I'm looking for a tapas cooking class (a one-time deal) for me and 2 friends to take. It's one person's birthday, and we all lived in Spain together, so we thought this would be a fun gift. The class a the Academie de Cusine is booked Any suggestions?

I don't see a tapas class listed currently, but I think they have been offered by TasteDc before.

If you're willing to drive out to a location near Charles Town, WV this coming Tuesday, I'm teaching a tapas class from 6:30-8:30pm. PM me for details. I have taught tapas classes at Frederick Community College before, but I don't have one scheduled this semester--check back in the fall.

Also, DiningInFrederick took an interesting-sounding class at Isabella's, a tapas place in downtown Frederick, MD. Maybe he knows more details on future offerings?

We've gone to two of our three nights of classes at our Isabella's cooking classes. We were expecting to learn tapas, since that's what the menu is at Isabella's, but we've mostly learned entrees that you could serve in smaller portions if you wanted. What we have learned does not appear on their regular menu and, to me, seems to be an outlet for the chef to try out Italian recipes since he hopes to convince his bosses to open one. On disappointment is that most dishes wouldn't work well if you prepared ahead and served reheated at a party (that was our motivation).

The classes are set up so you learn three different dishes each night. The first night's recipes were much better than our second one. Again, it's not hands-on, unfortunately. But it's still fun and social to eat decent food and drink pitchers of sangria Monday nights. $80 per person for the three nights. The recipes will be the same for the full calendar year; he changes every year for people who want to repeat the classes.

I think you get what you pay for. My wife got me a gift certificate for Le Academie de Cuisine and the per person price is twice Isabella's, but you get hands on experience and (I hope) more classically trained chefs. I'll let you know in a few months after I take my Le Academie class. But we're both glad we've done the Isabella's classes because we 1) Eat good food, 2) Learn something new, and 3) Spend time with each other. But I think you can learn more elsewhere.

Pax,
Brian