Guide To Adult Cooking Classes in Connecticut: 2019 Edition

You’ve arranged to keep the kids busy all summer long with camps and lessons, sleepovers and maybe a bit of volunteer work here and there, but what about some fun for YOU? Those kids shouldn’t get all the fun. And because we are, eh-hem, adults, learning a few new things alongside that good time is always a welcome bonus. Cooking classes are a unique way to have a memorable evening. You can go solo, with a friend or a group. Choose the flavors or the skills you are interesting in knowing more about. Then walk away with a full belly, new information and probably a few laughs under your chef’s apron. What the heck are you waiting for? Remember too, these are great gift ideas as well. Friend with a birthday during the summer? Treat them! It’s like dinner out but so much better. Pencil in some time for yourself this summer and treat yourself..like a kid. 

Here is our Guide To Adult Cooking Classes in Connecticut.

Green Palette Kitchen

www.greenpalettekitchen.com

Culinary Nutritionist Heather Carey knows a thing or two about healthy cooking, for yourself and your family. While she is a nutritionist and chef, she is also a mom of three teenagers, with a busy career. Making sure healthy food is on the table, that everyone will actually enjoy, means knowing the secrets to meal planning, using the right combination of herbs, spices to make real food taste delicious, as well as having your kitchen set up with the right tools for easy cooking. Heather teaches private and group cooking lessons at the Green Palette Kitchen, her comfortable state of the art teaching kitchen in Southport. Cooking lessons are always creative, fun and flavorful, yet simple enough that you can make the recipes at home. Heather teaches small group healthy cooking classes and highly personalized private one-one cooking lessons for people who have a specific health condition or simply want to learn how to eat better, and hosts wellness programs and workshops at the Kitchen. Cooking lessons are primarily plant-based and always focused on nutritious and delicious! Please visit her website to get in touch and see a list of upcoming cooking classes and events. 

AMG Catering and Events

www.amgcatering.com

Just voted best cooking classes on the Gold Coast, AMG is excited to announce their fall cooking class schedule. So what can you expect when you attend one of AMG’s many cooking classes? For starters, great cooking isn’t about recipes, it’s really about the techniques. In their classes, you will work together with other students in a fun, hands-on environment led by our professional chef instructors. You’ll lean lots of chef “short cuts” to make your experience in your home kitchen easier and more successful! Classes are 2 hours long and BYOB, size is limited to 16 students and you’ll be standing, cooking and working for most of the class so wear comfortable shoes! Every delightful and delicious dish that we create will be tasted by you, so bring an empty stomach. Their fall lineup of classes has been announced on their website, so sign up soon for such fun as 30 Minute Autumn Meals, Oktoberfest Cooking, Autumn Fish, Holiday Apps (be prepared early this year!) and more. Grab some friends, a spouse or give yourself a gift of some time and knowledge.

Chef Leticia

www.chefleticia.com

Chef Leticia has been teaching cooking classes in CT for over 10 years. Her work has been featured on hundreds of national media outlets, including the Today Show. She was also the food correspondent for NBC during the 2016 Rio Olympics. Chef Leticia is the author of 3 cookbooks and the spokesperson for a healthy living campaign. Her mission is to inspire you to take full responsibility of your well-being so that you can live a healthier, stronger and happier life. There is no better place to start than with her cooking classes, which provide an entertaining, educational, and tasty food experience. Classes can take place in your kitchen or in Leticia's kitchen which is located in Greenwich. Demonstration or hands-on, individual, group, team building, and corporate lectures-so many ways to learn to cook or brush up on new skills and menus. Leticia can make all the arrangements, including food shopping, prepping, organizing the recipes, and teaching you the techniques. This is culinary education and entertainment at its best!

ChopShop

www.chopshopcooking.com

Customized and personal.You could read a cookbook.You could watch a Youtube video. But if you really want to be a better cook, there is nothing better than learning at the side of a trained professional. At Chop Shop Cooking, Karen will take you step-by-step through the recipes, improving your knife skills, refining your techniques, and unlocking the secrets of the food you want to cook. The result? Four or more delicious dishes to enjoy during the class and the recipes and skills you need to recreate them at home! Hands-on classes are for 2-4 people, just pick your menu from her many offerings. If you’d rather sit back and relax, Karen offers demonstration classes for 4-8 people. There are a wide range of class topics such as Dim Sum, Spanish Tapas and Party Bites. Sit front row in Karen’s gorgeous Westport kitchen and watch as delicious food is prepared right in front of you and served fresh from the pan. Eat, drink, watch, chat, ask questions, make new friends... all in an intimate, friendly setting. See what’s on the menu, pick a class or design your own private class. 

The Fig Cooking School

www.figcookingschool.com

For a decade, The Fig Cooking School has brought guests together over vibrant and intimate hands-on cooking classes. Convenient to all of New Haven and Fairfield Counties, their state-of-the-art teaching kitchen in Walnut Beach, Milford is designed to inspire, with marble countertops and Wolf appliances gracing a striking copper bar. Colorful menus range from Steak au Poivre, to Northern Italian Cannelloni, to Persian Jeweled Rice, to Vegetarian Farmer’s Market Favorites, Yucatán Pork Pibil, or Bourbon-Banana Pudding and are designed to be relevant to guests of all skill levels - from absolute beginners to seasoned home chefs. Classes for public registration are held several times a week, and typically have 12-20 guests, while team building events and private parties can be arranged for groups of 10-35. After chopping, mixing and measuring together, guests sit down at community tables to enjoy the meal they have just prepared. It’s common to see guests exchanging phone numbers at the end of an evening of storytelling, laughter, and camaraderie that only breaking bread can bring.

Tim’s Kitchen at Wakeman Town Farm

www.wakemantownfarm.com

Wakeman’s cooking classes and events live at the intersection between learning and fun. They invite a variety of local food artisans and chefs as guest instructors, like “Beat Bobby Flay” winner and local restaurateur Brian Lewis (of The Cottage and OKO) and “Chopped” champion and restaurateur Matt Storch (Burger Lobster, Match), plus a smattering of passionate home cooks. For adults, they offer a roster of hands-on and demonstration classes on everything from Asian dumplings to burrata to local seafood and tagliatelle. Classes are arranged like dinner parties; guests participate in making the recipes, then sit together at farm tables to enjoy a meal with new friends. All adult classes are BYO wine or beer, and a great time is had by all! Tim's Kitchen is also available for wine dinners and private rentals of all kinds. In addition to boasting gleaming new appliances and a gorgeous entertaining space, Tim’s Kitchen is ramping up the fun-factor and introducing a new wood-fired oven, which will be used for pizza parties and to prep everything from hearth-baked pastas and breads to meat and fish.

They also offer popular after-school baking and cooking series’ that teach junior chefs to properly use knives, spiralizers and Mix Masters, all the while boosting their confidence in the kitchen. They also learn basic cooking techniques, like braising and sautéing, and a variety of handy culinary tips and vocabulary. Classes are infused with flavors from around the globe, and utilize fresh produce and herbs from the Farm’s organic gardens.

Join them for a class and see what all the buzz is about.

Calcutta Kitchens

www.calcuttakitchens.com

With classes offered through Westport Continuing Ed this summer, you’ll be able to tap into your global palate and learn about Indian cuisine courtesy of Calcutta Kitchens. You might have seen their jarred sauces around town…yup, that’s them! Dive into classes that are vegetarian and vegan in nature and feature such staples as beans, lentils, and, of course, plenty of veggies. Delicious meals of India, here you come.

Cookshop Plus

www.cookshopplus.com

Learn to cook at this get-everything-you-need-to-cook store. Classes on tap for this summer will center on seafood, an Italian pasta class lead by Chef Jon Gyles of Bricco in West Hartford and chicken dishes that will knock your socks off. A nice bonus is that class participants get 10% off any full-price purchase on the day of the class! More classes will held later in the Fall in their new expanded full kitchen, so don’t miss out!

Fairfield/Greenwich Cheese Company

www.fairfieldcheese.com

Sign up for one of the many ongoing cheese classes at the well-known and highly regarded Fairfield Cheese and you can learn the likes of pairing cheese with various foods or drinks, discover the differences, history, and subtle nuances of soft cheeses, hard cheese and everything in between…ah, the peril of learning. These evenings are fun and convivial and you will leave with a smile on your face. Cheese and Wine Pairing, Old World vs. New World, 2019 Winners fro the American Cheese Society

Hardcore Sweet Cupcakes

www.hardcoresweetcupcakes.com

cupcake decorating, cake decorating or cookie decorating

If you are in the mood to learn how to make cupcakes, work fondant, and decorate cakes, then you have come to the right place. You’ll choose your “theme”, flavors, filling and how to make any of these confections look as amazing as they will taste. All that  fondant and frosting is sure to get you in a sassy, super-sugary state, aka: having fun. Note: They currently are located in Oakville but will be moving to a new address in Watertown on July 10.

Jones Family Farms 

www.jonesfamilyfarms.com

Note: Summer classes are filled, as of the writing of this piece. The next series will be in Spring 2020-registration opens at the beginning of February. Don’t miss out!

Nestled on a 400 acre farm is their Harvest Kitchen Cooking Studio where you can learn to make fabulous meals utilizing many ingredients that originate on their farm! Interesting information about farming and nutrition also peppers the meals and a shared meal concludes the class. 

Culinary Works

www.culinaryworks.com

Culinary Works combines professional cooking instruction with a casual, hands-on social format that everyone can enjoy. Located in the kitchen design studios at  DEANE, Inc. in Stamford and New Canaan, CT, classes are interactive with seasonal menus such as Girls and Grilling, Summer Appetizers and Small Plates, Couples Summer Entertaining. These classes are a fun way to learn to cook with the flavors of each season and the best approach for maximum flavor, the freshest produce and the most soul-satisfying meal.

The Perfect Pear

www.perfectpearct.com

Located in the charming nook of Chester, The Perfect Pear is a chef-curated kitchen and tablewares store. However, running with a theme, they also host a variety of cooking demos: Pie Crust and Fruit Pies, Summer Soups,Cheese and Herb and more. Then, mull around the store to score some beautiful accents for your table for when you serve all this glorious food!

The Silo Cooking School at Hunt Hill Farm

www.hunthillfarm.org

Learn to cook at the first recreational cooking school in all of CT! Classes are held in an idyllic renovated horse barn that has hosted a long list of culinary notables over the years. This summer, explore such workshops as Tuscan Steakhouse, Farmers’ Market: Tour, Shop & Cook, and Caribbean Grill with old friends, or make new friends when you sit down to your newly-created feasts.

Thorncrest Farm

www.milkhousechocolates.net

They mean it and believe it that “The Magic is in the Milk!”. Cows at Thorncrest farm are lovingly cared for and given sweet hay and natural feeds. No surprise, the result is happy cows that produce superior milk that helps create delectable cheeses and dairy products. So simple when you think about it! Learn how to made cheddars, Creme Fraiche, Ricotta, Mozzarella, butter and even yogurt.

Wave Hill Breads

www.wavehillbreads.com

Note: 2019 classes are filled here too, but check back later in year for their 2020 listings. Mark your calendar!

Whole ingredients that are freshly milled results in honest, old school, superior products and this is something in which Wave Hill takes great pride. From flakey croissants to sourdough and 3-grain breads to cookies and scones, there is a wealth of artisanal craft here and the folks at Wave Hill want to share there expertise. Added bonus with their classes: each participant gets a loaf of fresh bread!