Paris Cooking Class

Gwen, I have taken one class at Le Cordon Bleu and two classes from Cookn with Class. My Le Cordon Bleu class was a market walk and demo. I enjoyed the market walk portion, but the demo was not as interesting to me; they did not provide the recipes in the demo (only a list of ingredients); this meant that I had to take copious notes throughout the class. Additionally, we did not even get to taste all the items made at the end of the class which was really disappointing. I would go back to Le Cordon Bleu, but I would make sure to choose a participation class rather than a demo. I have also taken two classes at Cookn with Class. These classes are geared towards the English speaking tourist and cooking novices. In the baking class, we made croissants, pane au chocolate, fougasse, and an apple pastry. In the evening cooking class, we made a 3 course meal and also had wine with each course and a beautiful cheese course. Both of these classes were very fun and I definitely would take another class through them. They are expensive, but you do get an excellent meal in the evening class and in the baking class we were sent home with lots of leftovers. David Lebovitz has a great blog on foodie-related topics in Paris. Below is a link to a post he did on cooking classes which includes more options, including options in French. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/11/cooking-classes-1/

A family member attended Cookin with Class and I was able to attend the final hour and then sit in for the meal. Great experience, especially getting to hear a local chef's perspective on food and eating.