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01Cooking classes

Not a recipe.A skillyou keep.Private cooking classes in Calgary, taught in your own kitchen

Pasta that holds together. Dough that rises. The small things nobody writes down, shown once, properly, in your own kitchen, for two, for the family, or for twelve.

Book a classWhat you can learn
Hands shaping fresh pasta during a cooking class in Calgary
Chef Marina teaching a hands-on cooking class in Calgary
02How a class runs

Your kitchen,your menu.

This is not a scheduled slot you join with strangers. It is a private class built around whoever is in the room — two people or twelve, beginners or people who already cook and want one specific technique to stop going wrong.

I bring the knives, the boards and anything specialised, and plan the menu around what your kitchen actually has. Everything is made from scratch, because the from-scratch part is the bit nobody shows you and the bit that changes how you cook afterwards.

It ends where it should: at the table, eating what you made, with the kitchen left clean. You cooked — you do not also wash up.

Group size
Two to about twelve
Runs
Around three hours, ending at the table
Where
Your kitchen — Calgary, Banff, Canmore
03What people learn

Things worthlearning once.

Every one of these has been taught properly, many times. Pick one, or tell me what you have always wanted to be able to make.

  • 01

    Pasta from scratch

    Fresh pasta, ricotta gnocchi, ravioli and lasagna. The most requested class, and the one that changes weeknight cooking most.

  • 02

    The Argentine table

    Empanadas, asado and real chimichurri — the food I grew up with, taught the way it is actually made rather than the way it is written down.

  • 03

    Dough & pizza

    Napoletana pizza dough, and French croissants for anyone willing to be patient. Both are technique, not recipe — which is why they are worth being shown.

  • 04

    Paella, tapas, sushi

    The travelled half of the repertoire: Spanish paella and tapas, sushi from scratch, and Mexican tortillas with the sauces that belong beside them.

A group cooking together at a private class in Calgary
04Who books a class

Two people,or twelve.

Couples cooking classes are the most common booking — pasta from scratch is close to a perfect evening for two, because it takes about the right amount of time and you eat the result, and it makes a better date night than a restaurant.

Kids and families do better at this than their parents expect. Pizza dough, empanadas and pasta all give children something to do with their hands at every stage, which is most of the battle.

Bachelorettes, birthdays and friends work because everybody has a job and nobody is stuck making conversation in a queue. And if it is a work thing rather than a private one, the corporate version lives on its own page.

06Questions

Things peoplealways ask.

The ones that arrive in my inbox most weeks. If yours isn't here, send it over.

01What do you actually teach?

Things made from scratch, because that is the part nobody shows you. Fresh pasta, ricotta gnocchi, ravioli, lasagna, Napoletana pizza dough, French croissants, paella and tapas, sushi, Mexican tortillas and the sauces that go with them.

And the Argentine side, which is the one I grew up with: empanadas, asado, chimichurri, and how to drink mate properly.

02Is it a private class or a group class?
Private, and built around whoever is in the room. Two people or twelve, it is your class rather than a scheduled slot you join. That is the difference from a cooking school — the menu, the pace and the difficulty are set by what you want to learn.
03Do you run cooking courses, or is it a single class?
A single session, not a course. There is no curriculum, no term and nothing to enrol in. You book one class, learn the thing you came for, and go away able to make it. If you want a different thing later, that is simply a second class, booked the same way. Each lesson stands on its own.
04Does my kitchen work, or do we need somewhere else?
Your kitchen, almost always. I bring the knives, the boards and anything specialised, and I plan the menu around what your space actually has rather than what it ought to have. If the group is bigger than the room, I will say so and we find a venue instead.
05Can you do a class for two — a date night, or an anniversary?
It is one of the most common bookings. Pasta from scratch is the favourite for two, because you finish the evening eating something you genuinely made and it takes about the right amount of time. Bring the wine; I will handle the rest.
06Do you teach kids?
Yes, and they are usually better at it than their parents expect. Pizza dough, empanadas and pasta all work well with children because there is something to do with your hands at every stage. Groups, birthdays and school-holiday sessions all fine — tell me the ages and I will pitch it right.
07What about a bachelorette, a hen party or a birthday?
Those run well as a class, and better than most of the alternatives — everybody has something to do, nobody is stuck making conversation in a queue, and there is a meal at the end. Larger groups work best on something forgiving like empanadas or pizza.
08What does a cooking class cost?
Quoted per head on the group size, the menu and where it happens. Ingredients, equipment and clean-up are itemised in the proposal — the number you are given is the number you pay. Tell me the headcount and what you want to learn and you will have a figure the same week.
09Do we eat what we cook?
That is the whole point. The class ends at the table with the thing you just made, plated properly rather than eaten off the counter. And the kitchen is left clean — you cooked, you do not also wash up.
10I genuinely cannot cook. Is this going to be embarrassing?
No, and beginners are the easiest people to teach because nothing has to be un-learned first. Everything is guided step by step and no prior skill is assumed at any point. If you can be trusted with a knife for three hours, you can make pasta.

Also from this kitchen

05Let's cook

Tell me what you'rein the mood for.

Booking from this summer onward.

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Chef Marina
Chef Marina.