Cooking classes can open up a new world to the recipient.
Cooking classes can be a wonderful, creative way to help a friend or loved one achieve a lifelong dream, start a healthier lifestyle, explore a new cuisine or expand their existing skills. Introductory cooking classes can be given to adults or children; other classes focus on a certain food or technique, such as desserts, wine or baking. Giving the class in the form of a gift certificate is a convenient option.
Basics
A basic cooking class covers the essentials, such as common kitchen tools and use them, simple cooking techniques and skills and elementary cooking terms. Some schools offer special classes for children. Other recipients who might benefit from a basic cooking class include newlyweds; a young adult moving from home for the first time; or anyone who never learned to cook for himself. A book of simple cooking terms and techniques, to reinforce what was learned, might be a thoughtful side gift.
Specific Cuisine
Some people are fascinated by a certain culture, or love its cuisine. If your friend loves French food but lacks the confidence to try it herself, you might give her a class in French bistro cooking. Classes teaching Mexican, Chinese or Italian cuisine are popular, and go into some depth about the special techniques and ingredients particular to those styles of cooking. Classes in a specific cuisine might also be appropriate if your friend is moving abroad, wants to expand her menu repertoire, or is marrying a person who loves that style of cooking. A gift certificate to a specialty store makes a nice side gift, since some exotic ingredients can be hard to find at the corner grocery.
Specific Foods
Dessert classes can be a delightful adventure, and can teach your friend cook with chocolate, make candies, cookies or even elaborate wedding cakes. If your friend wants to learn more about wine pairings, you might give him a wine class. A pastry class is a thoughtful gift for a friend who wants to learn bake. Give a kitchen tool as a side gift; cookie cutouts, for example, if your friend is learning to make baked goods.
Healthy Cooking
If your friend needs to adhere to a specific diet for health reasons, such as a weight loss or diabetic diet, she may need to learn a new set of cooking skills. Many cooking schools offer classes in vegetarian or vegan, low-cal or diabetic cooking, and also help educate students about which foods are healthy, and which should be avoided. A subscription to a magazine that addresses these concerns, and offers a constant stream of new, healthy recipes, makes a nice side gift.
Tags: your friend, side gift, basic cooking, basic cooking class, cooking class