Chefs wear big, puffy hats for two reasons—to signify their rank in the kitchen hierarchy and to hide the "signature" spice they invented by mixing cinnamon with gravel. Learn kitchen secrets with this Groupon.
$395 for a Six-Week Cooking Course ($900 Value)
The six-week Professional Chef Series certificate course is designed for both those pursuing food-service careers and ambitious at-home cooks. Classes of 14 students attend six lessons during the course of six weeks, beginning with an introduction to basic kitchen and knife skills in week one and ending with seafood preparation in week six. Classes are taught by world-class chefs Ryan Wagner and Martin Gilligan and Food Network television host chef Rahm Fama. All cooking equipment and ingredients are provided.
Prep Kitchen Essentials
Award-winning chef Elizabeth Whitt is explaining how to pair cheeses with merlot to a small group of students. When the chef is not directing the summer program for the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, she can often be found teaching this Learn to Cook class at Prep Kitchen Essentials. The cooking-supply retailer and culinary school enlists world-class kitchen artists to teach its introductory cooking courses. This level of access to acclaimed chefs is a rarity in the cooking-school world, and the newcomers who populate these beginner-level classes are immediately inspired as they learn the basics of preparation and the art of elegant presentation. Prep Kitchen's curriculum attracts a diversity of students, including professional chefs-in-training. In addition to adult courses, instructors kindle the talents of budding chefs with children's cooking classes and a summer camp where campers engage in string cheese tug-of-war and tell ghost stories about over-cooked risotto.
