Cooking Classes in University

Central Market cooking schools enlightens the epicurean masters of tomorrow with instruction from the gourmet gurus of today, having previously hosted guest instructors such as the renowned Cat Cora and Mario Batali. Meal mentors post classes in both Fort Worth and Southlake every four to six weeks, usually providing 26–30 options per month. Whether it's your first time holding a skillet or you're looking to polish your sushi skills after finally discovering how to uncook fish, Central Market provides coaching for every experience level. Curious foodies can peruse an array of informative options, including sharpening your knife skills ($55), making indulgent desserts ($45), creating vegetarian dinners ($55), and fine-tuning a soufflé filled with an event horizon. Running roughly 2.5 hours each, sessions are offered most days of the week. Most hands-on classes can accommodate about 18, while demonstration classes can accommodate up to 48, depending on location. See Central Market's frequently asked questions page for more information.

No More 'To Go' is the product of more than a decade's worth of meal planning by busy mom Stacey. She's taken her family's favorite healthy dinners and compiled them into an easily shareable format, complete with shopping lists and tips on how to make each dish vegetarian, gluten-free, or suitable for astronauts. Stacey believes in the benefits of gathering around the dinner table each evening, citing the higher nutritional value of home-cooked eats when compared with that of fast food, as well as the opportunity to bond with kids and instill in them fancy table manners.

Sokolata owner Olina Nikolini carried two things with her throughout her career: a love for her family’s sweet confections and the recipes used to make them. Through the years, she’s throughout Europe, tasting the local flavors and broadening her palate. A trip across the pond to the United States brought her even more opportunities to sample different creations, and as her knowledge grew, she tailored her family’s recipes to bolster their flavor. Today, Olina draws upon her experiences to fashion gourmet, organic handmade chocolates enlivened with natural and sugarless ingredients such as cocoa powder, honey, nuts, and a variety of tantalizing fillings, such as pumpkin, Texas pecan, and imaginary friend–endorsed air.

"Gardens are a lot like people,” Marilyn Simmons told Now Magazines. “As they grow and mature, they come into their own.” Marilyn and her daughter Donelle, owners of Garden Inspirations, have their own unique plot. “A Radio Flyer wagon is home to an assortment of flowers and trailing potato vines and an herb garden is flourishing in a nonfunctioning barbecue grill.”

At their farm, the two work to show pupils how to plant their own beds with pesticide-free veggies, which blossom into sources of personal pride. The full schedule of classes includes introductory courses on overcoming the gamut of challenges that aspiring gardeners face, such as inhospitable soil, lack of time, and accidentally planting their car keys. Knowledgeable about diverse garden types—including rooftop, field, and aquaponic—the instructors impart their wisdom on the best kind of garden for each grower’s individual needs, as well as which vegetable varieties grow most readily in North Texas and how to plant them. When not brewing compost tea or working beneath trellises tangled in emerald wisps, the crew does a radio show which talks about how to obtain baskets of naturally grown peaches, cucumbers, and squash.

Light trips across the edge of a steel blade as fingertips guide the knife over a row of colorful vegetables. A sharp crunch follows each chop. Droplets of water fly from the neatly diced plants as a hand carefully transfers them from chopping board to mixing bowl. These hands belong to Chef Tonne, who, for almost a decade, has dreamed up an ever-evolving catering menu of international and American cuisine. Guests can put together a menu that complements their taste and event, from prix fixe party packages that assail diners with relentlessly delicious courses to à la carte hot and cold appetizers, side dishes, entrees, and desserts for less formal occasions. Wedding guests can nibble on bacon-wrapped sea scallops during the cocktail hour and later dig in to a glazed-blueberry-chicken entree. Each catered event receives complimentary linens and china. Chef Tonne also handles the cooking duties for everyday meals. The company delivers dinners to doorsteps comprised of locally raised meat, wild-caught fish, fresh produce, and minimally processed ingredients.

Atmosphere is an essential part of fine dining. Crowds frequent five-star restaurants not only for their food, but also for the mood created by their décor. That's why in-home chef service Cooks For Your Kitchen brings a posh atmosphere to their patrons' homes in addition to their cooking utensils and groceries. Linens, china, silverware, and stemware decorate tabletops, where candles flicker and fresh flowers waft fragrances that please loved ones or pet bumblebees. Four-course dinners revolve around entrees such as chicken lemonata or lobster in creamy champagne sauce, and finish with rich desserts such as crème brûlée or tiramisu. All aspects of each meal are made fresh on the spot and can be altered to accommodate vegetarian diets or food allergies. Alternatively, chefs can entertain groups with a dinner party, cooking lessons, and movie nights, where chefs show up to homes with a DVD and movie-night snacks, such as flatbread pizzas and root-beer floats.