Cucina offers cooking classes throughout the year in its state-of-the-art live kitchen (featuring Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances). Watch, listen and learn (& sample heartily, of course!) as our chefs demonstrate techniques and prepare recipes from the basics to more intricate dishes. Educating the customer is what we are about at Cucina and what better way than an intimate cooking class with one of our two chefs:

To Register For Classes Call: 1.231. 932.8787 Download Class Schedule: Download PDF

Chef Renee Builes

Chef Renee Builes studied here locally at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute and owns and operates A Catered Affair catering company with her husband, Fernando (who is also a chef!). Chef Renee brings over 30 years experience in the culinary field and a passion for delivering high-quality cuisine combined with beautiful, creative presentation and impeccable service.

Chef Stacie Kohler

Chef Stacie Kohler is a culinary school graduate with over 18 years professional experience. This includes specialized training in some of the most recognized culinary regions of the U.S. (from Vail to Boston, to Martha's Vineyard). Her specialties are Artisan baking and pastry. She was also a private chef on yachts and schooners for six years and co-owner of a home cooking/small party catering company.

Classes are limited to eight students per class so that everyone has a close-up view of the action while seated at our custom, concrete island. The majority of our classes are demonstration format, but there are several hands-on classes and the chefs often ask for participation. Class fees must be paid at the time of registration and classes are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. If a class is full, we will be happy to add you to our waiting list. Come in today to make your reservation or call us at (231) 932-8787.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel a reservation within seven days prior to the class, you may transfer the fee to another available class or you may receive a full refund. If you cancel less than seven days prior to the scheduled class, or if you do not attend the class, we regret that your class fee at that point is NON-REFUNDABLE & NON-TRANSFERRABLE. When a last-minute conflict occurs, please consider sending someone in your place. Cucina reserves the right to cancel classes. In that event, we will notify you and provide a full refund or credit.

Private Classes

In addition to our regularly scheduled classes, Cucina also offers private cooking classes for groups (up to 10 max.). You choose the theme and we will come up with a wonderful menu and evening that you and your friends/colleagues will not soon forget! Whether this is your monthly "Dinner For Eight", a "Girls Fun Night", or business entertaining, contact us to arrange a wonderfully unique event today!

10% Discount

For any purchases made the day of a class you have registered for, you will receive a 10% discount!

Cooking Classes - July 2008

Cooking Classes - August 2008

July Class Descriptions

Thai Summer Dishes (Wednesday, July 2nd; 7:00pm -9:00pm; Cost: $55/pp)

Can't think of what to cook? Want something special for those weekend dinner parties or are you tired of the same old summer soups and salads? In the heat of the summer, refreshing Thai food with its combustible contrasts of color, flavor, cooking methods and texture and its enticing scents are just what you need to bring your appetite online! From her time travelling in South East Asia, Chef-Educator Nancy Allen, brings you the Best-Ever menu with dishes like Tamarind Fish, Thai Tomato Salad, Fresh Summer Rolls, Thai Shrimp Coconut Curry and Pad Thai.

Creative Kabobs (Wednesday, July 9th 7:00pm - 9:00pm; Cost $55/pp)

If you love to grill and want to add to your repertoire, this class is guaranteed to delight you. Chef-Educator Nancy Allen has traveled widely gathering winning kabob reicipes that will be near and dear to your appetites. You'll try out kabobs like Vietnamese Shrimp Patties on Sugar Cane, Indian Minced Lamb Kabobs, Middle Eastern Fish Kabobs, Japanese Chicken Yakitori, Tofu Dengagku, Chinese Vegetable-Hoisin Kabobs, Greek Chicken Kabobs and more!

Mastering Pies & Pastry (Wednesday, July 23rd; 7:00pm - 9:00pm; Cost $55/pp)

Sometimes the dishes with the least ingredients are the most difficult to master. If you have not yet mastered making consistently great pie crusts and pies, you're invited! You'll make a dough to take home, learn a variety of ways to roll and shape a pie, including a double-crust and free-form tart, learn how to thicken fruit properly and taste pies like cherry crostada, blueberry, apple, peach, plum custard, chocolate tart and/or classic lemon merringue.

Summer Japanese "Tapas" Dishes (Sunday, July 27th; 4:30pm - 6:30pm; Cost: $55/pp)

Japanese food with its simple, but intense flavors and artful design will startle and enliven your guests! Learn some of the little "tapas" style dishes that Japanese cooks devise for summer appetites. You'll taste dishes like Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura with Dipping Sauce, Terriyaki Chicken Coins, Miso-marinated Tilapia, Sake and Butter Braised Potatoes, Pressed Summer Salad and/or Cucumber and Avodado Box Sushi! Oishii desu yo!

August Class Descriptions

Food From a French Summer Garden (Wednesday, August 6th; 7:00pm - 9:00pm; Cost: $55/pp)

No culture knows how to satisfy all of the senses better than the French! Their chefs are the masters of technique. Learn the secrets of quick and fresh summer garden cooking with this class. After this class, you'll be able to improvise warm weather meals from you own garden or the farmer's market. You'll learn dishes like French-style "crudites'" salads, Summer gazpacho, Stuffed Trout wrapped in lettuce leaves, Piperade, Provencal Minestrone au Pistou and/or Pissaladiere.

Simple Sorbets (Wednesday, August 13th; 7:00pm - 9:00pm; Cost: $55/pp)

If you have an ice cream maker sitting in the closet, this class will inspire you to haul it out. Summer is the best time to make sorbet with its abundance of fruit. If you're trying to lower the fat or just want sure-fire summer refreshment, these sorbets are guaranteed to make summer a little more palatable. You'll learn the basics and more with sorbets like Coconut and Lime Sorbet, Raspberry and Red Wine Sorbet, Apricot and Honey Sorbet and/or Gazpacho Sorbet!

Summer Vegetarian (Sunday, August 17th, 4:30pm - 6:30pm; Cost: $55/pp)

It's a joy to eat vegetables in the summer months - there is SO much from which to choose! Studies have shown that vegetarians suffer less heart diease and strokes. So why not become an occasional vegetarian?! For that, you'll have to learn how to cook vegetables - and this is the class that will teach you! Learn the basics of working with tofu, beans and legumes, grains and vegetables with dishes like Marinated and Grilled Tofu, Kidney Bean, Olive and Parsley Salad, Kale and Rice Pilaf with Garlic, or Italian Braised Radicchio.

The Middle Eastern Kitchen (Wednesday, August 20th, 7:00pm - 9:00pm; Cost: $55/pp)

The Ottoman Empire was a true melting pot of cooking and culture. They honor food. The use of fragrant spices and ingredients like feta, black olives, tahini, orange flower water, figs and lemons make Middle Eastern food perhaps the most soulful, versatile and flavorful of all Mediterranean cuisines! You'll explore this exotic world with dishes like Stuffed Grape Leaves, Beans with Sesame, Topkapi Pilaf, Fish or Minced Lamb Kabobs, Arab Flatbread and/or Eggplant Salad.

Cooking Foundations Series

Cucina offers each Foundations Series several times a year. Please contact Cucina if you are interested in participating in these truly unique and incredible classes!

Have you ever wished you could attend culinary school, but haven’t had the time or money to invest into 2 – 4 years of schooling? Our Culinary School Crash Course is the answer for you. Each Section will condense the essential information from a full semester course into four, 3-hour classes. The classes will include hands-on, individualized instruction. You will be provided with a supply list (see below), but we will provide all the ingredients. This is your chance to get all the information you want, in less time and with no tests!