The Best Cooking School Tips and Hacks
November 3, 2020
In the midst of the pandemic, there are options for all kinds of learning that didn’t exist before—including the time to learn how to become a better cook! While we love supporting local cooking schools, there are also options for learning from the best national and international chefs online.
In-Person Classes
Aurora and Denver have an impressive selection of chef schools where in-person classes are still happening. Classes have always been small (generally less than 12 students) to allow for personalized instruction and most are priced at under $100 per person—that includes a two-hour class and then dinner, of course!
For a dazzling array of foods from cultures all over the world, check out the themed classes at Aurora’s Create Cooking School in the Stanley Marketplace, where you could spend a Night in Havana or a Trip to Thailand. An upcoming Eastern Mediterranean Night menu includes roasted garlic hummus, beef kofta. kebab, cucumber-tomato salad, and yellow basmati rice with tzatziki.
Other themed classes include Family Night, Date Night, and options for kids and teens. If you’d rather learn from home, you can enroll in a LIVE Create Foods online class—complete with an assembled food kit!
Your Local Rec Center
It doesn’t get any more local than classes designed by the town of Aurora—cooking events are held in one of three state-of-the-art teaching kitchens located in Aurora’s Recreation Centers. If you’d prefer to learn from home, there are also Aurora Cooks LIVE online classes!
An Aurora Cooks Custom Class is one of the most creative and fun ways to throw a party. You invite up to ten of your peeps to attend a private custom cooking class, then spend two hours learning from talented chefs how to create your culinary masterpiece! The last half hour is reserved for enjoying the meal! Menu options include Mediterranean, dim sum, homemade pasta, Spanish tapas, Venezuelan arepas, or sweet & savory tamales.
Kids’ Cooking Parties
The same kind of custom cooking class can be planned for an Aurora Cooks Kids Cooking Party. Little ones will learn how to make their own meal with fun food options like fondue, pizza, mini-sausage quiche, homemade pasta and sauce, salad skewers, or fiesta tacos. All meals end with Cupcake Mania!
Just as fun as a party, Sticky Fingers Cooking Classes offer food classes for younger children and teens with an emphasis on healthy eating and nutrition. Nothing is more adorable than a six-year-old who can tell you the difference between a fennel and an onion!
Serious Cooking Skills
Looking to take your culinary skills to the next level? This intensive Two-Day Basic Skills Workshop from The Seasoned Chef is Denver’s most popular and comprehensive cooking class. You’ll learn knife skills, mise en place, sautéing, roasting, grilling, sauce making, vinaigrettes and basic pastry techniques. There’s even a Young Chef class for ambitious younger cooks!
Full Menu of Online Classes
In the interest of continuing to look for pandemic silver linings, check out this list of top-of-the-line cooking schools from The Spruce Eats that you can participate in virtually!
Food and Wine scoured the internet to find the best culinary classes in three categories: livestream, including the Farm Cooking School and The League of Kitchens; private online culinary classes with chefs from around the world at The Chef and the Dish; and pre-recorded classes from the illustrious Culinary Institute of America!
Finally, you can’t find better instruction in overall cooking knowledge than America’s Test Kitchen! They, too, are offering their own special online cooking school!
Create Your Own Culinary Sensations at Southshore!
There’s no better place to learn about cooking and create culinary sensations than in your own custom kitchen in the master-planned community of Southshore! Check out the new homes in Aurora’s only lakeside community, offering a peaceful, family-centered neighborhood. Take a tour of the brand new homes from Richmond American Homes,Toll Brothers, and Taylor Morrison for a taste of Life at the Lake. These ranch and two-story designs are priced between the $400s and the $700s.