Have you ever attended a cooking class?

cupcakechef

cupcakechef

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I love to take cooking classes when I travel. Living in Japan right now, I was at one stage going to a monthly cooking class where I learned how to make a range of Japanese dishes. I've also done classes on vacation in Malaysia and South Korea.

I never thought to do a cooking class in my home country, but whenever I travel I always like to learn more about the local cuisine.

What about you? If you haven't attended a class before, is there a particular type of class you'd be interested in?
 
I have not been into a cooking class before. I like what you are doing as I am into learning new culture, language and cuisine. If ever I will be on a trip I will also go to Japan and learn how they prepare traditional Japanese food most specifically the "shoku" way of cooking. I am also interested to visit Vietnam and learn how to cook their street food.
 
Not quite a cooking class per say but I won a competition a few years back for a truffle (as in chocolate) making course which was great fun despite my allergy to dairy. I learnt a lot and can now make my own dairy free chocolate truffles which is wonderful fun and something I am looking forward to doing again this Christmas.

I would love to take a sourdough making course just to see some different recipes and see if I am doing it correctly and more importantly to learn what mistakes I could be making. People talk about over or underproofing the sourdough in the first proofing and I sit there wondering how you know by the cracks down the side - sometimes those cracks appear to be wanted and sometimes they don't!
 
The only cooking classes I ever had was when we were in junior high school and we had to take Home Economics classes.
That is where I learned a lot of my cooking skills. The Home Ec teacher was so mean and made sure that we did everything
perfectly. I often use some of the things I learned there in my every day cooking.

I would be opened to taking cooking classes. I am not really big into desserts so I would like a chorus in preparing main
dishes from other cultures, Vietnamese, Korean, Labonese, etc.
 
When I was in my teens, I went to some cooking classes. I had a keen interest since my young days to cook nice food.
Our national supermarket was running courses in all fields and cooking was one of those fields. I enjoyed the classes especially I was the youngest student. My mum was working in my dads shop all day, 6 days a week, and I wanted to help mum in the kitchen. So I learned some basic cooking and my first dish I learned was spaghetti bolognaise.
My mum and my grand mum were the best cooks I ever met in my whole life. Mind you I was a chef for over 30 years.
Those cooking classes were a first step in to my future career as a chef, I just did not know it back then. I can remember the cooking classes like it was yesterday.
Now when I travel to Thailand and Switzerland and other countries, I get to know the locals and I get to see how they cook their local food. I make notes and then I try it at home in Australia.
 
The best way to get lessons is to go into a professional kitchen ,young chefs would always work holidays and days off in other kitchens for experience ,all for the love of the trade ,oriental and ethnic every day is a learning journey if you've got passion in what you love,
Saying that I have done a cake decorating course and a chocolate course years ago but this was in addition to a city in guilds in pastry I was doing at the time
 
I haven't, but I have not ruled it out at all. I'm also up to learning something in the kitchen it's just I like quick fixes. That said, I would not mind some six-week courses here and there. I have a girlfriend who does pastry classes so I have been considering that......for a very long time.
 
I once attended a free cooking seminar in the mall. But due to the numerous participants, the lesson was not that clear. Besides, the instructor was always using terms that are not clear to us. That's the problem with a foreigner instructor for he doesn't know the kitchen culture here. Maybe I would have learned something if the instructor was a Filipino that we can relate to what he is saying and showing. Yes, despite the vidi wall presentation, I really did not get anything substantial.
 
During my high school days we had cooking class and that is the start where I began to had a passion for cooking aside from the cooking lessons I had learned from my grandmother and mother who are both a good cook. But it is my dream to really attend a cooking class where I can learn the other aspects of cooking and baking skills.
 
Corzhens said:
I once attended a free cooking seminar in the mall. But due to the numerous participants, the lesson was not that clear. Besides, the instructor was always using terms that are not clear to us. That's the problem with a foreigner instructor for he doesn't know the kitchen culture here. Maybe I would have learned something if the instructor was a Filipino that we can relate to what he is saying and showing. Yes, despite the vidi wall presentation, I really did not get anything substantial.
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The classes that I have enjoyed the most and learned the most from have always been the smaller class environments rather than big group settings. I had one with only four participants once that I went to, and I would say it's the best one I've been to!
 
My husband and I attended a cooking class/demonstration at Williams Sonoma. It was fun, but it got a little long. We made the mistake of showing up hungry, and we didn't get to eat anything until the class was over--two hours later. So it was a little hard to focus on the cooking when all we wanted to do was eat. Also, we didn't actually get to participate in the cooking, just watch it. That was disappointing to me. I would have rather had a hands-on class than just a demonstration.
 
I went to a Christmas baking class once. Everyone there was serious about baking as a business so I didn't have much fun. It was full of housewives with nothing to do and I was a yuppie millenial who had a day off. Suffice to say it's an experience I don't want repeated.
 
I haven't been to a cooking class but would love one. I absolutely love watching the Food Network. I get inspired and learn so much from the cooking shows. What I love about the Food Network is the hosts are very knowledgeable and I can watch a baking show with Anna Olson as the host and learn about making shortbread and then in the next half hour watch Bobby Flay grilling. You can pick up so much from watching these celebrity chefs. I often go the Food Network website to search for the recipes. Then I'll get the ingredients I need and try out the recipes.
 
The only time I attended a cooking class was also during my vacation in Bali, Indonesia. I guess signing up for a cooking class is gaining popularity with tourists especially where food is really a part of the country's culture. Attending a cooking class in a country you're visiting is a great way to know more about the country's way of life. I didn't know about it but my friend insisted that we give it a try. It was fun and well-organized. We were able to participate in all aspects, from the food preparation to the actual cooking and of course, the best part was the food sampling.
 
I haven't attended a cooking class since high school but it's definitely on my to-do list, it sounds so fun! There's an Italian market close to our apartment that offers cooking classes sometimes and I'm just waiting until they have one that I can fit into my schedule. I love finding new recipes online but I'm a much more visual learner so watching someone actually cook and having the chance to ask questions is awesome for me.

For awhile I worked at a baking supply store that hosted Wilton decorating classes, but I was never able to attend. I worked my way through the books myself but I feel like a real instructor is able to give little tricks and techniques that a book just can't offer.
 
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