© JF Galipeau
Ateliers & Saveurs
(various locations)
With one of the city’s most expansive offerings, the cooking school Ateliers & Saveurs has locations in Old Montréal, the Plateau, and inside Time Out Market Montréal in the Centre Eaton shopping mall downtown. They’ll teach you everything from sushi-making to tapas with hands-on experience and time to enjoy your meal or cocktail creations after class. Workshops range from lunchtime express classes, to three-hour meal classes with wine pairings. They also offer educational wine tastings. It’s worth noting that classes are normally offered in French, but translation and explanations can usually be provided in English if necessary.
Appetite for Books
388 Victoria Avenue | Website
Cookbook lover? Well, Westmount cookbook store Appetite for Books has shelves full of delectable titles, and offers popular workshops in-store. Demonstration classes are usually based on one of the books for sale (except for the knife skills class), so on any given evening you could be introduced to fruity preserves, South-East Asian fare, or vegetarian classics. If you’re lucky, you may even catch a class presented by one of the cookbook authors.
Chef en Vous
1751 Richardson Street | Website
If you’re looking to book a team-building session for your company, then Chef en Vous may be your best best. Specializing in larger group formats where you and your colleagues can a class from a variety of experiences, from small groups focused on presentation to competition cooking, culinary-themed boardroom meetings and bespoke creations. It may skimp on conventionality but it’s got plenty of professionalism at its core; just focus on the experience and have fun.
La Guilde Culinaire
6381 Saint-Laurent Blvd. | Website
With years of experience in the field, chef Jonathan Garnier’s La Guilde Culinaire offers a huge range of classes informed by core training restaurants in Côte d’Azur. That doesn’t mean it’s all about French cuisine here, however; Spanish tapas, Thai cuisine and the basics of butchery are on the table as much as family classes on sushi and pizza-making. There’s a lot of baking available as well ranging from cake decoration to French macarons, as well as introductions to wine tasting that are as much for the uninitiated as they are for those looking to learn more.
The Lincoln Apartment Bakery
4000 Saint-Ambroise Street | Website
For those strictly with a sweet tooth, The Lincoln Apartment Bakery’s red-brick loft kitchen in Griffintown offers a ‘boutique baking school’ focused on simple, delicious desserts and breadmaking. Servicing beginners, families, and competent bakers who want to pick up extra tips and tricks, the school’s workshops are all hands-on and will have you mixing, sifting, and frosting your way to the much-anticipated tasting session at the end. Classes are available in both English and French, and everyone goes home with a box full of freshly baked treats. Take note that they’re popular with those looking for bachelorette party ideas.
Boutique crème
152 Laurier Avenue Ouest | Website
Who better to offer a wide range of cooking and baking classes than an upscaled kitchenware shop? First known as Boutique 1101 before joining the kitchen-based network of offerings from Crème, classes are regularly held in-house on weekday evenings and during the day on weekends and feature all kinds of cooking techniques and specialties such as how to host a dinner party. Starting at $145 each, three to five-course meals are included in the classes, depending on the activity.
École du bar de Montréal
325 Ontario Street East | Website
One of the city’s premier destinations for mixology workshops and professional bartending courses (plus its own speakeasy mere blocks away, Le 4ᶱ Mur), there’s always something for the general public to imbibe here. Many—if not most—focus on local and seasonal ingredients for their classes and focus on teaching tips, tricks and techniques you’ll need to up your home bar game. Note that all the classes here are taught in French, but depending on the course, theoretical material can be translated.
© Cafe la chouette
Café La Chouette
3864 Saint-Denis Street | Website
If you're on Saint-Denis, you might want to visit this café that offers a fun cookie decorating experience. It's a great activity for families and you don't need to have a certain number of participants. While booking in advance is not necessary, it's recommended to secure your spot.
Cuisine Lakay Lola
Website
Cuisine Lakay Lola creates culturally relevant, educational, and entertaining content focused on Caribbean cuisine. She offers cooking classes, conferences, Caribbean culinary workshops, and customer service success training.
Jessica McGovern
Jessica McGovern is a freelance writer and editor based in Montreal. Her work has appeared online and in print publications all over the world. When she's not creating articles about travel, food, or health and wellness, you can find her baking, leading wild food foraging tours, or teaching mushroom growing workshops.
