Best Cooking Classes
The Chopping Block
This well-established cooking outlet offers demonstration and hands-on classes at both their Lincoln Square and Merchandise Mart locations. Demonstration classes involve a chef making the dish from start to finish in front of you, but you do not actually participate in the cooking. You do, however, get to taste everything made... which is sometimes, legitimately, all we care about, right? If you’re interested in a demonstration class, try the Lincoln Square location first. The intimate set-up makes everything easier to see. The Mart location has strategically-placed mirrors so that attendees are able to watch what the chef is doing, but somehow it's not the same as watching up-close. The participation classes are great, especially the knife skills class (both locations' highest-selling class). I find it’s easier to remember the recipes and techniques when you are actually performing each of the steps. One note of caution: both locations sell wine and allow BYO, but they will charge a considerable corkage fee. To the left is a picture of the chicken mole we saw prepared at the Lincoln Square location. Very tasty. thechoppingblock.com
Charlie Trotter’s “Chef for a day”
An aspiring chef’s paradise. You begin your evening with a tour of the restaurant, including the expansive, basement-level wine cellar. Then you are able to prep food for that evening’s service, which in my case (see right) involved shucking clams and peeling carrots. Very advanced stuff. Then you'll enjoy a mish-mosh meal with the staff, made of whatever 4-star ingredients lay about, before the restaurant opens for service. Finally, you'll spend a few hours working on the line, plating various dishes for guests. This was, by far, the coolest thing I have ever done. The staff were a ton of fun, extremely knowledgeable, and unpretentious. Not only do you get to participate in and see how a 2-Michelin star kitchen functions, you get to taste each of the dishes! We even met Charlie for a fleeting moment! charlietrotters.com
An aspiring chef’s paradise. You begin your evening with a tour of the restaurant, including the expansive, basement-level wine cellar. Then you are able to prep food for that evening’s service, which in my case (see right) involved shucking clams and peeling carrots. Very advanced stuff. Then you'll enjoy a mish-mosh meal with the staff, made of whatever 4-star ingredients lay about, before the restaurant opens for service. Finally, you'll spend a few hours working on the line, plating various dishes for guests. This was, by far, the coolest thing I have ever done. The staff were a ton of fun, extremely knowledgeable, and unpretentious. Not only do you get to participate in and see how a 2-Michelin star kitchen functions, you get to taste each of the dishes! We even met Charlie for a fleeting moment! charlietrotters.com
Cook Au Vin
Cook Au Vin is located along the industrial strip on Elston Ave. and consists of a simple kitchen and dining area. The staff was unbeatably friendly, and they were definitely there to have fun and encourage fun (the email reminder the day before class directed us to wear comfortable clothing and to bring 2-3 bottles of wine per couple. and, no corkage fee!). The classes are composed of only 8-10 people, which seemed the perfect number because we were involved in each step of the cooking, and never found ourselves waiting for someone to finish up with a particular step. Although I didn’t enjoy the end-product (the soup was a bit bland and the pasta sauce oversalted), I learned a ton of useful tips and look forward to participating in other classes there in the future. To the left, see the black truffle soup with puff pastry we made as part of the "Champagne Menu" class. cook-au-vin.com
Cook Au Vin is located along the industrial strip on Elston Ave. and consists of a simple kitchen and dining area. The staff was unbeatably friendly, and they were definitely there to have fun and encourage fun (the email reminder the day before class directed us to wear comfortable clothing and to bring 2-3 bottles of wine per couple. and, no corkage fee!). The classes are composed of only 8-10 people, which seemed the perfect number because we were involved in each step of the cooking, and never found ourselves waiting for someone to finish up with a particular step. Although I didn’t enjoy the end-product (the soup was a bit bland and the pasta sauce oversalted), I learned a ton of useful tips and look forward to participating in other classes there in the future. To the left, see the black truffle soup with puff pastry we made as part of the "Champagne Menu" class. cook-au-vin.com
Spiaggia
This class was fabulous in every way, and it was actually led by Chef Tony Montuano himself! The staff included Spiaggia's executive chef Sarah, Tony's wife, Cathy, Jason (I think his sommelier?), and several stand-out servers who regularly work the restaurant. Spiaggia is oft-renowned as America's premiere Italian restaurant, and it's no wonder. Tony and his staff are extremely knowledgeable about Italy and dedicated to using the purest, most authentic Italian ingredients. The set-up appeared sterile and conference-like at first, with tables arranged in a big U on three sides of the demonstration table, but Tony's welcoming, casual humor made the class immediately comfortable and engaging. I learned a ton and was able to sample seven different courses from their yet-to-debut Venetian menu. The recipes were unbelievably simple, and I will definitely make all but one of them (the pickled sardine crostini, i could have done without) again soon! After the class was over, we were able to take photos and get signatures with Tony and he took down our emails in order to email us with restaurant suggestions for our upcoming trip to Italy. Fabulous, indeed. spiaggiarestaurant.com
Coming soon:
This class was fabulous in every way, and it was actually led by Chef Tony Montuano himself! The staff included Spiaggia's executive chef Sarah, Tony's wife, Cathy, Jason (I think his sommelier?), and several stand-out servers who regularly work the restaurant. Spiaggia is oft-renowned as America's premiere Italian restaurant, and it's no wonder. Tony and his staff are extremely knowledgeable about Italy and dedicated to using the purest, most authentic Italian ingredients. The set-up appeared sterile and conference-like at first, with tables arranged in a big U on three sides of the demonstration table, but Tony's welcoming, casual humor made the class immediately comfortable and engaging. I learned a ton and was able to sample seven different courses from their yet-to-debut Venetian menu. The recipes were unbelievably simple, and I will definitely make all but one of them (the pickled sardine crostini, i could have done without) again soon! After the class was over, we were able to take photos and get signatures with Tony and he took down our emails in order to email us with restaurant suggestions for our upcoming trip to Italy. Fabulous, indeed. spiaggiarestaurant.com
Coming soon:
- Bespoke Cuisine