Fun cooking activities for a foodie?

[nhs81]

Looking for either a fun cooking or eating activity for a serious foodie for his birthday. Thanks so much!!

[thegirlnextdoor]

If he likes cheese, Murray's has some great cheese classes, including their popular Cheese 101. http://www.murrayscheese.com/edu_main.asp. I have pictures up on my blog from my class: http://homesweetnyc.blogspot.com/2008...

[Eddie H.]

Check out the classes offered at Astor Center (http://www.astorcenternyc.com/). I haven't personally taken a class there, but I've heard great things; one recommendation came from a CIA-trained chef herself. The class offerings look great.

http://culinarystudio.blogspot.com

[unocal]

i think it'd be so fun to go on an eating tour w/ the hungry cabbie...i'm not sure if he still does tours or not, but you can look him up on online. he drives you around to different spots and has different themes e.g. a midnight munchies tour, old world delights etc. i wish i had done this for my 30th!

[nhs81]

Wow., thank you so much for all these great ideas!!! I so appreciate it!

[pellegrino31]

If you don't have any aversions to going outside Manhattan - then I'd suggest The Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg. They have some great classes, including a pig butchering seminar that gets filled up really fast.

[lanadai]

How about going up to Blue Hill at Stone Barns?

[stephaniec25]

The Pizza a Casa classes are a lot of fun. It's a pizza-making class held at different locations depending on the date. I have recommended them to others and everyone loves it!

[uwsgrazer]

I looked at the website; the classes do look fun. But I'm not sure I want to spend $150. I haven't looked at many cooking classes. Is this basically the going rate or can someone recommend a lower priced option?

Thanks

[kattyeyes]

I'm not in Manhattan, but you might try adult ed offerings through local community colleges. Ours here in CT offer cooking and wine tasting classes. Good luck!

[stephaniec25]

From what I have seen, most "hands on" classes are more expensive and in that same range. You should look at the Astor Center's website, which has great classes, including wine classes. Quite a few are under the $100 pp range.

[Stuffed Monkey]

I think that $150 is pretty common for hands on classes, but there are demo classes and other options for less. The Cafe upstairs at Fairway has been offering classes for much less (I think around $30). Otto has wine classes at a resonable price. and there are some good culinary tours for foodies. ICE has some and another option is Liz Young Tours.

[Francofoodie]

Ive done Pizza a Casa, not only is Mark an extremely knowledgeable and fun teacher, the pizza is hands down the best youll ever have. I still crave them on a daily basis.

[kattyeyes]

The CIA in Hyde Park has some great classes/programs for enthusiasts, too.

http://www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts/default.asp

http://www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts/pr...

[JungMann]

There are some interesting classes that you can purchase at ICE or French Culinary Institute that would provide your friend a chance to not only learn something interesting, but to also spend a few hours with like-minded individuals and perhaps meet some new serious foodies.