10 Online Cooking Classes To Sharpen Your Skills

By Beau Feeny

Becoming a confident cook begins with mastering some basic skills. And learning them all is at your fingertips—online. You can find out how to properly use your knives, understand what flavors play well together and identify the freshest ingredients.

We’ve navigated the online courses, and we’re serving up classes. Start by honing your skills, then apply your new expertise with techniques to prepare a variety of dishes. And, if you’re missing the social element of being in a class (it’s always fun to meet people who share your interests!), look for the live cooking classes. Once you’re cooking wth confidence, it just might be time to make your kitchen as smart as you are!

Get comfortable in the kitchen

Browse BBC Good Food’s “25 Skills Every Cook Should Know,” ranging from making batter to cooking rice to separating eggs. Each skill has accompanying articles and free videos, so you can improve your skills. And when you’re up to speed on your basic cooking skills, Good Food offers master classes ranging from sourdough to macarons to homemade pasta.

Basics with Babish is a 16-video series available free on YouTube covering food topics from kitchen tools to sauces to chocolate chip cookies. Starring Andrew Rea, better known by his YouTube name Babish, the show features digestible instructional videos that are generally under 10 minutes. As a bonus, when the series aired, Babish recorded live cook-alongs on Twitch that are now available on YouTube, so you can watch in “real time” and see what questions other burgeoning cooks asked.

Knowing how to flavor your dishes is also a skill! With the Flavor Crash Course, a seven-week course from Revived Kitchen, Instructor Courtney says, “Instead of getting you to memorize a whole bunch of recipes, you’re going to learn how to be a recipe creator.” The course fee provides lifetime access, printable materials and a companion e- and print book.

Expand your palate and go global

Let’s start with these six cuisines. Of course, there are tons more out there—don’t be afraid to keep exploring on your own!

French – The French Cooking Academy offers online courses—getting started, sauces, dessert essentials and bistro charcuterie—for you to purchase and follow along at home. The French Cooking Academy’s YouTube channel, meanwhile, lets you round out those skills with hundreds of French dishes to perfect, from quiche to madeleines. Bon appétit!

Italian – From the Today Show to your kitchen, Nonna Live offers, well, Nonna says it best: “An online live cooking experience taught exclusively by Italian grandmothers.” Can’t make live classes work? Nonna Live offers on-demand recordings and private bookings.

Mexican – Aura Cocina Mexicana offers group classes on Mexican classics, Fiesta dishes, street tacos and churros, in addition to private lessons. And students love them: Aura is rated 4.9 stars on Airbnb with over 5,500 reviews.

Chinese – Try your hand at soup dumplings, dim sum brunch and even Indo-Chinese fare with the live, fully interactive courses on Cozymeal. Cozymeal offers courses you can schedule ahead of time, so you can even plan to have friends join remotely from their kitchens, too!

Moroccan – Moroccan Food Tour specializes in experiences and classes in nine Moroccan cities, but they also offer live classes virtually! Have an expert coach you through any of three programs: vegetable appetizers, a main dish (veggie- or vegan-friendly, on request) and dessert!

Indian – Archana Mundhe’s Ministry of Curry offers a limited number of monthly online classes, both individual and group. Add recipes like aloo gobi and tandoori chicken to your repertoire, while asking the chef advice on food preparation and the best cooking techniques to add to your arsenal.

Social cooking classes connect you to more chefs

You can’t socialize with a recording! If you’re looking for a social experience, remember to go for live classes, like those included above or more from Cozymeal, like these pizza-making classes. Tip: Target classes with smaller groups and where the activity is simpler, like pizza or pasta, so you don’t get lost in the sauce.

There’s more to explore

Of course, there are many other online cooking classes out there. Look for reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Airbnb, and see if there are samples on YouTube before you commit to paying. A good class will tell you in advance what ingredients you need (keep track with Alexa), offer substitutions and be upfront about what you’re getting for the money. Then, gather your people to the table and—voila!—dinner is served.

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