, keeping family together, caring for one another and living a noble, virtuous life,” says Kark. “To that end, the actual name of our company is Kol Ha’kavod, meaning ‘all of the honor.’ We aspire to bring that honor to the forefront through our work.”
Kark says those values were always present while she was growing up.
Her father Marvin Kark was one of the founders of the school. Her mother, Roselyn Kark, is an art teacher at Herzl-RMHA.
As a member of the second class ever to graduate from RMHA, Shellie Kark calls her class “pioneers.”
“We felt special,” she says. “It was a place that gave you internal strength and confidence in who you were and what you believe in. The leadership skills I learned through debate, color war and all of the other educational experiences gave me the freedom to express who I was and what was important to me.”
Kark looks back on her dual curriculum in secular and Judaic studies as challenging, but felt a great deal of support from faculty.
“Through the education I received at RMHA, I was certainly able to compete on a much higher level once I got to college.”
Kark says she has fond memories of the way diversity was celebrated during her years at RMHA.
“I now have a good level of tolerance of all people — Jewish and non-Jewish. I was taught that when others believe differently than I do, you treat them with respect.”
Research supports Kark’s belief in the importance of family dinners. According to the book, Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family, studies show that children benefit in many ways from eating meals with their parents.
Herzl-RMHA is launching a pilot program focusing on nutrition this fall.
Information: (720) 449-9550.