Well Seasoned

By Lisa Arnett
March 2023 View more Discover

Fine-tune your culinary skills at these three spots for cooking classes

Marcel’s Culinary Experience

GLEN ELLYN

This housewares boutique and culinary school has been boosting the cooking talents of west suburbanites since owner Jill Foucré opened the doors in 2011. Her staff of seven chefs with different specialties teach about 250 classes a year. Most are hands-on instruction, with some chef’s table demonstrations in the mix. Summer camps for kids ages 6 to 16 are especially popular. “You can count on us always having a good variety of cooking from different parts of the country and different parts of the world—French, Italian, Pacific Northwest, Napa, Southern cooking,” Foucré says. Not sure where to start? Consider the $30 knife-skills class held the first Saturday of each month. “Our chefs do a little bit of knife skills in every class they do, but this is an intensive one-hour class, and you’ll go home with a very large bag of chopped vegetables.” 490 N. Main St., marcelsculinaryexperience.com

Good to know: Marcel’s specializes in custom private classes for all occasions, from intimate wedding showers to team-building events. “It’s definitely an attractive thing for corporate groups but also just family and friends,” Foucré says. “We’ve had people who wanted to give the gift of a private event for their adult children, wanting to give experiences rather than things.”

North American Pizza & Culinary Academy

LISLE

The most serious of pizza-makers flock to this state-of-the-art facility for its five-day pizzaiola certification that follows the curriculum of the world-famous Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli. Less intense (but just as delicious) recreational classes run two to two and a half hours and range in topic from pasta or gnocchi to a variety of pizza styles (like Chicago, New York, Detroit, Roman, Neapolitan). “If you’re looking to do a pizza class, I always suggest starting with whatever your favorite pizza is to eat because then you’ll have so much fun learning how to make it,” says Stephanie Monti, culinary director. “For nonpizza classes, think about what you’ve been wanting to learn on your own but it feels too hard to tackle. You can make your mistakes in class, and we can tell you how to fix it.” 1970 University Ln., pizzaculinaryacademy.com

Good to know: Satisfy your pizza cravings without getting your hands dirty at Pizza and Prosecco, a demo/dinner-party combo where you can watch a chef cook pizza and then devour it along with salad, dessert, and bubbly.

Sur La Table

NAPERVILLE

Whether you’re well-versed in cooking basics or haven’t mastered much more than Kraft Easy Mac, the chef-instructors at this Naperville kitchen store will share their kitchen knowledge. “Our classes are designed for anybody to take, whether beginner or advanced. There’s a lot to choose from—we offer three to four classes every single day of the week,” says Andrea Wolbers, general manager. “We have some family fun classes where kids can come with their parents; we have date nights for couples.” Classes of 16 students work in groups of four, and topics might center around one cuisine—Indian, Japanese, Greek—or focus on mastering a specific craft, such as croissants, stuffed pastas, or cast-iron cooking. Summer camps for kids and teens 7 to 17 go live for online registration in early March and typically sell out by the start of May. 55 S. Main St., surlatable.com

Good to know: The store often runs partnered events with brands carried in the store, such as Le Creuset cookware or SLT carbon steel woks. After any class, students score a 10 percent-off coupon to use on any store purchases that day.

Photos courtesy of Marcel’s, North American Pizza & Culinary Academy, and Sur La Table