Discover the Best Cooking Classes in Los Angeles
When you decide to take a cooking class in Los Angeles, you can choose from three different settings. In-person classes with an instructor and other students around a table all learning together are one option. Live online classes still have a real time instructor but students join from anywhere via the internet. The last option is group classes with friends or work colleagues all learning together.
You Should Learn Cooking in Los Angeles
Los Angeles offers a wonderful array of culinary experiences, from the freshest seafood and produce to wonderful wines. You can choose from a long list of fine dining restaurants or go in search of the best street taco. This culinary richness also makes Los Angeles a great place to learn to cook.
Learning to cook is a good way to explore the history and culture of the area. Visiting some of the many farmers' markets for produce, cheese, and locally raised meat is the perfect inspiration for a cooking adventure. Microgroceries are popping up throughout the city to bring local ingredients to many neighborhoods. Go shopping on your lunch break and then make dinner from your haul when you get home.
Learning to cook is also a good way to meet new people and make connections. Check out groups like L.A. Foodies, a group that gets together to try new restaurants, visit markets, and explore the local food scene. Other groups meet to try new cookbooks or to create themed dinners.
Learning to cook can also save you money. Eating out or picking up takeout adds up quickly but you can buy food for the week on what you spend on a couple of restaurant meals. You can find cooking classes that teach you how to prepare your lunches for the week in a few hours on Sunday, or creative ways to use up what’s in the fridge.
Another reason to learn to cook may be to start a side hustle or switch to a new career. Maybe you have dreamed of opening a bakery or having your own food truck. Starting a small home-based cookie business or selling dumplings can be a start. If becoming a professional chef is your career goal, learning to cook is the first step on that road.
In-Person Cooking Classes in Los Angeles
In-person cooking classes have an instructor in a kitchen classroom with students all around working along. You can talk to the instructor and other students and maybe make some new friends.
Learn how to Make Your Own Sushi in this hands-on cooking class from CocuSocial. All of the ingredients and equipment are provided and you will take recipes home to recreate later. The class will cover preparing rice for sushi, what to look for when choosing fish, and extra ingredients to add to your rolls.
Make coffee the way the pros do. Los Angeles City College offers Barista Training for Beginners. The class will cover how to use a commercial espresso machine. This is the first part of a two-part Barista Certification course for people who want to work in coffee shops and cafes.
Learn to craft your own pies in Pizza Pizazz from Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom. You will learn to make traditional and specialty pizza dough, tomato sauce, pepperoni cheese pizza, herb-grilled chicken alfredo pizza, and margherita pizza.
CocuSocial Cooking Classes brings you Better Than Takeout Pad Thai. Learn to make Thailand’s most beloved dish in this in-person cooking class for couples. Participants 21 and over of all skill levels are welcome to join in to learn how to prepare the noodles and create the pad thai flavor profile from scratch. All ingredients will be provided and you can choose between chicken and tofu as your protein.
Learn how to make this iconic Southwest celebration food in Authentic Tamale Making from Los Angeles City College. Learn to prepare the meat and dough, and then get a lesson in how to fold the tamales. This class is taught in both English and Spanish.
Virtual Cooking Classes
In-person cooking classes are fun and educational, but sometimes a class you want to take isn’t offered near you, or maybe you don’t feel like commuting. A live online cooking class runs very much like an in-person class, except that some of the students attend class over the internet.
You will need a laptop or tablet to log on to the session. A phone will work but it can be difficult to hold while you cook, so that is not ideal. You follow along with the instructor and other students with ingredients you purchase ahead of time. Some classes have kits that will be sent to you after you sign up.
Like an in-person class, you can talk to the other students and ask the instructor questions. Unlike an in-person class, you don’t have to look for parking! You can take virtual cooking classes anywhere with reliable internet.
Rieslings of the World is another class from the San Francisco Wine School. Learn about this delightful light white wine in this online wine class. Go on a guided tour of the climate, soil, and conditions that make the perfect riesling by tasting six different varieties. You can take this class on its own or as part of the Wines of the World series. Participants must be 21 or older. You can pick up a wine kit or have it delivered.
Making ice cream and frozen custard is not as difficult as you have feared. Custard and Ice Cream, an online ice cream class from Teaching Table will cover both mechanically churned and machine-free recipes. Make two custard bases that you can freeze and turn into ice cream or bake and finish as creme brulee. You don’t need an ice cream maker to learn to make the custard. Open to participants 16 and up.
Overcome your fear of phyllo in Virtual Cook Along: Phyllo Workshop, a class for all skill levels from The Chopping Block Lincoln Square. Learn to work with this light and flaky dough to produce different types of appetizers and pastries. The course is open to anyone age 18 and up and will cover working with phyllo, creating fillings, making honey syrup, and whipping eggs. You will make spanakopita (Spinach and Feta Phyllo Triangles), baklava (Layered Spiced Walnuts and Phyllo with Honey Syrup), orange and clove-scented phyllo cake.
Private Group Cooking Classes in Los Angeles
Another fun way to learn to cook is to make it a group effort. Private group cooking classes can be a great idea for a party, a good team-building activity, or a fun night out with friends. Most of CourseHorse’s classes can be booked as private events and you can choose from a network of over 1,000 providers with no booking fees. If you need to add people to the participant list, it’s no problem. You will get a confirmation message within 24 hours of signing up. Contact us for help with booking your next event.
This class is perfect for a birthday party! Come learn to make the best cake pops and cake popsicles in Summer Celebration Cake Pops. Cakery by Syd, a candy and baking supply company dedicated to spreading the word on sweets, will show you all the tricks to getting the perfect cake consistency to stick to the sticks, how to color chocolate, and which melts to use. All supplies are included.
Take a tour of some of Los Angeles’ best chocolatiers in the Chocolate Love Tour in Los Angeles. You will tour several LA candy companies, including Edelweiss Chocolates, Teuscher Chocolates, and Letterpress Chocolate. Participants will be on their own for lunch at La Scala during a break in the tour. Cost of the class includes factory tours and tasting fees. The factory tours require attendees to wear closed-toe shoes and not to wear perfume, colognes, or heavy-scented lotions/oils, or you may be refused admission. Participants must be 18 or older.
The tour is run by the El Camino College Community Education department, which runs short-term, not-for-credit classes.
