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Now they're cooking

For weekenders, rubbing elbows with a real chef is better than TV.

Cooking classes have become entertainment, one more thing to do on a weekend getaway. In eastern Wisconsin, the big Osthoff Resort has added a classical cooking school. There's a school in Door County, and many shops, restaurants and B&Bs in tourist areas are adding classes to draw customers. After all, everyone loves good food.

In some classes, students pitch in, but others offer only demonstration classes.

"The most relaxing thing is to watch some other chef work really hard while you sit and watch with a glass of wine,'' says chef Stephen Larson, who operated the Gourmets Garden cooking school and now runs Quarter/quarter restaurant in the southeast Minnesota town of Harmony.

"We instill the confidence that they can go home and do it themselves,'' he says. "Demonstration is a lot more user-friendly, especially for the guys. We're seeing more retired guys, and in general, the wife has to drag the guy to class. So we say, 'No, you don't have to do anything.' ''

Other schools offer classes in which the students prepare the dishes and the chefs circulate among them, offering help with techniques. In shorter classes, students break into groups and may get to prepare only one of the meal's dishes, but in longer classes, an assertive student can have a hand in all of them.

"I'm a firm believer that people need to know what a dish tastes like, feels like and stirs like before they take the recipe packet home to re-create for family and friends,'' says Judi Barsness, who offers four-hour winter classes at her Chez Jude restaurant and cooking school in Grand Marais, Minn.

Barsness offers classes from May through October and during snow season, so weekenders can come up to hike or ski, then take a break for dim sum.

In the boutique town of Galena, chef Patricia Lehnhardt offers a new class every week to the crowds who come to shop. At the sprawling Osthoff Resort in eastern Wisconsin, guests can learn to make cream puffs in the morning and, in the afternoon, get a Sacred Waters massage at the resort's spa.

There are lots of ways to have fun on a weekend getaway. But when you take a cooking class, you know you'll eat well, too.

Trip Tips: Cooking-class getaways

If you're thinking about taking a class, get on the school's mailing list so you get first crack at them; many weekend classes fill quickly. Schools also offer private classes to groups, with a minimum of four to 10.

Chez Jude in Grand Marais, Minn.: Chef Judi Barsness offers four-hour morning participation classes, $95. Barsness and her staff also do cooking classes in people's homes and vacation condos around the North Shore. Call 218-387-9113.

Great Galena Cookery, Galena, Ill.: At this downtown storefront, guests prepare a full meal at Thursday and Friday evening classes, $50. Chef Patricia Lehnhardt also offers Glaze and Graze, $100, in which guests glaze their own three-piece dinner set with the master potter downstairs on Friday night, then prepare and eat a meal on it Saturday night. 815-777-1556.

L'ecole de la Maison in Elkhart Lake, Wis.: TV host Jill Prescott's culinary school is based at the Osthoff Resort in this eastern Wisconsin town and offers an extensive schedule of classes of various lengths and costs. It's generally $125 for a one-day class, $575 for a three-day class and $1,275 for a five-day  class. 800-876-3399, Ext. 830.

The Palate in Stockholm, Wis.: This gourmet shop and cooking school on Lake Pepin offers three-hour Saturday classes in winter, and Tuesday- or Wednesday-evenings in spring, summer and fall. 715-442-6400.

Braise on the Go: Chef David Swanson's traveling culinary school, based in Milwaukee, combines farm, garden and foraging tours with cooking demonstrations using freshly harvested ingredients. 414-241-9577.

Learn Great Foods: This company gives culinary retreats, cooking classes, workshops and tours of sustainable farms in the regions around its bases in the northwest Illinois town of Mount Carroll and in Petoskey, Mich., on the shore of Lake Michigan. 866-240-1650.

The Goose Chaser Farm: This meat-bird farm near Blanchardville, southwest of Madison, Wis., offers monthly classes centered around seasonal products, $30. 608-293-3925.

Monique’s Cuisine in De Soto, Wis.: In her home outside this Mississippi River town, Monique Jamet Hooker, a teacher, restaurateur, author and TV host, offers three-hour Wednesday and Thursday evening classes, $50 including tasting. 608-648-2409.

Grecco's on the Saint Croix in St. Croix Falls, Wis.: Justin Grecco, chef of this  bistro across the river from Taylors Falls, Minn., teaches Sunday cooking classes, $55 with wine. Call 715-483-5003.

North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minn.: The homespun school on the harbor always has several cooking classes in its schedule. 888-387-9762.

Washington Hotel, Restaurant and Culinary School, Washington Island, Wis.: This school on an island off the tip of Door County operates only in the summer and brings in chefs from around the region. 920-847-2169.

Savory Spoon, Ellison Bay, Wis.: This Door County cooking school offers classes from June through October, most $50.  920-854-6600.

Many restaurants or inns offer an occasional class. Among them:

Spooner Market and Grill in Spooner, Wis.: This western Wisconsin restaurant offers two-hour Monday-evening participation classes, $20.  715-635-6833.

Inn at Kristofer's, Sister Bay, Wis.: In winter, this renowned Door County restaurant offers a monthly class with five-course dinner. 920-854-9419.

Last updated on January 20, 2010