|
Imagine staying in a breathtaking Romanesque chateau overlooking rolling hills lined with vineyards and serpentine country roads. During the day, you cook in the chateau’s exquisite kitchen under the tutelage of a Tuscan-trained chef. And in the evening you dine by candlelight on the fruits of your labor, all served with wine pairings direct from the chateau cellar. And you nearly melt in the romance of it all. A summer in Europe? Guess again. Try Traverse City.
Many Midwesterners don’t realize they don’t have to go to Tuscany or Provence for a world-class epicurean experience. Some of the nation’s finest resorts, bed-and-breakfasts, and cooking institutes host programs for home cooks practically in our own backyards.
Lake Michigan states host a feast of delectable destinations. Take, for example, Chateau Chantal north of Traverse City, Mich. This magnificent, 15,000 square-foot bed-and-breakfast and vineyard is located on a 65-acre estate on the Old Mission Peninsula. Coincidentally located on the 45th parallel — the same as France’s Bordeaux province — the estate overlooks pastoral rolling acres and stunning views of East and West Grand Traverse Bays. The chateau hosts cooking classes, wine tasting, fine dining, and sumptuously appointed suites.
Travel a bit farther north and you’ll discover Tapawingo Restaurant and Cooking School in the rustic hamlet of Ellsworth. The New York Times called Tapawingo a “gastronomical epicenter” and “maybe the best restaurant in the country that’s a four-hour drive from the closest major city.” Saveur named it one of the best in the Midwest and Gourmet wrote: “[its] cooking spoke eloquently for itself in course after course, the sort of intriguing American cooking that is in sync with local sources and in almost equal parts nostalgia and restless innovation.”
For another rustic experience, enjoy a cooking class at The Savory Spoon, housed in a Door County vintage log cabin retrofitted with the finest contemporary culinary accoutrements. Cook side-by-side with a Paris Cordon Bleu-trained chef preparing local fare dressed with international flair: seared duck breast with wild mushrooms and sherry ancho sauce or raspberry Door County cherry linzertorte with almond praline.
Don’t think all cooking schools and classes are froufrou and highbrow. Many are user-friendly and offer classes for a wide range of skill levels and tastes. The Chopping Block in Chicago, for example, offers classes for culinary ignoramuses to gourmands, cupcake-making to competitive cooking à la Iron Chef.
For a technological tasting experience, sit in a large Emeril-esque set with stadium seating at Chicago’s Kendall College. Equipped
with large-screen televisions, viewers get scrumptious close-ups as chefs at one of the nation’s best cooking schools share their culinary wizardry.
From lowbrow comfort food to high-tech haute cuisine, there’s a cooking class for every palate, wallet and talent. Consider treating yourself and a loved one to a culinary adventure that’s close to home yet a world away.
Chicago, Illinois
Kendall College
www.kendall.edu.Academics/Noncreditclasses/
900 North Branch | Chicago
312-752-2354 | mjacob@kendall.edu
Kendall College is considered one of the top cooking schools in the world and until recently served only students aspiring to be professional chefs. However, Kendall’s now offers noncredit recreational cooking classes taught by the college’s own certified chefs. New in 2006 are Saturday and summer culinary camps. Costs vary.
Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago
www.chicnet.org
361 West Chestnut | Chicago
312-873-2015
Thanks to the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago’s link with Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, students can earn learn the ins and outs of French cooking while gaining expertise in the latest American trends in the culinary arts.
The Chopping Block
www.thechoppingblock.net
4747 Lincoln Ave | Chicago
773-472-6700
The Merchandise Mart
Suite 107 | Chicago
312-644-6360
Perhaps one of the most extensive curricula of recreational cooking classes offered in the Midwest, The Chopping Block hosts hands-on and demonstration cooking classes nearly every day of the year. Prices are $35 for most demonstration classes and $75 for hands-on. Monthly calendars are listed on its web site.
Fennville, Michigan
The Kingsley House
www.kingsleyhouse.com
626 West Main Street | Fennville
866-561-6425 | David Drees
innkeeper@kingsleyhouse.com
Cooking class weekends include two-night stays at the elegant Kingsley House on selected weekends between January and April. Rates are $100 plus room rates per couple.
Saugatuck, Michigan
The Kirby House Bed & Breakfast
www.kirbyhouse.com
294 West Center Street
PO Box 1174 | Saugatuck
800-521-6473 | info@kirbyhouse.com
Cooking Class Weekends are offered on selected dates. Packages include two nights’ lodging, two full breakfasts, Friday and Saturday cooking classes, and class-prepared dinner Saturday night. Complete packages for two begin at $450.
Ellsworth, Michigan
Tapawingo Restaurant
www.tapawingo.net
9502 Lake Street | Ellsworth
866-588-7881 | tapdining@tapawingo.net
Gourmet, Saveur, and The New York Times have all raved about this restaurant. Tapawingo offers cooking class weekends January through April and October through December. They include two-day classes that run $390 per person. Room discounts are available at nearby House on the Hill Bed and Breakfast
(www.thehouseonthehill.com).
Traverse City, Michigan
Chateau Chantal
www.chateauchantal.com
15900 Rue de Vin | Traverse City
231-223-4110 | wine@chateauchantal.com
Chateau Chantal not only offers an exquisite, European-like setting but a European-trained master chef, pastry chef and vintner. Together, they teach a variety of classes from wine immersion seminars to haute cuisine. Class costs vary. New Thursday evening cooking classes do not require a stay at the B&B.
Walloon Lake Village, Michigan
Fonds du Cuisine Cooking School
at Walloon Lake Inn
www.walloonlakeinn.com
PO Box 459 | Walloon Lake Village
800-956-4665 | wli@freeway.net
Fonds du Cuisine Cooking School, taught by European-trained executive chef David Beier, features Sunday through Thursday programs October through March. Packages include lodging, continental breakfasts, lunches, and classes. Chef Beier teaches food preparation with special attention to sauces. The four-day all-inclusive cooking package is $400.
Door County, Wisconsin
Washington Island Hotel,
Restaurant and Culinary School
www.TheWashingtonHotel.com
368 Rangeline Road | Washington Island
920-847-2169 | info@thewashingtonhotel.com
This 100-year-old hotel built by a ship captain to host other captains en route via Lake Michigan continues a tradition of gracious hospitality and fine food. Hotel executive chefs teach a variety of classes ranging from making artisan breads in original brick ovens to preparing the morning’s whitefish catch for an escabeche dish. Classes range from $15 demonstrations to extended seminars for $330/person that include one night’s lodging, a six-course dinner, and breakfast the next day. Classes are offered throughout the year.
Kristofer’s Cooking School
at The Inn at Kristofer’s
www.innatkristofers.com
734 North Bay Shore Drive | Sister Bay
920-845-9419
Kristofer’s Inn and restaurant and the recipes of its chef, Terri Milligan, have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Bon Appetit, Midwest Living and Alan Soloman of the Chicago Tribune has called it his favorite domestic restaurant. Most recently, Chef Milligan, along with her signature recipe, sautéed quail in Door County cherry sauce, were featured on the Food Network’s “Best of Holiday Cooking” show with host Jill Cordes. Chef Milligan teaches hands-on cooking classes from spring to fall. Classes for the year are posted on the Kristofer’s web site every March. Prices and class size vary. One of Chef Terri’s favorite classes: the secret to making the Inn’s famous bumbleberry pie.
Savory Spoon Cooking School
www.SavorySpoon.com
1822 Highview Road | Ellison Bay
920-8543-6600 | savoryspoon@aol.com
The Savory Spoon Cooking School is housed in a picturesque log cabin at Highview Farm. Though the old logs and mortar are vintage, the kitchen is outfitted in contemporary state-of-the-art. Paris Cordon Bleu-trained chef Janice Thomas, as well as regular visiting chefs, take students on epicurean excursions around the world without leaving the farm. Cooking classes are offered June through October and include one-hour demos to entire culinary weekends in conjunction with a local B&B. Prices vary.
Kohler, Wisconsin
The Demonstration Kitchen
at Woodlake Kohler
www.destinationkohler.com/shops/food.html
The Shops at Woodlake
419 Highland Drive | Kohler
800-344-2838
Stay at the world-class five-diamond resort, The American Club, and attend Saturday cooking classes just a half-block away. Classes are taught by Kohler resort executive chefs every Saturday November through April. Sessions are $20 per person, or attend with a companion both for $35. The American Club also hosts the Annual Kohler Annual Food & Wine Experience with Food & Wine Magazine in late October. The weekend event features culinary demonstrations, food and wine seminars, and tastings with some of the nation’s greatest chefs.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Madame Kuony’s Kitchen
at The Milwaukee Public Market
www.milwaukeepublicmarket.org
400 N Water Street | Milwaukee
414-289-3108 | info@milwaukeepublicmarket.org
Madame Kuony founded the famous Postilion School of Culinary Arts in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, after immigrated from Europe in the late 1930s. She was dedicated to using quality ingredients and organic produce long before it was the trend. Today, her legacy lives on in a wonderful demonstration kitchen on the mezzanine level of Milwaukee’s new Public Market. Adjacent to the Palm Garden, the kitchen has seating for 55. One-hour introductory classes cost only $10 and are held on weeknights and weekends. Classes are taught by local and visiting chefs.
| 
subscribe today!
