The best cooking classes in Chicago

Culinary novices, take note: Competent knife handling is arguably the foundation on which all good cooking is built. If you don’t know the first thing about slicing and dicing, this two-and-a-half-hour class—a long-time Chopping Block favorite—is a great place to start. Along with receiving a hands-on lesson in technique, you’ll also learn how to choose, sharpen and store knives. Wine and beer available for purchase, or BYOB (corkage fee applies).

If you are hosting a party and you want it to be as memorable as possible, you can’t afford to skimp on the hors d'oeuvre. This course aims to move you beyond pigs in a blanket or bag of chips and pre-made dip. In this hands-on cooking class, you’ll learn the basics of preparing simple but delicious appetizers, including a mid-century inspired rumaki featuring shrimp, water chestnuts, and chicken livers wrapped in bacon and simmered in a brown sugar, orange, and whiskey sauce, as well as figs and nectarines with goat cheese, prosciutto, and a balsamic syrup drizzle.

If you really want to learn how to cook, you’re going to need more than a few classes of recipes. In this culinary bootcamp, you can get the training you need to handle any kitchen task. You’ll learn basic knife skills, kitchen organization techniques and how to source the finest ingredients at any budget. Then, you’ll start learning practical cooking techniques, including how to prepare fish, chicken and beef, how to make stocks, sauces and dressings and how to quickly prepare entire meals that are sure to impress. This course is an immersive and intensive culinary training program, so be prepared to spend all-day in the kitchen (for a week).

Mushrooms are a very divisive food. While they have a fairly unique taste and texture that make them certainly not for everyone, they are an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be made in a ton of different ways. In this demonstration cooking class, you'll learn how to prepare and source different kinds of mushrooms, what dishes benefit from the addition of mushrooms and recipes that leverage the unique flavor to their advantage. You’ll learn how to make mushroom yogurt lettuce cups, portobello cheese “steaks,” mixed mushroom lasagna, and French onion and mushroom broth soup.

Italian cooking is one of the most storied cuisines in the world and, if you are feeling adventurous, you can enroll in a class at Tutore Italian Cooking School and learn that it is more than just spaghetti and pizza. These classes, which are all taught by experts in Italian cooking techniques, cover everything from the basics of traditional pasta to regional versions of Italian cooking (Venetian and Tuscan food isn’t the same) and offer students the chance to get hands-on experience working in a real kitchen setting. The classes cover everything from basic cooking skills to specific recipes and step-by-step instructions for cooking full meals. In addition, all Tutore classes are BYOB, so you can enjoy a glass of Italian wine as you cook and snacks are provided (in addition to the completed meal once you are done with the class).

When spring rolls around, one of the most exciting things you can do is take advantage of all of the delicious fresh herbs. You’ll learn how to create herb-forward dishes as you learn to make herb-forward meals featuring a “last meal” salad topped with green goddess dressing, savory spring hand pies, and marinated feta with herbs. In addition to learning how to cook with spring herbs, you’ll also get advice on how to maintain a kitchen herb garden and you’ll leave the class with your own selection of potted herbs.

While cooking can seem complicated, there are a few simple techniques that anyone can learn to take their home cooking to the next level. This course focuses on the essential skills that all chefs will need to learn and how to apply those skills in the kitchen. You’ll learn how to handle a knife, prepare broths and stocks and create pan sauces. You’ll also learn a handful of simple, versatile recipes that you can add to your regular rotation or make for friends and family.

Why settle for drinking wine when you can start to make your own. In this two-session course, you’ll learn the science behind vinting and discover what makes various kinds of wine unique. You’ll work with experienced winemakers and participate in every step of the process as you create your own personalized wines to share and enjoy. Taking advantage of the school’s industrial-quality wine cellar, you’ll have the chance to age as much as six gallons of wine. After it has had its chance to ferment, you’ll get to bottle your wine and take it home as your own personal vintage (usually about 25-30 bottles).

If you are or are considering becoming a vegetarian, you’ll want to get some practice making a diverse collection of recipes and learning how to really bring out the flavor in vegetarian dishes. In this course, you’ll learn how to work with seasonal produce, flavor and season vegetables and grains and add flavor to your meals without just adding a ton of cheese or cream. In particular, you’ll spend time working with tofu to create a range of flavorful dishes, including Mushroom Bolognese with Parmesan-Polenta Cakes, Curried Chickpea-Sweet Potato Fritters with Raita Sauce and Vietnamese Shaking Tofu with Rice Noodles, Red Cabbage, Lime and Peanut.

At this point, sushi is no longer a trendy, upscale food. You can find it in a grocery store in the suburbs in Indiana. However, sushi can still be somewhat intimidating to make a home, given that it is raw fish. In this sushi making workshop, you’ll learn all of the techniques you need to prepare the rice, filet the fish and roll/cut the sushi into portions. This class will see students preparing Maki Rolls, Inside-Out Rolls, Spicy Tuna Rolls, as well as Salmon and Eel Nigiri and the skills they learn will apply to virtually any roll that piques your fancy.

If you are in the mood for a carefully balanced drink or you want to impress friends and family with a practical party skill, consider enrolling in this mixology course. An expert bartender and professional mixologist will guide you through the science of making cocktails, explaining why some drinks are shaken, why some are stirred, the history of the cocktail and the process that goes into perfectly balancing flavors. Then, you’ll have a chance to try your own hand at making a selection of drinks, including classics from the early days of cocktail making (like the Martini and the Old Fashioned) to modern favorites like the Paper Plane.

The craft beer, microbrewing and homebrewing scene has exploded in the last decade and it is easier than ever to start brewing your own beer at home. If you are interested in pursuing this as a hobby or as a way to make a little money on the side, you should consider enrolling in this hands-on beer brewing course to learn the art and science of home brewing. You’ll spend the class preparing the beer of your choice (make anything from a light and refreshing pale ale to a dark and full-bodied Imperial stout) and then, 3-4 weeks later, you will return to bottle your beer (approximately 48 bottles) and take it home to share with family and friends.

Pairing dinner and drinks can be far more difficult than it seems on the surface. While it might seem inconsequential or easy, there are a lot of rules to follow and it can be difficult to pick out the exact wine that you want to serve your guests. Consider making the task easier by enrolling in a course like this one and working with a professional sommelier to learn how experts sample, judge and pair wine. You’ll sample a collection of wines, learn the science behind both winemaking and wine pairings and you’ll get a discount on any in-store wine purchases. There is a regularly rotating selection, so be sure to check this event out.

Mastering the art of cooking is often about more than just learning how to follow a recipe. You’ll need to learn how to balance flavor profiles, properly season your food and how to pair multiple dishes for maximum effect. This course will teach students the science of taste and flavor profiles and will introduce them to the five basic tastes: Salty, Sweet, Bitter, Sour and Umami. Then, you will learn how to use a range of herbs, spices, aromatics and oils to accentuate or dull certain aspects of these basic tastes, giving you far more control over the dynamic flavors that you (literally) bring to the table.

Take a culinary trip to the streets of Mumbai in this demonstration cooking class. You’ll learn a handful of easy-to-prepare recipes that are designed to be eaten on the go and you’ll learn about the right culinary traditions of the Indian subcontinent. You’ll watch a live cooking demonstration and, at the end of the course, get to sample some of the finished product. The menu includes crunchy tikki—a spiced potato cutlet, and endlessly adaptable pakoras—fritters made with your choice of fresh vegetables. You’ll also learn how to prepare Hot chai tea.

Move past boring boxed spaghetti on your next pasta night with one of these exciting, hands-on pasta-making classes. In these classes, you’ll learn how to make homemade pasta from scratch, handling everything from preparing the dough to using a pasta maker to get the noodles into shape. This will help you make fresher, better-tasting pasta as part of any meal (and pasta can complement virtually any meal) and you’ll learn how to take your pasta dishes to the next level as you learn how to make a range of different sauces.

Few foods are as universally beloved as pizza. Regardless of your thoughts on pineapple on pizza or the relative qualities of Chicago deep dish vs. New York style pizza, we can all agree that sometimes, you just need to get a fresh pizza. However, that can cost a lot in delivery fees and even good take out pizza can be hit or miss. Taking a pizza-making class is a great way to alleviate this and start making excellent dinners at home for yourself or for guests. You can take classes in traditional neapolitan pizza-making, deep dish pizza-making or even a class where you learn how to make Detroit or St. Louis style pizza.

Sign your group up for a night they won’t soon forget in this virtual pizza-making seminar. In this class, a skilled chef will walk attendees through the process of kneading and proofing pizza dough, rolling and throwing it into shape, topping the pizza and cooking it to perfection. Since pizza is so versatile, students will be encouraged to add their own flair to the finished meal. All of the dry ingredients will be shipped to participants beforehand and they will receive gift cards to encourage them to acquire meats and cheeses that fit their taste preferences. Gluten free options are also available.

While sushi making can seem intimidating, it is also a fun activity that lets you get real hands-on with your food as you prepare the dish. In this virtual sushi-making workshop, you and your team will be guided by a professional chef through all of the steps of the sushi preparation process. This includes everything from preparing the rice (which has its own distinct process relative to other rice) to fileting and preparing the fish to constructing and cutting the hand-rolled seaweed pieces. Your team will be able to purchase their own filling (and be reimbursed for the trouble), so everything will be fresh and participants who are either vegetarian or not comfortable with the idea of raw fish can participate as well.

Perhaps you are less interested in hosting a dinner party for your team members and would rather just enjoy a nice happy hour with them. In this class, everyone on your team will receive a kit containing all of the tools they need to start mixing their own cocktails and syrups, bitters and garnishes that are used to transform sprites into complex mixed drinks. Everyone will receive a gift card reimbursing them for the spirits and over the course of an hour, they’ll craft three delicious cocktails. While you learn the process of making drinks, an experienced mixologist will explain the science and art that goes into making a mixed drink. Non-alcoholic mocktail options are also available.