Make it a Hot Italian Summer!
Kids...out of school and nothing to do? Check out our Italian 101 for KIDS class at Il Sogno Ristorante, in downtown Wheaton, on Sunday, July 12th
Adults...join in our Hands-on
Three Italian Entrees and an Appetizer
class on Sunday, July 26th.
Details for both of these classes
at our West Suburban Class Location
Two new class locations!
Chicago North: Los Moles Restaurante, in Lincoln Park
Near West Suburban: Bella Via, in Brookfield
Learn about each location by using the menu at the left. Classes are being scheduled and will be posted soon.
Interested in Indian Cuisine?
Vegetarian and Healthy Foods?
Tell Your Friends About the Chicago Area's First Indian Cuisine Series
All three classes will be held at our
Northwest Suburban Location,
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, in Arlington Hts.
DETAILS OF EACH CLASS ARE PROVIDED ON OUR
NORTHWEST SUBURBAN CLASS PAGE
A six-course Indian Wine Dinner will be
announced at a later date
2 0 0 9 D A T E S A V A I L A B L E
Private Cooking Classes and Fundraising Events from 6 - 600
at your location or beautiful venue's throughout Chicagoland
Contact Bill Lavery at 630.359.4600
2 0 0 9
S U M M E R & F A L L
C L A S S E S
Many of our classes for June through September
have been posted on each class page
located on the menu at the left.
Watch for additional classes and events to be
posted soon, as well as additional class locations.
If you are a member, you will automatically receive
Ennouncements and member-only invitations.
Members can go to their profile and select which group
events they wish to receive additional info about.
See Special Interest Groups on our menu.
If you are not a member and wish to receive Ennouncements
about classes and events, email chef@BestChefs.com
and request to be placed on our Friends Email List for the Chicago area,
Rockford area, or both. Please include your name, address and email address.
Watch for our Ethnic Day Trips, Spring Morel Hunts and Festivals, Wine Dinners, and Restaurant Tours!
In addition to our current five class locations,
we will announce additional class locations
in the North and South burbs, and
in Chicago, North of the River, as they are secured.
Save on Unlimited Monthly Cell Phone with No Contract!
Save on Unlimited Internet Connection for Desktop and Laptop Computers!
It's Easy to Register for our classes!
1. Using the blue menu at the left side of the Home Page, you'll see five class locations. On the first page of each class location is INFOrmation where you'll learn about the location, its address, parking info, a Mapquest link for directions, etc.
2. On the second page, you'll see all the CLASSES scheduled for that location. You can read the details about each class and register one through four persons.
3. If your registration doesn't go through, it will be "pending" and you will not be registered. If you need help, please call 630.359.4600 7 days a week. You can learn how we operate by reading our Terms of Operation, at the top of the menu on this homepage.
4. Some class locations have a third page, our Photo page. Soon all of our locations will feature a photo page showing pics of various weeknight and weekend classes.
Gift Certificate Information
Click on the Gift Certificates tab on the menu to see our latest discount packages. Call Bill for assistance: 630.359.4600.
Don't forget to volunteer and give year 'round!
The Greater Chicago Food Depository helps
the needy in Chicago and many suburbs.
www.ChicagoFoodBank.org
Don't forget to volunteer and give year 'round!
The Northern IL Food Bank gives assistance
throughout Northern Illinois, including Rockford.
www.NorthernIlFoodBank.org
In these Belt Tightening Times...
We know that times are tough right now and you don't need to be reminded, but did you know that Cooking with the Best Chefs has not increased its class registration fees in more than 6 years? You can't beat our educational and fun classes...$35 each for nonmembers and $25 each for members! And $85 for our 4-hour hands-on classes for nonmembers and $65 for members! Professional chefs provide "Information Overload," and make every recipe easy to follow. The samples are hearty and at our demonstration classes, you can enjoy complimentary wine pairings from local wine stores. For years, people have been telling us that we're one of the best values in the Chicago area! What do you think? Want to save even more? Purchase a gift certificate for yourself or a friend, and get four Best Chefs nightime class credits or more and receive a free class or annual membership!
Lost your job or got laid off ? We know how difficult it is for some individuals and families in these rough economic times. If you enjoy coming to our baking and cooking classes but have lost your job or are laid off, like many throughout Northern Illinois, we'd like to help. Email chef@BestChefs.com and provide your name, address, phone, and email address, and say how long you've been laid off or out of work and we'll be happy to help you out. We'll discretely delay class and membership fees until you're employed again. No matter how long it takes. And we'll email simple instructions to keep it private.
To learn more about how we operate,
read our Terms of Operation at the top left on the menu.
Spring and outdoor Summer Wine Dinners, Restaurant Tours,
Spring Mushroom Hunts,
Singles, and other events will be posted as we schedule
new events for the summer and fall months.
Our special interest groups each have their own email list!
Check in every so often or request to be placed on our
Chicago Area Friends or Rockford Area Friends
email list if you're not a member.
A Quick Overview...
Welcome to our website! Cooking with the Best ChefsSM began more than 16 years ago and has produced nearly 6,500 cooking and baking classes. We provide public and private cooking classes and culinary and wine events for home cooks and foodies throughout Northern Illinois. We also sponsor day trips to food growers and manufacturers, and ethnic markets, and soon, overnight trips to American food and wine festivals.
Our classes are taught by some of the best professional chefs in the greater Chicago area, and while most of our chefs don't have their own TV show or cookbook, each has a passion for teaching and talking about food. Our chefs represent varied ethnic, cooking and baking styles.
Classes are held year 'round and every three months a new season of classes and events are offered to our members and the public. We have four seasons each year. Our new 2008 Fall Season will begin in October and through the second week of December. The winter season will begin the second week of January and run through March.
Whether you're new to cooking or just want to learn some new dishes, we want everyone to feel welcome. Each of our chefs has their own professional and life experiences which make for interesting classes! Attend as many as you can. Our new Chicago South class location offers classes that are taught in English and Spanish.
We've had some interest in daytime classes. If you're interested in daytime classes, let us know by emailing chef@BestChefs.com and say A.M. or P.M.
With the high price of gasoline today, the number of our class locations will be growing so you don't have to travel too far. Take a look at our classes listed on the locations that interest you, although you're welcome to attend classes at any location.
If you choose to register online you'll receive an e-mail reminder 5-7 days prior to each class or event. Call 630.359.4600 or e-mail chef@BestChefs.com for assistance, 7 days a week.
If you're new to Cooking with the Best Chefs, please take a few minutes to read our Terms of Operation so you become familiar with how we operate. If you come to your first class as a nonmember and find that you enjoy our style of classes and wish to join, we'll discount the difference between the nonmember and member rate!
You've noticed the ad for Chicago's famous Paulina Meat Market, our oldest sponsor, and many others throughout our web pages. Some are local family-owned companies and others are national businesses offering excellent quality and service. When you do business with them, mention Cooking with the Best Chefs...some even have discounts available! If you're interested in advertising, give Bill Lavery, Founder, a call at 630.359.4600.
About the Email Box at the top right of our Home Page...
You do not have to provide your email address to browse our website. If you'd like to be placed on our Chicago Area or Rockford Area Friends Email List, or either our KIds or Teens list, or a combination) and receive our E-nnouncements, then email chef@BestChefs.com with your name, address, phone and email address -- and which list(s) you'd like to be placed. Also check out our Special Interest Groups, in the menu at the left, which includes Chicago Area Singles or Rockford Area Singles, or Kids, and other groups. Members can log on to enjoy savings for each class and event registration. Members also receive discounts at area restaurants, retail and entertainment venues, as well as member-only invitations. A membership application is available at the left menu. Members have access to and can update their own contact information on their profile 24/7. Each membership application provides for email regisration to any special interest group.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
If you know of an association, club, organization, group, nonprofit, church, or small business, who needs a website, have their director or owner call Bill Lavery, for assistance, at 630.359.4600. We provide full service with copywriting, layout and design, and even domain aquisition, hosting, and email, for a very reasonable cost. We work with copy and page design drafts so you have full control over your own website. You'll be able to go onto your new site and make immediate changes to headlines, copy and photo's. And you'll own your domain name, not us. Let's create a professional marketing tool for you to be more successful in 2009!