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It was the perfect opportunity. A group of friends from college wanted to do something different for their bimonthly group birthday celebration, and the Martha Stewart of the bunch had a newly remodeled kitchen. An in-home cooking class, they thought, would be the ideal way to break out of the usual while breaking in the new room, not to mention learning something in the process. “The chef prepared four courses for us, and we just sat around on stools with glasses of wine and watched and talked and listened and asked questions,” says Lori Pesall of New Brighton. “It was social and tasty. Plus every one of us walked away with little pearls to apply to our everyday cooking.”
Pesall and her friends tapped into the growing popularity of in-home cooking classes, which give amateur chefs of any level the opportunity to learn from the masters in the comfort of their own kitchens. Classes unfold as part lesson and part party. You customize the class to decide, among many other things, exactly how much of each you want.
Chef Royal Dahlstrom, the chef and party leader at the gathering Pesall attended, can attest to this trend. Dahlstrom honed his craft in top Twin Cities’ eateries including Goodfellows, La Toscana, and, until June, Napa Valley Grille. Over the years, he’s taught everything from grilling poolside to the interactive Japanese specialty shabu-shabu to crafting pasta from scratch. “First I sit down and talk with people about why they’re having a cooking class. Is it a group of serious foodies? Is it for someone’s birthday? If people are focused on the get-together, they’re going to want to socialize more than cook, so the recipes have to be simple,” explains Dahlstrom, who now devotes all of his time to in-home classes, personal chef consultations, and catering. “But that’s the beauty of it. The entire experience is customized to the client’s desires.”
Start off by communicating those desires, however vague or specific, to your chef. Find one you click with by inquiring at local cooking schools, such as Kitchen Window in Minneapolis or Cooks of Crocus Hill in St. Paul and Edina. Dahlstrom also recommends approaching the chef of your favorite restaurant directly, as clients have done with him in the past.
Your chef will work with you to come up with a menu you’re excited about, and to steer you through considerations beyond food. Do you want to eat each course as it’s finished or sit down to a meal as a class finale? Group size, too, is integral to your experience. From two to 12 people work well, but the smaller the class, the easier it is to make your lessons hands-on. Keep in mind, however, that it can be harder to take everything in if you’re concentrating on forming gnocchi or piping meringue.
“We’ve had complete novices who barely know how to make mac and cheese, and we’ve had self-proclaimed gourmets,” says Philip Dorwart, another acclaimed Twin Cities chef whose résumé includes the original Table of Contents and most recently, Trygg’s. “Even those who say they can’t cook by the end are grating cheese and cracking eggs. We have not had any sideliners.”
Dorwart recently left the restaurant business to heed the call of catering and private events. As proprietors of Create, he and his wife Desiree arrive at your home with all the necessary food and equipment. Expect the chef who conducts your in-home class to do the same; don’t worry about having top-of-the-line pans and enough decent knives to go around—only a stove, a prep surface, and enough space to accommodate the class.
Classes generally last three to four hours, and prices vary considerably depending on menu and group size. Dorwart estimates about $90 per person, all-inclusive save for gratuity. Dahlstrom charges a minimum of $300, depending on duration, plus food costs. Pesall thought it worth every penny: “We all decided that it was the most fun we’ve had at one of our birthday get-togethers.” MH
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