CLASSES
The Chopping Block is teaching you how to cook virtually! Virtual cooking has been part of our strategic planning for years, and we are excited to bring this curriculum to fruition. Get cooking in the comfort of your own kitchen with our virtual Demonstrations and Cook Along classes. Choose from:
Our Virtual Demonstration classes, via Zoom, are a fun opportunity to watch your chef in action. During class, your chef will teach you how to prepare the dishes while you observe and take notes. Our Zoom moderator will make sure your questions submitted through the chat option are answered during or after class. The recipe packet will be provided upon registration. Please note that some recipe steps may be prepared ahead due to the length of the class.
Our Virtual Cook Along classes, via Zoom, will have you and your chef cooking together in real time. We’ll provide you with the recipe packet and equipment list upon registration, so you’re prepared to get cooking, and when it’s over you’ll have a meal on the table! Our Zoom moderator will make sure your questions are answered live by the chef either during or at the end of class.
Please note: all virtual class sales are final. All virtual students will receive a recording of the class within 24 hours of the class that is able to viewed within one week.
Thursday, October 14, 2021 6pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
The Instant Pot can make your life easier. The multi-cooker not only allows you to cook certain dishes that may have seemed too time-consuming in the past, but its hands-off nature makes it easy to prepare meals in advance and hold them until it is time to eat. You can even make an entire meal, including dessert, in your Instant Pot!
Food writer and cookbook author Emily Paster has written four cookbooks, and her latest, Instantly Mediterranean will be released in September. This cookbook focuses on how to make vibrant, mouthwatering Mediterranean recipes in your electric pressure cooker and air fryer. Emily’s first virtual class with The Chopping Block, Virtual Intro to the Instant Pot, was a huge success, and she’s returning for another virtual demonstration featuring some of her favorite Instant Pot recipes from her book. Mediterranean food is among the healthiest, most sustainable and tastiest food in the world and now it is Instant Pot-ready! Learn how to make a complete Mediterranean meal using your Instant Pot, learning timing and advanced techniques along the way. Join us for this virtual demonstration focusing on how pressure cooking works, what makes an Instant Pot special, and how it can make cooking easier and more convenient for you. Whether you use your Instant Pot nearly every day or whether it’s still in the box, this class will help you embrace pressure cooking to get delicious Mediterranean meals on the table in a timely way.
Saturday, October 16, 2021 10am CST
Join us for a virtual demonstration from the comfort of your own home as our chef leads a live, in-person sushi class at our Merchandise Mart location. Watch and listen on Zoom to all of the real-time action in our kitchen while our sushi expert explains the process of preparing and seasoning the rice, making maki rolls and nigiri, and reviews sushi vocabulary, essential tools and ingredients. You’ll be able to hear and see the chef interacting with the students, but also have the opportunity to ask questions in Zoom through the chat pane with the help of our moderator. If you need a maki-rolling refresher after the class, you’ll have access to the video recording for 1 week so you can review the skills covered.
Saturday, October 16, 2021 6pm CST
Join spirits expert, Christophe Bakunas, for a special virtual cocktail class exploring the world of Amaro! Amaro is an herbalized spirit that has its origins as far back as Roman times. By the 19th century, many Italian families were producing myriad amari (that’s plural for amaro) using herbs that were found in local habitats. Many aimed their recipes as medicinals, and later became common consumption as a digestif at the end of dinner. Today, in the modern cocktail application, amari’s range is so deep and vast that we use them interchangeably as apperitifs, digestifs and most importantly as high-quality components to cocktails. Let’s virtually walk through the last 2000 years of amari together!
Friday, October 22, 2021 6:30pm CST
Saturday, October 23, 2021 12pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Sunday, October 24, 2021 4pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Thursday, October 28, 2021 6pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Join us virtually from the comfort of your own home as our chef leads a live, in-person Flavor Dynamics class at our Merchandise Mart location. Watch, listen and participate via Zoom to all of the real-time action in our kitchen while our chef explores the five basic tastes and guides you on how to make successful flavor combinations. You’ll be able to hear and see the chef interacting with the students, but also have the opportunity to ask questions in Zoom through the chat pane with the help of our moderator. Upon signup, you’ll receive the list of ingredients needed to virtually participate in the class. If you need a refresher after the class, you’ll have access to the video recording for 1 week so you can review the skills covered.
Saturday, October 30, 2021 11:30am CST
Thursday, November 4, 2021 6pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
With the entertaining season upon us, it’s important to have a variety of iconic cocktails in your back pocket for your entertaining needs. With the help of spirits expert, Christophe Bakunas, you’ll be slinging classic cocktails for all your friends and family just like the pros. Christophe will virtually teach you how to set up your home bar with the essential tools and ingredients, the history of cocktails and punches, the differences of liquor and liqueur, and important bar lingo. You'll learn how to mix, shake and stir delicious cocktails so you can create your own creations at home.
Friday, November 5, 2021 6:30pm CST
Do you love winter squash but don’t know how to work with it? Join our chef in a 2-hour intensively interactive virtual workshop as we celebrate two varieties of sweet, savory and delicious hard-skinned squash utilizing a variety of cooking techniques.
Saturday, November 6, 2021 3pm CST
Sunday, November 7, 2021 4pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Thursday, November 11, 2021 6pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Join us for a virtual class celebrating the marriage of wine and cheese as it’s one of our most exciting taste sensations, from easy appetizers to an elegant cheese board, even Mac ‘n Cheese. Join Advanced Sommelier Mary Ross in this virtual class, and learn the secrets of successful wine and cheese pairing in this tasting of 5 prominent cheese styles mixed-&-matched with 5 wines. This seminar is fun and delicious for all wine and food lovers!
Friday, November 12, 2021 6:30pm CST
Learn how to make a variety of pasta shapes from scratch in this virtual class. Join our chef for a 2-hour intensively interactive virtual class from the comfort of your own home as we walk you through the technique on how to prepare homemade pasta dough from scratch in real time. We’ll then use the pasta dough to prepare several shaped pastas and one filled pasta. By the end of class, you’ll have a variety of pastas you can use right away or freeze for later use. Bonus sauce recipes will be included in the packet. Please note that having a pasta machine is an essential tool for this class.
Sunday, November 14, 2021 11am CST
Thursday, November 18, 2021 6pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Join us virtually from the comfort of your own home for our most popular and comprehensive Thanksgiving cooking class. In this demonstration class, our chef will cook the entire menu in real time while teaching you the timing, tricks, and classic recipes to ensure your success from your first-time cooking Thanksgiving to your fiftieth. You’ll be able to hear and see everything the chef is doing in class, but also have the opportunity to ask questions in Zoom through the chat pane with the help of our moderator. If you need a refresher after the class, you’ll have access to the video recording for 1 week so you can review the skills covered. Upon signup, you will receive a complete packet with well-tested recipes, shopping lists, and a clear timeline to get all that cooking done! Due to the length of this class, we will break for 30-minutes half way through the class.
Saturday, November 20, 2021 10am CST
Learn how to make hearty, soul-satisfying soups and stews perfect for the cold weather. In this intensely interactive 2-hour virtual workshop, our chef will guide you through the techniques and skills in order to make well-balanced and flavorful one pot meals from the comfort of your own home. These recipes also freeze well, so you can look forward to stocking up your freezer!
Sunday, November 21, 2021 11am CST
Friday, November 26, 2021 6pm CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Sunday, November 28, 2021 10:30am CST
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 6pm CST
This class is in partnership with Common Threads and you can choose to make a donation to this national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness. Common Threads equips under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn, and play. The organization knows that food is rooted in culture and tradition so it promotes diversity in our lessons and recipes, encouraging our participants to celebrate the world around them.
Since 2003, Common Threads has reached more than 150,000 children, parents and educators across the greater Chicago, and more than 600,000 people across all of its markets. During COVID, the organization has shifted its efforts to virtual instruction, but has returned with limited in-person programming in Chicago and other markets. Donations received through this class will go toward Common Threads’ Giving Tuesday goal of $50,000, which will allow the organization to enhance and sustain its virtual and in-person cooking and nutrition education programming.
Our virtual classes will have you and your chef instructor cooking together in real time, or if preferred, enjoy the class as an engaging demonstration with the flexibility to prepare the dishes at another time. Either way, you will gain a full understanding of the techniques. Upon registration, chose which option is best for you.
