These Cooking Classes Will Create an Experience to Remember and Offer Some Valuable Life Skills, Too!
My kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in our house. We love to cook. And, my husband and I enjoy passing down our food knowledge to our children. While not a trained professional, I feel as though I have the basics down. Right now my kid’s minds are little sponges and they have to know what every kitchen tool does, and why are noodles hard and then soft. It makes my heart melt knowing they care so much about what they are eating.
Wanting to know more myself, I started researching cooking classes, not only for children, but for my husband and myself. Can’t let the kiddos surpass us. With Grand Rapids’ tradition of locally sourced produce and meats, diverse culinary heritages, and simple love for great food, it’s no surprise that West Michigan offers amazing cooking classes for kids and adults.
If you’ve never looked into taking a cooking class in greater Grand Rapids before, you may be surprised at just how many different options there are – from edible flowers and tasty chocolates, from sausages to Thai and African, there is something for every taste and every age!
We have some amazing options for you to pick from below whether you’re looking for a fun night out with your friends or something different for your kids to do on a school vacation or a one time event! Cooking classes also make an amazing present that affords someone an experience that will help them learn a great life skill.
Bon Appétit!
Cooking Classes Around West Michigan: A Pinch of Everything
These local programs offer classes on a wide range of culinary traditions and techniques. Browse their course offerings to find the perfect idea for your next kid date, ladies’ night out, or date night!
1 – Downtown Market
| Downtown Market 435 Ionia Ave. SW Grand Rapids, MI 49503 616-805-5308 |
Offering everything from kid and family cooking classes to highly specialized courses on things like pasta techniques, sushi, and even cocktails, Downtown Market has a motherlode of cooking classes for you to explore. Kids will also love the Summer Camps that are offered. There is always theme assigned to each session of the Summer Camp, which makes it great for kids to choose a menu perfect for them.
2 – GRCC Cooks – Your Community Kitchen
| Grand Rapids Community College 143 Bostwick Avenue NE Grand Rapids MI 49503-3295 616-234-3837 |
Savor the world-class facilities and well-seasoned instructors of Grand Rapids Community College’s Secchia Institute for Culinary Education. Learn the fundamentals of knife skills, soups, sauces, sushi or vegan cooking, and become familiar with world culinary traditions like those of Thailand, South America, Vietnam, and Africa.
3 – Kitchen 242 at the Muskegon Farmer’s Market
| Kitchen 242 242 W. Western Ave. Muskegon, MI 49440 231-769-2202 |
From French cuisine to kids cupcakes, this unique commercial kitchen has made it its mission to provide a space for the community to create and learn about all things related to food.
4 – Tamara’s Cooking Classes
| Tamara’s Cooking Classes 1015 Oak Lane Grand Haven MI 49417 616-847-0312 |
For almost 20 years, Tamara’s has been teaching hands-on classes at the Oak Lane Kitchen in Grand Haven. In just one class, learn all the skills necessary to prepare several dishes.
5 – The Local Epicurean
| The Local Epicurean 1440 Wealthy St SE Grand Rapids, MI 49506 (616) 206-5175 |
Adventurous foodies can snack on imported cheese, pesto, baguettes, and infused beverages while learning practical and advanced techniques. Looking for something special to do for date night? Check out their unique “Class for Two” programs!
6 – YMCA
| Various Locations Grand Rapids, MI 616-855-9622 |
One more reason to head to the YMCA! They offer adult only and family cooking workshops that focus on locally inspired cuisine, cooking techniques, and healthy recipes. Call to register. Visit their site to find the location and schedule that works best for you.
7 – Kentwood Parks & Rec
| Kentwood Parks & Rec 355 48th St. SE Kentwood, MI 49548 616-656-5270 |
Kids will focus on learning the basic uses for all of the most common kitchen utensils, create recipes they can reproduce at home, and take home a recipe book with all of their creations at the end of the class.
8 – All in One Chef
| All in One Chef Grand Rapids, MI 616-633-4218 |
Learn to cook or learn new recipes to add to your culinary repertoire. Gather a group of friends or just a few couples together to learn something new! Classes can be tailored to your learning needs such as: Knife skills, braising meats, ethnic cooking styles, and farmers’ market cooking.
9 – Williams and Sonoma
| Williams & Sonoma 3195 28th St SE Grand Rapids, MI 49512 616-940-7343 |
Register for a variety of classes or join their Cookbook Book club, which sounds absolutely amazing, but is very basic concept. Create a few dishes from a newly released cookbook, and when the class is done, you get to bring home your own copy of the cookbook. Sounds like my kind of book club!
Cooking Classes Around West Michigan: Specialized Programs
The programs offered below focus on classes about just one particular kind of food: be it Italian or edible flowers, pig butchering or root beer making. You’ll be sure to find something to broaden your culinary horizons and bring fresh life to your kitchen!
1 – Amore Trattoria Italiano
| Amore Trattoria Italiano 5080 Alpine Ave NW Comstock Park, MI 49321 616-785-5344 |
Join Chef Jenna every second Saturday of the month for a free, drop-in style Italian cooking class–no registration required!
2 – Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars
| Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars 24 East 8th Street Holland, Michigan 49423 616-392-1111 |
Interactive, small-group teaching ensures you’ll get the most out of your time. Learn to mix and match for fantastic flavor pairings according to your own preferences, and your taste buds will be rewarded.
3 – Louise Earl Butcher
| Louise Earl Butcher 1106 Wealthy St. SE Grand Rapids MI 49506 616-930-3602 |
Are you a meat lover? Join this locally sourced, whole-animal butcher shop to learn things you can’t learn anywhere else, like how to butcher a pig. You then get to make your own sausage and bring it home, talk about an, “I did that,” moment.
4 – Frederik Meijer Gardens
| Frederik Meijer Gardens 1000 East Beltline Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 616-957-1580 |
Good cooking begins with good growing. Cook from the ground up with courses such as, Plant-Based Cooking Boot Camp, or how to plant and care for an edible landscape in your own yard, and Basil, Basil, Basil.
2 – Chocolates by Grimaldi | Grand Haven
| Amore Trattoria Italiano 5080 Alpine Ave NW Comstock Park, MI 49321 616-785-5344 |
Why paint canvas when you can paint, flavor, and decorate your own unique chocolate bar? Grab your favorite person and learn all about the chocolate making process, then design and create your very own chocolate bar. (616) 935-7740
Honorable Mentions
The following places have been known to schedule a cooking class in the past, so we encourage you to check their calendars.
We love hearing from YOU! If you try out one of these cooking classes, be sure to let us know.
