Don’t want to mess up your kitchen? Come to ours! In our hands-on cooking and baking classes, you’ll learn how to create delicious and beautiful meals ... no clean-up required. Classes are held in our Viking Teaching Kitchen and limited to 12 students. If you love cooking and want to learn new recipes, these classes will help you walk away ready to impress your friends and yourself! 

Foods of Ancient Greece

Instructor: Francine Segan
$125 | Register Online»
Saturday, October 18
10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Customs such as putting candles in a birthday cake, throwing a pinch of salt over your shoulder, and making a wish on a chicken bone are just a few of the superstitions we inherited from the ancient Greeks. In this lively and fun class, you’ll learn not only how to make the dishes that were the start of the Mediterranean diet but also about many of the fascinating myths and stories of the ancient Greeks. The menu includes the most delicious hummus you have ever tasted, plus figs filled with cheese and pistachios, arugula and radicchio salad with ginger-date vinaigrette, seared swordfish with mint-caper pesto, lamb with pomegranate-glazed onions, and milk and honey dessert toasts.

Francine Segan is a noted food historian and author of several books including Shakespeare’s Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes and The Philosopher’s Kitchen: Recipes of Ancient Greece and Rome. She lectures across the country for museums, historic homes, and theatre organizations.

Hearty Fall Soups

Instructor: Penny CM Stankiewicz
$125 | Register Online»
Sunday, November 2 (Please note: This date is an update from what is listed in the catalog)
12–3 p.m.

Who doesn’t love a steaming, rich bowl of soup as the weather cools? Come to this session to master the techniques to creating delicious, unctuous soups to satisfy the soul.

Featured Recipes: Tomato Cheddar Soup with Garlic Bruschetta, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Creamy Lemon Chicken Soup, Spicy Corn Chowder, Hearty Minestrone, Baked Potato Soup.

Penny CM Stankiewicz is the owner of Sugar Couture. A pastry chef and graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, she specializes in unique couture cakes and confections.

French Cuisine

Instructor: Paige Schiller
$125 | Register Online»
Saturday, October 25
10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Through the use of cuisine, this French cooking class will introduce you to the rich cultures and wonderful dishes from different regions. We will warm up with a wild mushroom and truffle bisque, a roasted root vegetable bisque, and continue with a classic sole amandine served with Parisian style potatoes. Coq au vin, a rustic country dish, will be comfort to your palate, ending with a tart but sweet cherry clafouti.

Paige Schiller graduated from the esteemed Peter Kumps New York Cooking School. Ms. Schiller worked in a variety of different milieu to find her niche as a private chef. Presently working as President Lawrence’s Chef here at SLC, she is happy to be able to follow her passion and creativity through teaching others.

The Cuisine of Catalonia

Instructor: Teresa Parker
$125 | Register Online»
Saturday, November 1
10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

A few years ago, The New York Times brought news of Spain’s culinary revolution to the U.S. with the pronouncement, “Spain is the New France.” Catalonia and its capitol city, Barcelona was, and still is, in the forefront of that creative movement for reasons that are more substantial than Ferran Adrià’s foams. Explore the foods of the region that best reflect its privileged position bridging the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, and historic Roman, Sephardic, and Arab influences. Learn updated versions of traditional Catalan dishes: coca — a pizza-like appetizer featuring eggplant and red peppers, an ethereal rosemary soup, Catalan spinach with pine nuts and raisins, duck with olives and prunes, and a dark chocolate dessert with a novel twist.

Teresa Parker trained as a chef in Barcelona. She now designs and leads culinary tours in Spain through her own food and wine-focused travel company, Spanish Journeys.

Italy’s Regional Cooking

Instructor: Francine Segan
$125 | Register Online»
Saturday, November 8
10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Each region of Italy has its specialty dishes. In this class, we’ll explore five of Italy’s most renowned culinary centers, including Tuscany and Emiglio Romagna. We’ll prepare classic dishes from a few of Italy’s best-loved cities including Florence, Naples, Milan, Venice, and Palermo, Sicily. You’ll learn to make mouthwatering risotto alla Milanese, Sicily’s famed pasta alla Norma, made-from-scratch Neapolitan pizza, tortes and pies from Florence, and Italy’s wonderful granite ice. Along with the recipes, you’ll also learn fun trivia about everyday life in Italy through a presentation of lively images of Italian art, culture, and food while you enjoy the dishes over a lunch that includes a wine tasting.

Fantastic Fall Pies

Instructor: Penny CM Stankiewicz
$100 | Register Online»
Sunday, November 16
11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Master the techniques of the perfect pie crust, demystifying it forever! Using Pate Brisee and Pate Sucree, you will make a variety of single and double crusted pies; perfect for any occasion, and, of course, for the holidays right around the corner.

Featured Recipes: Perfect Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Banana Cream Pie, Apple Ginger Pie, Mixed Berry Crumb Pie.

Cooking from the Opera Lover’s Cookbook

Instructor: Francine Segan
$175 | Register Online»
Saturday, December 13
10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Learn how to make classic Italian dishes inspired by our favorite operas such as Penne alla Norma, a delicious tomato, basil, and eggplant dish inspired in the late 1800s by Bellini’s beloved opera Norma, as well as delectable side dishes and desserts inspired by Puccini, Verdi, and other Italian composers. As you learn how to make a traditional opera cocktail, you’ll discover lots of fascinating opera trivia. Wine served with the lunch you prepare! Each participant will also receive a signed copy of Segan’s book, the Opera Lover’s Cookbook.

Tapas—Spain’s Small Plates

Instructor: Teresa Parker
$125 | Register Online»
Saturday, December 6
10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Enjoying a few flavor-filled bites alongside a glass of wine is a beloved ritual in Spain. Get to know some favorite ingredients from different regions — smoky piquillo peppers, fruity quince paste, nutty sherry vinegar, toasted marcona almonds — and use them to create delicious combinations sure to jazz up your cocktail party repertoire. You’ll make classics like tortilla española (similar to Italy’s fritatta) and lamb meatballs in almond sauce, modernized tapas inspired by Barcelona bars, like an escabetx (herbed marinade) of mussels and bunyols de llagosta (lobster fritters), and even a Basque pintxo or two (the famous bites composed on toothpicks). With a tasting of Spanish wines that lend themselves to the tapeo, too.

Christmas Cookie Bake-Off

Instructor: Penny CM Stankiewicz
$115 | Register Online»
Sunday, December 7
10:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Get ready for your holiday celebrations with our cookie baking session! Spend the day with us and get a head start on your holiday cookie baking. We’ll bake traditional Christmas cookies and introduce you to some new recipes that explore more exotic flavors that will please every member of your family. Participants will divide the cookies between them and take them home to serve to friends and family. All cookies will be freezer stable, so you can have fresh cookies on hand throughout the season.