Chicago Botanic Garden Cooking Classes

The Chicago Botanic Garden runs adult cooking and baking classes in its ITW Kitchen in Glencoe, as part of the Regenstein School's course list. Professional chefs teach, and every class includes recipes and tastings.

Classes come in two formats. Demonstration sessions, where the chef cooks and you watch, cover topics like Healthy Sheet Pan Dinners, Mastering Lentils, Make-Ahead Holiday Appetizers and Pate a Choux. Hands-on sessions have you cooking or baking yourself, with titles like French Onion Soup, Pot Pie, Indian Grill, Fresh Breads and Cheesecake. Menus follow the seasons and lean toward baking, healthier cooking and global flavors. Sessions mostly run two to two and a half hours, on weekdays, evenings and weekends. Members of the Garden pay less. The kitchen is not certified gluten-free or kosher, though staff try to substitute ingredients for food restrictions.