Smelling something in the Student Union Memorial Center lately? It might be a creation of the Culinary Cats, a new club on campus that celebrates something close to the hearts of college students – food.

Last semester, Thomas Campagna, a business management junior who says his dream is to own and operate his own restaurant, wanted to join a cooking club on campus.

When he found out there was none, he started one.

“”I love to cook,”” Campagna said, “”and there was nothing else like this on campus.””

Each month, the club holds a meeting to plan a dinner. First, members choose a topic or ethnicity, such as Italian or Mexican food, and come up with ideas for a full-course gourmet meal.

Then, at the end of the month, the club participates in an interactive cooking class where they cook the planned menu with tips and guidance from an expert chef in the SUMC’s professional kitchen.

“”It’s incredible. We’re able to create any idea that we come up with,”” said club co-founder Ashlie Emert, a physiology junior looking forward to making crÇùme brǯlée and tarts for this month’s dessert theme.

Club adviser Victoria Christie, assistant director of dining services at the UA, uses her connections in the food business to bring in a different chef each month who specializes in the type of food the club is interested in cooking.

“”I’m pleased as an executive chef to help students learn and gain experience about great food,”” Christie said. “”It’s a tremendous privilege.””

“”It’s laid back and a lot of fun,”” Emert added. “”You don’t have to know how to cook to join, there’s people to teach you. It’s a great experience.””

For anyone interested in joining, the club will be meeting today at 3 p.m. outside the east entrance of the SUMC, by Burger King and Panda Express.

For more information, e-mail Campagna at campagna@email.arizona.edu.