Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Cooking Classes, Victoria B.C.

Here in Victoria, we are fortunate to have so many amazing cooking schools and talented instructors to teach a wide range of classes. Here's a comprehensive list of classes for everyone from beginners to aspiring home cooks and accomplished chefs looking for new ideas.


ANTICHI SAPORI ITALIAN FOOD COMPANY
Offers home Italian cooking classes, guest chefs and Italian evenings. Check their website and contact Stefano and Valerie for more information.
Price:
$55-65
Type:
Hands-on

CAMOSUN COLLEGE
The class schedule for 2011 includes Cooking ABC's and a class on how to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Offered year-round are: FoodSafe, Serving It Right and Bartending Training.
Price:
varies
Type:
hands-on


COOK CULTURE
Located in downtown Victoria in the beautiful Atrium building, Cook Culture offers cooking classes, demonstration and Meet the Chef events. With a beautiful kitchen, this new cooking school has attracted many of Vancouver Island's best chefs and instructors for classes.
Price: $50-85 for cooking classes, $25 for meet the chef events
Type:
demonstration & hands-on


CREATING OCCASIONS
A fabulous store that offers an extensive numbers of specialty baking classes and kid classes including chocolates, truffles, pies, flans, breads, pastries, cookies, mousses, cakes and more! Price: $50 and up
Type:
hands-on


CULINARY TOURS OF CHINATOWN
Chef Heidi Fink offers culinary walking tours where you will learn all the ins and outs of food shopping in Chinatown, taste samples and take home a comprehensive ingredient and recipe package. Tours run on Sundays and are limited to seven people per tour.
Price:
$50 per person
Type:
walking tour


DINNERS BY DESIGN
Chef Natalie offers a variety of health focused personal chef services including dietary consulting, heat-and-serve entrees and private cooking lessons. Private classes are conveniently held in the comfort of your own home.
Price:
$85
Type: personalized classes, hands-on


FAIRFIELD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
Offers one of the largest selections of vegetarian and ethnic cooking classes in Victoria. Choose from day or evening demonstration cooking classes with local chefs Heidi Fink, Sonja Limberger and Daniel Tschudin. Heidi's upcoming classes include vegetarian soups, Indian cuisine and how to make sushi. Sonja's vegetarian classes include vegetarian, seasonal cooking, Greek cuisine and living food. Daniel teaches a number of Italian classes. All instructors offer small classes with plenty of opportunities to ask questions and a booklet of recipes.
Price:
$50-70
Type:
demonstration & hands-on


CHEF HEIDI FINK
You can find all of Chef Heidi Fink's cooking classes offered around Victoria listed in one great location, her website. Her approachable teaching style, easy-to-follow gourmet recipes have earned Heidi a loyal following on Vancouver Island. She offers a huge variety of classes for adults and kids, instructional and hands-on, evening and daytime classes.
Price:
$60-85
Type:
demonstration


FRENCH MINT
Chef Denise Marchessault teaches from her beautiful home-based, commercially equipped kitchen in Broadmead. French Mint has a wonderful website and offers an impressive calendar of demonstration daytime and evening classes.
Price:
$75
Type:
demonstration


JUAN DE FUCA RECREATION CENTRE
Offers food and cooking classes for kids and adults. Current classes include Indian, Thai, vegetarian, sushi making, west coast cuisine and wine appreciation.
Price:
$30 for kids classes, $55-65 for adult classes
Type:
demonstration


LA TAVOLA KITCHENWARE BOUTIQUE
Located in Oak Bay, Victoria, this kitchen shop hosts regular Italian cooking classes and knife sharpening lessons. The catch is you have to register in-person at the store.
Price:
$47.95-$55
Type:
demonstration


PLANET ORGANIC VICTORIA
Regularly offers classes on vegan cooking, raw food, and gluten-free food tours.
Price:
free
Type:
in-store tours, clinics & cooking demonstrations


RECREATION OAK BAY
Oak Bay has a wide range of cooking classes on Indian and Mexican cuisine, vegetarian, seafood, cooking for special diets and date night couples cooking. Check out pages 48-50.
Price:
varies depending on class, $23-$180
Type: demonstration


SAANICH COMMONWEALTH PLACE RECREATION
Offers a wide variety of cooking classes including knife skills, French, Italian, Indian and Japanese for ages 16 and up. Check out the adult programs guide.
Price:
$43-60
Type: demonstration


THE LONDON CHEF
Dan Hayes and The London Chef is located on Fort Street and offers a full suite of cooking classes from their beautiful, storefront kitchen. Check out their chocked-full class calendar of lunchtime, evening and weekend cooking classes.
Price: varies
Type: hands-on


THRIFTY FOODS TUSCANY VILLAGE
Thrifty Foods' Tuscany Village location on Shelbourne Street has nutrition, dietary and gluten free classes and store tours.
Price:
$45-65
Type:
demonstration

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
The continuing studies fall schedule includes courses on beer and wine including: Uncorking the Past and The Archeological and Chemical Hunt for the Origins of Wine, Beer, and Extreme Fermented Beverages. Check out page 41 of the continuing studies program.
Price:
varies
Type:
lecture


VERITALIAN - ITALIAN COOKING CLASSES Cooking classes and private dinners for lovers of regional and authentic Italian cuisine, concocted with true Italian passion by Gianfranco. Check his Facebook page for upcoming classes and contact information.
Price:
varies
Type:
hands-on


YOUR THAI-NESS COOKING ACADEMY
Located in Saanich, this cooking school offers small, hands on cooking classes. A Thai atmosphere, using equipment primarily brought over from Thailand for the cooking workstations. Contact by phone at 250 744-6775.
Price:
$63-68
Type: hands-on


And in the Cowichan Valley, a short one-hour drive from Victoria...

DEERHOLME FARM Chef, cookbook author and mushroom forger runs Deerholme Farm. About an hour's drive from Victoria, the drive is well worth the visit. Special events Upcoming events include dinners, cooking classes, workshops with a focus on local mushrooms and truffles.
Price:
varies
Type: hands-on


ANGELO'S COOKING SCHOOL at Cooper's Cove Guest in Sooke offers informal cooking classes to three-day culinary retreats. Guests of the bed and breakfast can join in special cooking classes
Price: varies
Type: hands-on

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is also a small Thai Cooking School in town, Your Thai-ness Cooking Academy that has been in operation since October 2007

http://members.shaw.ca/yourthainess
Ph: 250 744-6775

Small class size with personal attention (4 students max.), totally hands on learning, Thai atmosphere, using equipment primarly brought over from Thailand for the cooking workstations

Excellent feedback from students having taken the courses.

Anonymous said...

I adore your site. Thank You.

:-)

Anonymous said...

Thrifty Foods has a new cooking class centre also at there Tuscany store, lots of fun!

Anonymous said...

Excellent timing as my teen son has just said that he wants to learn how to cook more than just boiled pyrogys and pizza pops. Thanks

Lara Eichhorn said...

Wow, thanks for all the info. I've been Googling for months now and couldn't find anything. Guess my Google Fu is weak. And Fairfield has so many vegetarian classes! I'm so excited to try some.

Melody Wey said...

Thank you for all your the terrific comments! I know how hard it is to find out about cooking classes in Victoria and the island- that's what inspired me to create this resource.

I'm looking forward to all the new classes that will become available in early fall. Not that I'm wishing the summer away!

Anonymous said...

Nice site, very well put together. has anyone heard of an outfit in Vic that you go and make a weeks worth of meals in a night. they supply all the food and kitchens. you pick menu, cook, and pay!! thank you very much

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much. This is exactly what I was looking for to try and track down cooking classes for the fall. Great site.
Ian

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting French Mint Cooking Classes. I have several new customers, thanks to your savvy blog. Hope you can drop by for a cooking class sometime!

ElleJay said...

hey im thinking of buying some cooking lessons for someone as a gift, do you have any recommendations about the ones you have listed in terms of which one is the best for all round home cooking?

Melody Wey said...

I would recommend Heidi Fink's cooking classes and French Mint.

Heidi teaches in a number of places in Victoria, I always enjoy her classes at the Fairfield Community Centre. It's a good kitchen to take in the classes. She also teaches at French Mint.

French Mint classes may be nicer as a gift. Denise's kitchen is beautiful and the classes all include wine.

Cooking classes as a gift are a fabulous idea. I've taken classes with all my family members before as a gift and a way to do something special with them and its always been a hit.

Chef Heidi Fink said...

Thanks so much for posting my classes on your excellent blog. I wanted to let you know that my website is now up and running. Check it out: www.chefheidifink.com

Anonymous said...

I have taken many classes at Creating Occasions, and they are all awesome! Since the new owner took over, it rocks. My husband has signed up for some of the BBQ classes and seafood classes and I am soooo thankful. He cooks like a chef now, and was inspired to take puff pastry class next. Excellant school that can teach any skill level to succeed at cooking and enjoy it too. It is totally reasonable prices too. They have a great sale I saw on Used Victoria March 20-22,2009 25% off all their classes. So I am taking that offer to learn more for less. Plus my friends are all hooked now too. So we make it a girls night out.

Chef Natalie said...

Hey there

I am a Personal Chef here in Victoria and I also teach cooking classes out of The Fairfield Community Centre ( great location) and in private kitchens. I have a website www.dinnersbydesign.ca, and I Love to teach.

Thanks for your awesome list and the Blog-
Chef Natalie

Melody Wey said...

Thanks for the information Natalie, great website. I've added Dinners by Design to the list above.

I love the sound of your "I hate Cooking- Now what?" class. It sounds perfect for people who are tired of cooking or are looking for some quick, fast and healthy recipes and tips.

Lizard Traveller said...

Great resource, Audrey - thanks for the information! For all the 'foodies' in Victoria, I recommend checking out the Local Food Festival coming up on Sunday, May 31, 2009. I'm running a shuttle out to this event through my company. Check out www.LizardAdventureTravel.com for more details! Click on 'Calendar of Tours' for the specific event details.

Melody Wey said...

Thanks Elizabeth. I've added information about Lizard Adventure Travel and your shuttle service to the "Food and Wine Festivals" section of my blog. Cheers!

Chef Natalie said...

Hey there.

There's a nice variety of classes in our beautiful city, aren't there? I Love that.

And I'm also really exited about Terralicious Cooking school which is a NEW school at Halliburton Organic Farms. Apart from my classes there, Heidi Fink, Cosmo Meens and special guest Chefs frequent the instructors list. The food is often harvested on-site that same day, and the organic farm is an absolute delight. I cant say enough about it.

Please try it out Melaney and it would be lovely if you added a link to the site. Thanks again for the Blog!

Melody Wey said...

Thanks Natalie. I've added information under Terralicious Gardening and Cooking School. They have some interesting and unusual classes coming up which I'll definitely check out:)

Chef Natalie said...

Hi Melodey

I bet that you didnt expect to be a database for Cooking Classes in Victoria, hey?

The listing description that appears here for Dinners by Design is now outdated. Since you're the first that shows on a Google search; I think it makes a difference... Can you do me a favour and remove the "private/in homes" part,(as in I only teach private classes in peoples homes). That's no longer true as I teach at various public locations these days.

Thansk for humouring me! If I could email you directly; I would. I can be reached via my website.

Best- Chef Natalie, Dinners by Design.

Anonymous said...

Hi. May I add Antichi Sapori to your list for cooking classes (Italian)

http://antichisapori.shawwebspace.ca/

Cheers

Melody Wey said...

Thanks for letting me know about Antichi Sapor Italian cooking classes! Have fun at the Taste food and wine festival this weekend.

Melody

fes2006 said...

I have a Weber charcoal BBQ which I used with success in Oz but it's not happy here in Victoria. Is there a class I can take to help me get the best out of it again?

ElleJay said...

OMG! in response to the weber bbq.... we just got our first one and bought one of the Weber BBQ cookbooks, it has SO much information on how to grill EVERYTHING, tons of techniques for all foods and all the recipes are amazing. My husband has turned from a kitchen phobic person to a PRO chef on the BBQ all because of this book it is AMAZING. You can buy them at home depot, or bolen books.

Anonymous said...

Check out the cupcake liners at www.sweetartsupplies.ca
They are in Victoria too

Anonymous said...

Gianfranco from Italy gives authentic italian cooking classes to small groups. I took a course last fall, with my girlfriends and we had so much fun and delicious food! His company is named Veritalia and has a FB page also called "Veritalia". You should add him to the listing! Regards.

Melody Wey said...

Thanks for the information about Gianfranco's Italian cooking classes. I get lots of questions about where to find Italian cooking classes in Victoria so this is perfect. I've added it the list. Grazie!

Unknown said...

Hi. I am Vinu(Vinodini George).
I teach Authentic Indian Cooking(from different parts of India) at Oaklands Community Centre, Belmont Avenue. I love cooking and also love to share all the secrets to authentic indian cooking. I did a cooking series called 'Indian Cooking With Vinu' on Shaw Tv (channel 11)during feb 5th to Mar 13th.
My next batch is starting in May.Anyone interested is most welcome.

Anonymous said...

I went to Vinu's Indian cooking classes during January 2011. It was awesome. She teaches everything in a very simple way and her hand outs are detailed and easy to understand. The recipes she brings out are authentic, different and even better than the exotic restaurant food. I loved each and every dish we made and looking forward to more classes with her.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant!!! This time of year my Cooking Equipment is turning into an avalance. I'm certainly going to take your idea and run with it. Thank you.
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Anonymous said...

Hello.
Iam getting marry next month and I have not Idea how to cook. =(
I really want to take some cooking classes.. I will like to know where is a good place in victoria to start my cooking lessons?? Can someone give me some advice.
Thank you very much

Anonymous said...

My son recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
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Anonymous said...

I have taken a number of "supposed" Thai cooking classes here in Victoria, some listed here and some not.

I have found that the classes from Your Thai-ness are the only ones that I have found to actually teach you the real "core" of Thai cooking so that you really know whats going on... I dont want to just follow recipes, I want to actually understand the cuisine!!

There are also demonstration classes in and outside of Victoria that pretend to be hands on, and some are even taught by Thai people who state they learned cooking at home in Thailand, but its very strange that my Thai friends complain about the dishes in the photos, because they say they are not correct in terms of the ingredients and how they are put together and displayed. Its not "real" Thai food at all, just a westernized version like the local restaurants here serve!!!

If you want the best value for your money, I recommend that anyone thinking about a cooking class check out the details of a school's experience and where/how/who they learned Thai cooking from, and for what purposes or circumstances.

Best of Luck

Mark said...

I love this blog.
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Cooking Classes said...

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