Release your inner chef at fun, friendly cooking school.

Those chefs on the Food Network may make it look easy, but we all know cooking is a valuable skill, one that results in a commodity that we all value: delicious meals.

And while most of us will never attend a culinary school to master this art, there is a way you can take in some of that learning, improve your kitchen skills, and have a great time while you’re at it.

Cooking schools are cropping up that pass on culinary training in an environment that’s loose, relatable, filling (you get to eat what you cook), social, and most importantly, loads of fun!

HD Living visited one such establishment, New Jerseybased In the Kitchen Cooking School, to learn about all of the fantastic cooking experiences you can enjoy in such a place of learning.

Deliciously Fun

Nestled on a side street off the main drag of the charming town of Haddonfield, N.J., the In the Kitchen Cooking School is an inviting oasis of culinary learning and good times. At the store’s front is a small but lovely shop offering exotic treats, luxury linens, soaps, glassware and other gifts. But head past the shop and you enter the kitchen area where the real magic happens.

“I always say, the classes are like Lay’s Potato Chips – I’ll bet you can’t take just one,” says Chef Kathy Gold, who founded In the Kitchen in 2005. “Our classes become addictive.”

The school’s addictive properties are evidenced by the fact that its classes, all of which are open to the general public, regularly sell out. “Every single month, our Wednesday night classes, they book immediately,” Gold says. As of August 2010, the Wednesdays were sold out through October.

“Registration in advance is a necessity,” Gold says. And while she’s quick to point out In the Kitchen is not a restaurant, “tuition always includes the delicious meals we make.” The standard tuition at In the Kitchen is $70 per class, especially reasonable when you consider that includes the food.

A typical class will feature instruction by “Chef Kathy” on five to six recipes. Gold describes the menu: “We start with something bright and sparkling for an appetizer or hors d’oeuvre, such as shrimp wrapped in prosciutto on the grill, plus mango … we like to pile flavor on flavor. The main course could be anything from rack of lamb to duck breast tenderloin or fish. For dessert, we like to end on a sweet note. If it’s a French-themed class, perhaps a tarte tatin (an upside-down caramelized apple tart); if it’s an Italian class, gelato or pannacotta (an Italian variation on crème Brulee).”

Enhancing the restaurant- like atmosphere, participants often bring wine to classes to enjoy with their meals.

Yummy to The ‘Core’

While many In the Kitchen classes are designed to be one-day experiences, the school also offers what Gold calls The Core Curriculum, a series of four classes designed to give students a more comprehensive background of cooking knowledge and skill.

“It’s the ultimate ‘how-to-cook’ curriculum,” Gold says. “If you want to know how to cook, but don’t want to go to culinary school, this is for you. Each class builds on the class before it.” The first class focuses on knife skills, with instruction on how to mince, dice, chop, julienne and perform other delicate-butnecessary carving functions.

The next class provides instruction on how to make a sauce, covering the preparation of a variety of delectable toppings from standards such as beef or chicken stocks to more exotic fare including béchamel and hollandaise sauces.

The third class, which Gold jokingly refers to as “The Money Class,” covers the main techniques of cooking – searing, sautéing, grilling, braising, poaching and more. This is the class in which the preparatory techniques students have mastered in the first two sessions pay off in the form of greatly enhanced productivity in the kitchen – as well as, of course, scrumptious meals.

The Core Curriculum’s fourth and final class is about desserts. “We cover all of the (flavors),” Gold says, “vanilla, chocolate, caramel and so on.” The class also has a focus on plating – aka presentation, that exquisite drizzling of a sauce or addition of a garnish that enhances a meal’s palatability, teaching, as Gold puts it, “how to make it look phenomenal. We eat with our eyes.”

Expanded Menu

In addition to the one-shot classes and Core Curriculum sessions, Gold has expanded In the Kitchen’s menu of offerings to cater to the different learning needs of her constantly growing clientele.

Inspired by the popularity of Rachael Ray’s “30 Minute Meals” TV program, Gold has rolled out what she calls her “Really Fast, Really Easy, Really Delicious” class. “It’s about having delicious food ready in 20 to 25 minutes,” she says, which involves “knowing how to stock your pantry, fridge and freezer, and then getting ready to rock out a delicious dinner. It’s really about best techniques for working with things like chicken breast, fish, grains and vegetables.”

In the Kitchen also does private events. You can hire Gold and company to do a cooking class at your bachelor party, shower … the school even holds classes at corporate events. “We’ve done team-building events for major companies including TD Bank, Campbell Soup, Target,” Gold says. “We do ‘Iron Chef’ events.

They get really competitive with each other. It’s so much fun – just a great event. Companies that want to reward their staff book an event.” The corporate classes also help unify a company’s employees, she adds: “When you’re cooking together, it brings down boundaries.

Once you start cooking, everyone jumps right in.” Gold has even done private classes for international groups, including a recent group of Japanese tourists. While language can be a barrier in such cases, she notes that “food is the universal language!”

For those who seek the green in everything, In the Kitchen holds quarterly “100-Mile Radius” classes, for which the food is brought in from local farmers, greatly reducing the meals’ carbon footprint. “Our ingredients are sourced within a 100-mile radius. We have relationships with local farmers,” Gold says, adding that the benefits go beyond cutting back on the food’s travels: “The produce is wonderful.” While some ingredients (such as chocolate, coffee and many of the spices used in cooking) can’t be obtained within 100 miles of Haddonfield, N.J., the vast majority of products actually come from within 50 miles of the town, providing a good trade-off if certain items have to come from outside the radius.