Taking a cooking class is a great way to up your game in preparation for the holidays — plus, it makes for a super-fun night out (solo or with friends!) any time of the year. And because New York and Connecticut are amazing culinary locations, there are tons of options for incredible cooking classes in the region.
From baking classes to knife skills to cuisine-focused courses, there’s something for everyone. Best of all, you can take the subway, LIRR, or Metro-North to classes at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, the Zwilling Cooking Studio in Westchester, and The Cooking Lab in Port Washington. Note that some locations require a short walk or rideshare from the station.
1. Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), Manhattan
Some of America’s best chefs have studied at ICE, including Gail Simmons, Missy Robbins, and Marc Murphy, and now you can, too, via their recreational classes. “In the recreational classes, attendees work in the same professional kitchens with the same chef-instructors as our career-programs, so you’re getting a real culinary school experience,” says Tracy Zimmerman, Lead Chef of the Recreational Program. “The classes use top-notch ingredients and are a true hands-on experience.”
ICE has classes in everything from vegan and gluten-free baking to a steakhouse classics course for kids and teens to a four-day bean-to-bar chocolate immersion. Zimmerman notes there are also plenty of Thanksgiving prep classes coming up. Brush up on your tart skills in The Perfect Tart or perfect your sauces in All About Technique: Sauces just before the holiday.
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2. Home Cooking New York, Manhattan
Founded in 2002 by Jennifer Clair, a former recipe editor of The Wall Street Journal and cookbook developer for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Home Cooking New York offers 10-person maximum hands-on classes that end with a full sit-down meal. Upcoming classes include The Best Winter Soups, the ideal date-night class Romantic Dinner for Two, and Knife Skills 101 and Holiday Candy Making, two great options to help you amp up your holiday dishes and desserts. Beginners should check out the six-session Culinary Boot Camp to learn basic knife skills, braising, fish, and meal techniques, and dough basics during weekly three-hour classes.
3. The Well-Seasoned Chef, Garden City
This kid-friendly facility has a small shop selling kitchen items and a demo kitchen perfect for small group classes and kids’ birthday parties. There are always fun interactive classes on schedule like the upcoming mini pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake pastry class for kids, and Junior Chef Culinary classes for kids ages 8 to 14, where they learn basic knife skills and kitchen safety while making chicken parmigiana, pumpkin ravioli, and cannoli ice cream. Classes are taught by owner Chef Sophia Benito Brivio, a graduate of ICE.
4. The Cooking Lab, Port Washington
Learn to make holiday classics from Hanukkah sufganiyot to gingerbread houses at this family-friendly culinary studio, where you’ll find eight cooking stations that can accommodate one or two people each. Aside from singular classes, the Cooking Lab also offers weekly after-school classes for elementary and middle school children. It was founded by Parisian chef Mathieu Lanfant and lawyer-turned-chef Michelle Capobianco, who trained in Italy.
5. Zwilling Cooking Studio, Pleasantville
The German knife company opened their US headquarters in Westchester in 2015, with a state-of-the-art cooking studio. “Part culinary classroom, part dinner party, our hands-on cooking classes are a fun way to test your cooking chops,” says executive chef Bernard Janssen. Classes include "Family Time" High Tea, “Girls Night Out” Homemade Pasta, and “Date Night” Mexican Fiesta, where couples learn to make chorizo tostadas, tamales and picadillo tacos. To prep for the holiday season, consider the Basic Knife Skills course, where you will learn the fundamentals of good knife skills.
6. Fig Cooking School, Milford
This culinary facility has been offering recreational classes since 2009 and is owned by Heide Lang, who trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York. Upcoming classes include French Bistro, where attendees will learn to cook steak au poivre and lavender crème brûlée, and Viva Italia, with cannelloni with besciamella sauce and budino, Italian chocolate pudding. In December, the Festive Holiday Dinner class will teach participants to cook beef tenderloin with lingonberry horseradish sauce and wild mushroom tartlets.
Devorah Lev-Tov is a travel and food writer based in Brooklyn. She has been living in NYC for 15 years and writes for publications including The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Eater, Thrillist, and more.
Story updated: November 2023
