While Milwaukee is certainly known for certain kinds of food and beverage (beer and cheese, anyone?), the city also has a lively food scene with plenty of options for aspiring chefs or those looking for some hands-on cooking classes.
Beyond just beer and cheese, Milwaukee is known for fish frys, butterburgers, cheese curds, brats, and plenty of tasty desserts. If you’re a local looking to tap into the flavors of the city, or a visitor searching for a fun date night or family activity, we’ve collected some of the best cooking schools and cooking classes in Milwaukee!
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Glorioso’s Italian Market
1011 E Brady St, Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-272-0540
www.gloriosos.com
One of the oldest deli’s and Italian markets in Milwaukee, Glorioso’s carries a rich family tradition into market and deli that also offers catering and specialty cooking classes. Their Appetito center offers special events, cooking classes, tours, corporate gatherings, parties, and more.
Class offerings are constantly changing, but include classes on learning individual meals, finger foods, and desserts, all inspired by their Italian heritage. They also offer wine tastings.
Average cost: $35-70 per person
Braise Local Food
1101 S. 2nd Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-212-8843
www.braiselocalfood.com
One of Milwaukee’s top restaurants focusing on slow grown natural food, Braise offers hand-on cooking classes for beginners and accomplished cooks alike. You’ll learn from James Beard award-nominated chef Dave Swanson and his team – a highlight not all cooking schools can promote!
Braise offers individual classes focused on specific meals or cuisines, such as pasta, vegetarian, cheesemaking, and Mexican street food. They also occasionally offer classes on techniques like knife skills.
Average cost: $70 per person
Unique to Braise, they also offer an entire semester of culinary education. An example of their curriculum includes knife skills, reductions, stocks & sauces, meat & fish, pasta, vegetable & grains, bread, pastry, menu planning & wine pairing. Full semesters range in price from $750 to $1,650.
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Milwaukee Public Market
400 N. Water Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-336-1111
milwaukeepublicmarket.org
Milwaukee Public Market features independent merchants offering a variety of high-quality artisan and ethnic products. In addition, the market offers hands-on classes and demonstration cooking classes.
Classes range from specific cuisines like French and Mediterranean cooking to knife skills to specialty classes focus on healthy cooking or kids and teenagers.
Average cost: $30-89 per person
The Chef’s Table Milwaukee
500 S. Third St, Milwaukee, WI
414-277-7676
www.chefs-tablemke.com/
The Chef’s Table is Milwaukee’s first fully private dining restaurant. The Chef’s Table also opens up for special events to experience the unique venue. They offer cooking classes, for example Sous Vide or Seafood, but also have more unique or themed events and cooking competitions.
Average cost: $139 per person
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Superior Culinary Center
4550 South Brust Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53235
1-800-960-4300
superiorculinarycenter.com
Superior Culinary Center has one of the widest variety of cooking offerings in the city, including catering, corporate events, picnics, food service, bus tours, and of course, cooking classes.
Along with cooking classes, Superior Culinary Center offers some of the more unique experiences, including bachelorette cooking parties, ladies nights, date night cooking classes, and kids cooking classes.
Average cost: $59 per person (programs and classes vary widely)
The Secret Oven
414-446-8057
www.thesecretoven.com
The Secret Oven offers cooking classes for kids and teenagers in Milwaukee. Classes are available for kids ages 7-18 and focus on proper hygiene, safety, nutrition, and recipes. The Secret Oven also offers specialty classes for holidays like Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day, in addition to specialty classes like Chocolate or Breakfast.
Average cost: $38 per child
The Petite Chef
119 N. Main Street, Dousman WI 53118
262-431-4026
petitechefs.com
The Petite Chef offers cooking classes for both adults and kids in Milwaukee.
For kids, the Petite Chef offers individual classes for children ages 4 and up as well as kids cooking parties for groups. Parties start at $275 and have fun themes like pizza, pajamas, and cupcake wars.
For adults, the Petite Chef offers couples cooking classes, chef-assisted classes, and private cooking classes, all starting at $55 per person.
Average cost: Starting at $35 per person
Boelter SuperStore
4200 N Port Washington Road, Glendale WI 53212
414-967-4333
www.boelter.com/superstores/milwaukee
With SuperStores in Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Chicago, Boelter are pros at everything food service. At their Milwaukee SuperStore, they offer a wide variety of cooking classes in their state-of-the-art test kitchen.
Sur la Table Milwaukee
480 W Northshore Drive Glendale , WI 53217
414-332-2037
www.surlatable.com
Sur la Table, which may be known for its cooking products, also offers cooking classes in certain locations, including Milwaukee. In fact, Sur la Table has one of the largest hands-on cooking class programs in America.
One of the benefits of Sur la Table’s cooking program is the wide variety of classes. Their offerings include all kinds of cuisines, meals, and formats. For example, take a tour of Little Italy, try out their Macaron workshop, learn a unique meal during a date night, or hone in on your knife skills.
Average cost: $59-69 per person
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Madame Macaron MKE
Have a sweet tooth and ready to learn to make these classic French treats? Madame Macaron MKE offerts gluten-free macaron classes, typically held at The Box Milwaukee.
Average cost: $80 per person
