With class names such as “Simple Sexy Sandwiches,” “Seafood Secrets” and “Lunch & Learn,” the Chopping Block Cooking School has mastered more than the art of alliteration.
The Chopping Block’s two Chicago locations, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 107 and 4747 N. Lincoln Ave., offer daily demonstrations and hands-on cooking classes to student chefs with all levels of experience. Whether you want to make a real “bam!” and become the food world’s next Emeril, woo an object of affection or avoid monotonous dorm food, The Chopping Block can help you unleash your culinary genius.
“Students can benefit from the classes because a lot of people don’t have kitchens,” says Jeremy Phipps, a Weinberg sophomore. “I’d love the chance to be in a kitchen and cook.”
The cooking school holds two or three different classes each day – designated as either demonstration or hands-on – taught by experienced chefs. Demonstration classes cost $35 and feature a teaching chef who prepares the menu while students sample tasting portions and observe. For $40 more, students can take a hands-on class, working alongside a chef and ultimately enjoying (or not) the fruits of their labor. Classes are typically between two and three hours long.
The class calendar varies each month, fluctuating in tandem with the weather and ingredient availability. This month’s warm-weather classes – such as Girl’s Night: Back to Bikinis, described on the Web site as “skinny recipes for a fun night out” – teach students to make dishes that include shrimp with watercress dip and hearts of palm salad with papaya dressing.
The Pub Grub class, also offered this month, teaches customers to make items such as ahi tuna mini-burgers and a variety of chicken wings and sauces. The Date Night: Set Sail class is a course for couples which features appetizers like grilled vegetable panzanella and dilly potato boats.
“Date classes are a balance of education and entertainment,” says Lisa Futterman, a Chopping Block chef and class coordinator. “Instead of going to a bar and eating tapas, a couple can make their own tapas and bring their own wine.”
Along with specific meal-preparation classes, the Chopping Block also teaches skill courses. Knife Skills is the Chopping Block’s most popular class; in which students learn to chop and mince vegetables and herbs and are taught how to select and care for knives.
“It’s earth-shattering to watch people learn how to use knives after coming in without knowing anything,” says Futterman. “Cooking becomes fun.”
For the grill-master-in-training, May’s Gear up for Grilling! is a two-and-a-half hour course dedicated to barbequing tips and techniques. Sushi-lovers can also learn the tricks of the trade – while making three types of Nigiri and Maki and spicy tuna hand rolls – in the Totally Hands-on Sushi class.
The Chopping Block also provides a series of wine courses to both introduce and refine wine knowledge for connoisseurs of varying expertise. For $55, students can learn from from “wine goddess” Diana Hamann, one of the original wine merchants in California’s renowned Napa Valley.
Wine classes include Wine Tasting 101, where the Web site says students can “swish, swirl, and spit” (well, maybe not spit) their way to “vinous enlightenment.” Specific wine topics are taught as well. In the New World Wonders course, the focus is on wines from regions that are growing in popularity, such as Australia and Argentina. Food & Wine Dynamics teaches students how to “discover the symbiotic relationship between food and wine.”
The Chopping Block’s classes are intimate – between 12 and 20 people – and students are provided with printed recipe handouts as well as notepads and pencils. The classes are BYOB, but wine is only for sale at the Lincoln Square location. Students can purchase selected wines by the bottle – though at least one student worries that drinking in the kitchen could be counterproductive.
“If you’re paying to learn how to cook, it doesn’t make sense to get drunk,” Phipps says. “It’d be fun to have a glass of wine though.”
Private parties from five to 100 people can be accommodated for specific events like bachelor/ette parties, birthday parties, wine tasting, etc. The Chopping Block’s party coordinator will help arrange all the event’s details and will even make party gift bags. An extensive suggested menu is provided and can be customized to fit specific requests. A four-hour kitchen rental (with staffing) costs $1,000; menu selections range from $25 to $45 per person.
The Chopping Block was founded in 1997 by Shelley Young, the recipient of the 2005 International Association of Culinary Professionals Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
All classes require reservations, which can be made by phone, online or by visiting either store location. Call the Lincoln Square location at (773) 472-6700 or the Merchandise Mart location at (312) 644-6360 to book a spot. The Chopping Block’s hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For a class calendar and more information, please visit thechoppingblock.net.
Medill sophomore Deena Bustillo is a PLAY assistant editor. She can be reached at d-bustillo@northwestern.edu.
