At Cooking School of Aspen, chefs Glenn Smith and Mark Fischer lecture on slicing
		Cooking Schools By Region:
		Northeast
		Midwest
		South
		Southwest
		Rockies
		West Coast
		Various Locations
		Cooking Schools For Wine Lovers Where to find the best culinary programs
		Kitchen Curriculum Cooking schools across the country offer instruction and entertainment
		Cooking In Wine Country Three culinary programs take you behind the scenes in Napa Valley
		Tricks of the Trade A few tips picked up from cooking classes

Cooking schools come in different styles. To find one that suits you, start out by asking yourself these two important questions:

First, do you want to put on an apron and cook, or would you prefer to just observe?

Without a doubt, the "hands-on" classes can teach you more. Take for example a recent bread-baking class at New York's Institute of Culinary Education, taught by Carey Campbell. "The hardest part about learning to make bread is knowing how much flour to use," she told the group. No recipe can show you this -- to get it, you have to do it. And you're better off doing it while the teacher is there to guide you.

On the other hand, you might just want to relax and enjoy the performance, or maybe you'd rather that nobody watches while you attempt to show your chef's knife who's boss. "I have one student who won't cook in class, he's too self-conscious," says Janeen Sarlin of Manhattan's Cooking With Class. "But he comes back to me with legal pages filled with questions."

Second, do you want to learn from a famous chef or cookbook author?

Taking this route can be fun, but it isn't necessarily better -- after all, not every celebrated chef is a skilled communicator. "Some of them just stand there and cook," warns Anne Willan, a well-known teacher in the United States and at her own Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne, in Burgundy. A career educator you've never heard of is often a safer bet, because he or she is more likely to be tuned in to amateurs' limitations, needs and interests.

But everyone enjoys a brush with fame now and again, and many better-known talents -- Nick Malgieri, Jacques Pépin and Joanne Weir, to name a few -- are excellent and entertaining teachers. Their classes can be more expensive, but not always by much, and you get to take home a signed cookbook and bragging rights.

Cooking by the Book
11 Worth St., No. 8, New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-9799
www.cookingbythebook.com
A unique offering in a city crowded with options, this school offers classes by well-known cookbook authors, who teach recipes from recently published works and sign copies at the end of the evening. All instruction is hands-on, in a warm, roomy studio in the owner's TriBeCa apartment. Three hours, $100.

The Culinary Institute of America
1946 Campus Drive, Hyde Park, NY 12538
(800) 888-7850
www.ciachef.edu
Hands-on and demonstration classes offered by CIA faculty members in a spacious, professional teaching kitchen. The curriculum mirrors that of the school's professional programs -- basic and classic technique, very competently taught. Most of the week-long Boot Camp programs include intensive wine tutorials with tastings. Package of three 2-hour demos, $160; 6-hour Saturday hands-on, $150; Culinary Boot Camp (various subjects, from basic technique to pastry and baking), $1,850-$1,950.

De Gustibus Cooking School at Macy's
343 E. 74th St., Suite 14A, New York, NY 10021
(212) 439-1714
www.degustibusinc.com
All classes taught by top chefs and cookbook authors. A demonstration makes for a rewarding night out, complete with wine and a succession of tastings that add up to a full meal. Hands-on classes are also available, some in the kitchens of celebrated New York City restaurants. Occasional wine tasting classes are offered by leading wine educators and sommeliers. Demonstrations, $80; hands-on classes, $150-$230.

The French Culinary Institute
462 Broadway, New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-8890
www.frenchculinary.com
A well-respected professional school that graduates 800-1,000 students each year, the FCI also caters to serious amateurs who want to learn the secrets of haute cuisine. "La Technique I" requires 110 hours and costs $4,900. The next level, "La Technique II," consumes 60 hours at $1,975. "The Essentials of Pastry," is 100 hours at $4,250. "Cooking with Marcella," conducted by legendary Italian cookbook author Marcella Hazan, offers three sessions for $1,850.

Institute of Culinary Education
50 W. 23rd St., New York, NY 10010
(212) 847-0700
www.iceculinary.com
There's something for everyone at this busy school, where all manner of participation classes in many culinary traditions are offered day and night, seven days a week. The wine program here is also comprehensive, and one of the best in town. For amateurs who can spare five days in a row, or one day a week for five consecutive weeks, the comprehensive techniques courses (covering everything from fine cooking to pastry) are a bargain at just $495-$525; three days, about $290; one-session classes, $70-$95.

The New School
66 W. 12th St., New York, NY 10011
(212) 255-4141
www.nsu.newschool.edu/culinary
Students can watch cooking demonstrations and, on occasion, can even themselves cook in the kitchens of some of Manhattan's best restaurants, after which they sit down for a luxurious late lunch with wine. Other offerings include basics classes ("Salmon Six Ways," "Pan to Plate Sauces"), held in the school's downtown studio, and culinary walking tours, some of which end with a hands-on lesson. Prices range from $65 for most walking tours to about $500 for a week-long techniques class.

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Cooking With Class
110 East End Ave., New York, NY 10028
(212) 517-8514
www.sarlincookingwithclass.com
Friendly instruction in an intimate environment by cookbook author Janeen Sarlin. Participate or just watch -- it's up to you. Evening classes, $110; private lessons in your own kitchen start at $500.

Delizioso! Cooking School
3915 Ivy Terrace Court, N.W., Washington, DC 20007
(202) 338-6580
Eugenia Van Horn Wilkie, a veteran food writer, conducts four-week classes focusing on Italian cuisine in her Georgetown tasting kitchen. Enrollment is limited to six students. $250.

The Greenbrier Culinary Arts Center
300 W. Main St., White Sulphur Springs, WV 24986
(800) 228-5049
www.greenbrier.com
The Greenbrier delivers thorough, polished instruction in a classic Southern resort setting. Anne Willan teaches in the spring only, but there's a full menu of other courses to choose from much of the rest of the year, led by faculty members and famous chefs. Three-day demonstration programs start at $1,347, including accommodations; five days, from $2,568. Hands-on classes are optional, $130 per session.

Viking Culinary Arts Center
119 S. Main St., Memphis, TN 38103
The Factory at Franklin, Building 13, 230 Franklin Road, Nashville, TN 37064
(877) 599-9617
www.vikingrange.com
These schools have brought many name-brand chefs -- Jacques Pépin, Todd English and others -- to the heartland, where they enrich a full calendar of staff-taught basic ("Steaming, Poaching and Boiling") and theme ("Fearless Phyllo") classes. Equipment is commercial-style, state-of-the-art. Look for more Viking schools in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas this fall. Hands-on, $75-$125; demonstration, $35-$60.

ALSO RECOMMENDED

Amelia Island Cooking School
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, 4750 Amelia Island Parkway, Amelia Island, FL 32034
(800) 241-3333
Packages range from $260-$860 for a variety of two-day sessions that enable students to utilize the facilities of The Grill, the Ritz-Carlton's award-winning restaurant, and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner. Lodging is included.

Central Market Cooking School
11 Worth St., No. 8, New York, NY 10013
(512) 458-3068
www.centralmarket.com
Offers a huge variety of classes covering virtually every topic of interest to amateurs at locations in Central Market stores across Texas. Instructors include staff, local chefs and nationally known talents, and the bright, inviting classrooms feature professional equipment. Tuition ranges from $35 for some two-hour demos to $325 for a four-session participation course.

Les Gourmettes Cooking School
6610 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85012
(602) 240-6767
www.ciachef.edu
A cozy, yet classy experience that has been a popular choice for years. Culinary stars such as Joanne Weir and Nick Malgieri love giving demonstrations in director Barbara Fenzl's suburban kitchen -- and enjoying their creations with students around her dining room table. Fees, $50-$60.

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Culinary Institute Alain & Marie LeNôtre
7070 Allensby St., Houston, TX 77022Roscoe, N.Y.
(713) 692-0077
www.lenotre-alain-marie.com
A soon-to-open wine institute adds an extra dimension to a classic French curriculum. Classes are small (10 to 15 students) for a variety of programs that run from $430-$860 per week.

Cooking School of Aspen
414 E. Hyman Ave., Aspen, CO 81611
(212) 966-9799
www.cookingschoolofaspen.com
Big, professionally equipped facility in the back of a kitchen store. Faculty and visiting stars offer top-notch instruction on everything from knife skills to tapas, about 500 classes a year total. Demonstration classes start at $125; hands-on workshops, $150; five-day course, $650-$800.

Beringer Master Series on Food and Wine
1000 Pratt Ave., St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 967-4451
www.beringer.com
Classes are taught by some of the nation's finest chefs in the kitchens of Napa Valley boutique wineries. In addition, the schedule is chockablock with private tastings and exclusive dinners in the area's best restaurants and in the homes of local vintners. Two-, four- and six-day packages range from $1,450-$4,800; the lowest prices do not include accommodations, while the highest include lodgings at Meadowood resort.

Camp Napa Culinary
P.O. Box 114, Oakville, CA 94562
(888) 999-4844
www.hughcarpenter.com
A week-long luxury package that includes private tours and tastings at leading wineries and hands-on classes in California cuisine, most of them in the sunny teaching kitchen at Cakebread Cellars. All culinary instruction is by the very personable cookbook author Hugh Carpenter. $1,623.

Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts
500 First St., Napa, CA 94559
(888) 512-6742
www.copia.org
Classes at this new cultural center are designed after the hearts of experienced and intellectually oriented California foodies. Highly specialized topics such as "Garden-Inspired Sauces with Mortar & Pestle Creations" dominate, and there's often a food history class ("Food in Spirit: Mythologies of Mesoamerican Staples," for example) on offer. Most classes are demonstration only, and wine is usually poured. Many wine lectures and tastings are also on offer, most of them tightly focused on a single subject. Many events are free with admission, others are $20-$50.

Draeger's Culinary Center
1010 University Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 324-7778
222 E. Fourth St., San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 685-3704
www.draegers.com
Sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy cooking demonstrations by some of the Bay area's and the nation's best chefs, complete with tastings. A few focus specifically on food-and-wine pairing. Hands-on techniques workshops are offered by staff instructors. Most classes, $50-$85.

Great Chefs at Robert Mondavi Winery
Highway 29, Oakville, CA 94562
(707) 968-2100
www.robertmondaviwinery.com
Only the brightest stars in the culinary galaxy teach at these weekend demonstration programs -- people such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Alice Waters and, this fall, Julia Child and Jacques Pépin. There are wine lectures and tastings, too, and fine dining at the winery and at local restaurants. These are rare happenings -- just two this year -- and there's room for only 28 participants (some standing-room tickets also available). Three days, including meals and luxury accommodations, $1,950.

Exploration of Food and Wine at Meadowood
900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena, CA 94574
(800) 458-8080
www.meadowood.com
Cookbook author and veteran culinary instructor Patricia Wells teaches French cuisine in a luxury-resort setting. Resident wine instructor John Thoreen guides tastings and takes participants on private, behind-the-scenes tours of some of the region's top wineries. Two days and one night, all-inclusive, $1,500.

Ramekins
450 W. Spain St., Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 933-0450
www.ramekins.com
Popular local chefs dominate the schedule at this friendly, commercially equipped wine-country school. Faculty from the Napa campus of the Culinary Institute of America teach here, too. This is a good choice for tourists who want a single-session experience of California cuisine. Demonstration classes average $50; hands-on classes, $65-$175.

Tante Marie's Cooking School
271 Francisco St., San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 788-6699
www.tantemarie.com
Though named after a classic French cookbook, this small, homey 23-year-old school is a California institution, as true to its Bay area Asian and Italian roots as it is to France. A core staff of experienced, highly approachable instructors does most of the teaching; some demos are offered by better-known guests. Full-time, one-week programs, $850; one-day workshops, $150-$175; demonstrations, $50-$95.

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Bon Vivant School of Cooking
4925 N.E. 86th St., Seattle, WA 98115.
(206) 525-7537
www.bon-vivant.com
Numerous 12-class "membership" packages are offered, for $335, enabling students to intersperse "series" courses, covering basic skills, with single-day classes on such topics as chicken and fish. Led by LeCordon Bleu-trained Louise Hasson for 25 years.

California Culinary Academy
625 Polk St., San Francisco, CA 94102
(800) 229-2433
www.baychef.com
Basic skills as well as more sophisticated techniques, such as pastry making, can be acquired through individual or two-part classes. $130-$250.

The Jean Brady School of Cooking
680 Brooktree Road, Santa Monica, CA 90402
(310) 454-4220
A special seven-session course combines cooking demonstrations with hands-on training. $340.

Kitchen Academy at the California School of Culinary Arts
521 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101
(888) 900-2433
www.calchef.com
Learn classic cuisine from the ground up, with either single classes on such topics as Asian cooking, or three-session essentials courses on knife skills, sauces, stocks and so on. $75-$635.

L'Ecole des Chefs Relais Gourmands
11 E. 44th St., Suite 707, New York, NY 10017
(877) 334-6464
www.ecoledeschefs.com
Choose from Relais & Chateaux's selection of 15 premier restaurants across North America and go backstage with a celebrity chef. Interns work hard but get to see everything. A thrill and a real learning experience for very committed amateurs, who must apply for admission. Two days, $1,110; five days, $2,600.

Sur La Table
(866) 328-5412
www.surlatable.com/cooking
A leading retailer of fine kitchenware and tabletop items now offers cooking instruction in small, state-of-the-art classrooms attached to 13 of the company's attractive boutiques in the United States. All teachers are visiting chefs and cookbook authors. Hands-on, $75-$150; demonstration, $40-$70.