The Chopping Block, Chicago's largest recreational cooking school and gourmet retail store, offers demonstration and hands-on cooking classes, as well as wine classes, private cooking parties and corporate team building events. Classes at our two locations cover subjects from cooking basics to intensive Boot Camps as well as seasonal, date nights, healthy and kids classes.
Print Our September Class Calendar Here
Our October class calendar will be available on September 13
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360° Location Tours:
Lincoln Square
Merchandise Mart
Click here to receive our Newsletter and get the latest recipes, Class and Event news and great retail specials.
Gift Certificates and Registry
We offer gift certificates in any denomination for classes and merchandise and gift registry for any occasion.
The Chopping Block Cooks only with:
You Voted, We Won
Thanks to everyone who voted for The Chopping Block as Best Cooking Store in Time Out Chicago's First Annual Shopping Awards. We strive to carry ingredients, tools and cookware that home cooks will actually use and not just shove in a cabinet. Despite being a small business, we match the "big guy" pricing, plus we give you a discount when you take a cooking class. With customer confidence on our side, we’ve been able to serve you at our retail stores for over 13 years now.
Hitting the Books
It's back to school in September so it's time to crack open our favorite cookbooks. Save 20% off all culinary page turners in September. If you are looking to bulk up your library, buy three or more books and save 30%. Brand new titles like BBQ 25 ($19.99), a collection of 25 recipes that we cook 95 percent of the time and United Cakes of America ($29.95), a cross-country cakewalk, await you on our shelves.
Global Wine
Spanish wine and cheese are exploding past the country's border right now, and not just in Spanish restaurants. In the Wine & Cheese of Spain, Wine Goddess Diana Hamann will show you that it's not all just about Rioja and Manchego anymore.
Our favorite Spanish wine expert is crossing the Mediterranean Sea to give us a look at one of the world's foremost wine treasures: Italy. Join Robert Houde, former Charlie Trotter's sommelier, as he guides us through a viticultural tour of "the boot" in Master Wine Class: Italy.
Your sniffer is actually what clues you in to a wine's flavor. In this new class, The "Nose" of Wine, we'll explore the 54 aromas most likely found in wine. Sign up here to put your nose to work.
Check out all of our September wine classes.
German Day Fest
Break out the lederhosen and beer steins, German Day Fest is right around the corner. Admission is free for the annual event featuring live music, dancing and authentic German food that goes from Friday, September 10 thru Sunday, September 12 in Lincoln Square.
Want to try your hand at cooking your favorite German specialties at home? Our Taste of German Fest is a feast served with German beer: Homemade Pretzels with Assorted Mustards, Wiener Schnitzel with Herbed Spaetzle, Braised Red Cabbage and Apple Strudel. Sign up here.
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Tom CruzeRock the Knife
There's no better place to start your journey in the kitchen than with our most popular class, Knife Skills. The Chicago Sun Times recently embarked on an evening of chopping and "test driving" knives, even "friending" them on Facebook. Read the adventure here.
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Bob CoscarelliA Few of Shelley's Favorite Things
Chicago Home + Garden recently previewed Shelley’s newly remodeled kitchen by Susan Fredman Design Group as a perfect mix of functionality and style. Read the article about the project between friends here. What's in those beautiful cabinets? Shelley's best picks from The Chopping Block, of course. See them all and buy online here.
Culinary Boot Camp
Can our Culinary Boot Camp turn you into a master cook in just one week? The Chicago Tribune recently followed a mother and daughter team through our week-long program as they whisked, butchered and tasted their way to culinary enlightenment. They were looking to pick up a few skills, but what they found was that once you learn a few basics, cooking is easy. Read the article here.
Get an inside look into our program and hear from recent graduates. Click here for more information on our curriculum, which boils down professional culinary education to home cook terms.
Get to Know Your Chefs
Our chefs are what set us apart from the rest! With their years of experience at top restaurants in Chicago and around the world, they work hard to bring you an insider's guide to restaurant kitchens. Now, we're getting up close and personal with the chefs at The Chopping Block. Find out what ingredients they can't live without, their favorite band and their top pick for dinner guest. Click here to view new pictures and profiles of all of our chefs!
