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Business & Tech

MOM'S ESCAPE: Let's Get Cookin'

While some people think an escape is away from the kitchen, others like to escape to it. For those of you who like to cook and want to learn more, Patch has a yummy treat for you.

Does the smell of fresh herbs thrill you?

How about making that perfect cake?

Grilling the best fish ever?

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Putting your own spin on a recipe and have it turn out just fabulous?

If any of these these describe you, then you probably enjoy cooking or being a foodie (or both).

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Great food gives us pleasure in so many ways. Eating delicious food is, and so can preparing it.

If you love to cook and want to refine and develop your style while learning something new, you live in the right place. You needn't drive to Seattle to find a cooking class. There are terrfiic local options for fun and enjoyment right here.

Put on your apron and let's take a look some of them. Click on the links to obtain calendar information, class events, and prices.

There are great local restaurants and other food/kitchen retail businesses that offer classes to suit every taste palette. Primo Grill, a Tacoma mainstay or fantastic restaurant that fuses Northwest-meets-Mediterranean cuisine, offers a wide variety of cooking classes. From grilling basics to Tuscan cuisine and more, you will get instruction, recipes, lunch and wine for your class cost.

Tacoma's Proctor District offers Europa Bistro, Italian food at its finest. Their classes are the third Saturday of the month and you get a three-course cooking instruction and wine tasting/pairing demonstration. Gig Harbor's lovely Bella Kitchen Essentials offers all kinds of great classes on a variety of topics not to mention great kitchen gadgets, dining and decor items to boot.

If you can't get out to a venue for a class or would prefer to utilize your own comfy kitchen, look no further than Gig Harbor based Orachorn's Kitchen. They are the experts in teaching you how to cook fantastic Thai food dishes. The best part? They come right to your door prepared to teach you and a small group Thai food preparation and recipes. Note: they are having a special outdoor cooking class this summer in Gig Harbor. See the website for more details.

Besides cooking classes through private venues, our local community colleges offer continuing education and more serious culinary studies (as in career preparation). Click on the handy links below to check out these other options where you can learn about food and food preparation.

Clover Park Technical College

Bates Technical College

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