Cooking classes offer lessons for every palate
Is learning to cook one of your New Year’s resolutions? Or perhaps learning to cook lighter, healthier fare?
Well, there are plenty of cooking classes offered from individual ones to those for couples and momand-child. There also are classes for children, teens and ones to meet nearly any special interest such as bread baking, cookie decorating, meat and fish cooking, and preparing dishes from around the world.
Some cooking schools have been around for a long time. Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson opened almost 10 years ago, in November 2009, with a cooking school as part of the huge store’s layout. Crate, a kitchen store and cooking school in Scott, has been in business since 1978 and offers more than 200 classes a year. Gaynor’s, a cooking school on the South Side, offers a full calendar of classes and also custom-designs cooking classes for groups and birthday parties for kids.
Chatham University’s cooking classes began to take off when the Eden Hall Campus in Richland provided the proper space starting in 2013. Students and graduates from the school’s master’s program in food studies lead most of the classes.
Other businesses are smaller or newer but catching up quickly in public interest. For instance, Threadbare Cider on the North Side offers classes that frequently sell out even though the cidery is relatively new on the scene.
Here’s a sampling of the places that offer cooking classes:
• A519 Chocolate, Millvale: Chocolatier Amanda Wright offers two classes at a Millvale production facility — a chocolate class that teaches truffle-making and a confections class on sugary items such as caramel sauce, vanilla flavored marshmallows and candied nuts. Ms. Wright says the most popular is the truffle class, which is at 3 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Feb. 15 and 6 p.m. Feb. 16. shop.a519chocolate.com.
• Assemble, Bloomfield: Billed as a “community space for arts and technology,” it holds 21-plus workshops that sometimes involve food. There’s a 21-plus kimchi workshop at 7 p.m. Friday with food, beer and nonalcoholic beverages. $35; $15 for Garfield residents. assemblepgh.org.
• Chatham University Eden Hall Campus, Richland: Introduction to Whole Grain Bread Baking (Sunday, $50), Introduction to Indian Breads (Feb. 2, $50), Butchering 101: The Whole Lamb (Feb. 17, $125). craft.chatham.edu/events/.
• Chop, WOK & Talk, Bloomfield: About 20 classes are held each month. Tex-Mex Favorites, Monday; Indian Dinner, Tuesday; Southern Cookin’, Jan. 30; Mexican Dinner, Jan. 31. $80 each. chopwoktalk.com/ schedule-of-classes/.
• Crate, Scott: Several classes in the next couple of weeks are already sold out, but remaining topics include Cake Decorating (Feb. 4, $70), Puff Pastry From Scratch (Feb. 21, $70) and several midweek lunchtime classes called “Lunch & Learns.” cratecook.com.
• Enrico Biscotti, Strip District: The small biscotti bakery offers bread- and pizza-making classes. Upcoming dates include March 10 and April 7 for bread, April 9 for Easter bread and quiche, and March 16, April 5 and April 12 for pizza. Each class is $85. enricobiscotti.com.
• Father Ryan Arts Center, McKees Rocks: Low-carb, high-fat cooking workshops, open to all and are family-friendly. 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 16 and March
16. $30; free for Sto-Rox residents. forstorox.org/classes.
• Gaynor’s School of Cooking, South Side: A seven-part Art of Fine Cooking series ($425) is offered periodically through the year, teaching such techniques as sauteing, braising, roasting and grilling, as well as making mayonnaises, vinaigrettes, souffles, mousses and stock. Upcoming singleday classes include Healthy & Hearty Vegetarian Soups & Stews (Monday, $95), Foods of India (Feb. 7, $95) and Kids’ Valentine’s Treats (ages 6 to 12, Feb. 9, $45). Sushi and pierogi classes are offered frequently. gaynorsschoolofcooking.com.
• Giant Eagle Market District, Robinson: Classes include a Basic Cooking Series (six classes for $325) as well as individual classes for adults, kids and teens. On the list are: Classical Mediterranean Cuisine (Saturday, $75), Valentine’s Day with Your Little Loved One (for children ages 5 to 10 and includes parent, Feb. 16, $30), Meat and Poultry Techniques (Feb. 20, $65) and more. Facebook.com (search for Market District Settler’s Ridge Cooking School) or eventbrite.com.
• Istituto Mondo Italiano, Regent Square: This Italian language school’s classes feature traditional Italian dishes such as tiramisu (Sunday, $35) and homemade mozzarella (Feb. 10, $55). istitutomondoitaliano.org/cookingclasses.html.
• The Kitchen by Vangura, North Huntingdon: This cooking school features La Bon Cuisiniere kitchen shop and periodic cooking classes. Chef Nick Saxon of Braddock’s in Downtown Pittsburgh holds a class on “Hops, Grapes & Beans: Cooking with Beer, Wine & Coffee” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday ($95). Others include an Early Valentine’s Day Dinner for couples on Feb. 1 and a couples’ Cupcake Wars class on Feb. 7, where couples will compete against each other. thekitchenbyvangura.com.
• La Tavola Italiana, Mount Washington: Carmela’s Kitchen Cooking Classes are offered once a month and followed with eating what is prepared. The 6 p.m. Feb. 7 class will feature crostini topped with honey and cheese, pasta with lobster tomato sauce, filet mignon with port raspberry sauce and chocolate foam with strawberries and pink sea salt. $75. latavolaitalianarestaurant.com (click on Cooking Classes).
• Macaron Bar, East Liberty: The macaron shop opened in Ross in the fall of 2017, but the newer East Liberty store has space for classes. The three-hour Intro to Macarons class ($95) is at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, and several times in March and April. macaron-bar.com/ pittsburgh.
• The Pennsylvania Market, Strip District: The food market that opened late last year has five kitchen stations, an international wine library, a courtyard with food vendors and artisans, craft cocktail bars and a balcony. Upcoming classes include An Italian Adventure in Food and Wine (Tuesday, $40), Wine 101 (Feb. 5, $30) and Mozzarella Pulling (Feb. 6, $35). thepamarket.com/classes/.
• Rania’s Catering, Mt. Lebanon: Caterer Rania Harris will reopen her classes in March. She will teach four of the 14 classes, while local chefs and food professionals will teach the others. A full four-course meal is served at the end of the classes; most are priced at $60. rania.com/classes.
• Thai Me Up, South Side: The restaurant holds once-a-month cooking classes and the next one is Rice 101 at 1 p.m. on Sunday ($40). It will teach about the kinds of rice used in Thai cuisine, how to cook them and how to use them in appetizers and Thai Fried Rice. 412-4888893 or facebook.com (search for Thai Me Up Pittsburgh).
• Threadbare Cider, North Side: Three sessions for homemade mozzarella are already sold out for February. Tickets are available for Valentine’s Day cookie baking classes on Feb. 4 and 11 ($40). threadbarecider.com/events.