Sur La Table Virtual Cooking Classes

Green curry. Chocolate souffle. Georgian dumplings.

You can learn to cook just about anything via Zoom these days. Cooking schools and other organizations that pivoted to online lessons last year have worked out their kinks, added cocktails and even a bit of entertainment to keep things interesting while you whisk, knead and simmer with a pro.

Some classes are still intimate and small enough for you to unmute and ask questions. Others are buzzy social screens with laugh tracks and live DJs. No matter what, you should be able to find an online cooking class to fit your tastes and your budget. You can shop for ingredients yourself or have them shipped to your door. You can even decide when you want to cook — live or on-demand.

These five experiences range in price from $29 to $175 and feature everything from the basics of French cuisine to the intricacies of Pad Thai from an expert's Chiang Mai kitchen in mountainous northern Thailand. Here's just a taste.

Truffle Shuffle: Thai Green Curry

Learn to make Thai green curry and coconut rice from scratch with Truffle Shuffle's online cooking class, complete with DJ and cocktail. (Courtesy of Truffle Shuffle)

Truffle Shuffle's 2020 pivot from sustainable truffles, sourced directly from hunters, to virtual cook-alongs is a pandemic success story for the ages. Led by three French Laundry alums, the Oakland-based company is made up of laid-off, rock-star hospitality workers who, to date, have cooked with more than 200,000 guests virtually.

The vibe is certainly hard to beat. During my Sunday class, Thai Green Curry with Chef Connie, a live DJ played upbeat tunes and silly sound effects, from a laugh track to oohs and ahhs. And instead of wasting time making introductions with 60+ participants, we started the class by making a cocktail — a strawberry-sour Lady in Red — while listening to Chris de Burgh. Too much fun.

I took Chef Connie's class hoping to break free from the shackles of jarred curry paste. And I walked away with the skills to make my own. Joined by Truffle Shuffle co-founder Tyler Vorce, the chef guided us as we mashed shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass and chiles with a mortar and pestle, while sipping frothy pink drinks. I learned to fry my paste in foaming butter, before adding coconut milk and vegetables, and worked with shrimp paste for the first time.

Overall, the class was informative, lively and filled with tips to improve your cooking beyond curry.

Perfect for …experienced home cooks looking for a joyful, almost dance-party Zoom room. Truffle Shuffle offers a rewards program and brings in surprise guests on occasion.

Cost: $125, including the ingredient kit

Details: Truffle Shuffle's class lineup ranges from spirit-centric cocktail classes — tequila and mezcal on Oct. 22, for example, and Nightmare Before Christmas Cocktails on Oct. 29 — to hands-on sessions on pasta, steak and more. Check out the live and on-demand lineup at www.truffleshufflesf.com.

— Jessica Yadegaran

Murray's Cheese: Handmade burrata and mozzarella

Learn to pair wine and cheese in a Murray's Cheese session such as "Pairing Perfection: French Edition" or take a virtual cheesemaking class on burrata and mozzarella. (Photo: Murray's Cheese)

Brooklyn's legendary Murray's Cheese has long offered on-site cooking classes. Spurred by the lockdown, the fromage experts launched virtual programs for everything from Cheese 101 to a fantastic burrata and mozzarella workshop that gave us a newfound appreciation for our favorite cheese. (Making mozz is not difficult or terribly time consuming. But who knew the process would be so very hot?)

Burrata is essentially a delicate mozzarella balloon filled with straciatella — a mixture of cream and wisps of fresh mozzarella — and, if you desire, a dollop of sun-dried tomato or pesto. (Yes, please.)

A box of ingredients — cheese curd and little tubs of sun-dried tomatoes, blueberry conserve and extremely tasty pesto — arrived a couple of days before the class. All we needed to supply was fresh cream, salt and hot water.

With mixing bowls, dish towels and a thermometer at the ready, we and our fellow Zoomers logged into cheese heaven, and our mozzarella pro began showing us the ropes. Soon we were awash — literally. We melted bits of curd in extremely hot water, drenching ourselves in the process, then scooped them out with our steaming, very pink hands and stretched and folded, stretched and folded to form a delicate, perfect ball … that promptly deflated on the platter.

The instructor laughed as comments began popping up on the chat screen — "It looks like a pancake!" "Ours, too!" — and showed us again, troubleshooting, encouraging and offering tips. I won't say our mozzarella balls looked professional by the end of class, but they were delicious. Especially the ones filled with pesto.

Perfect for … burrata devotees

Cost: $80, including ingredients

Details: Check out Murray's virtual classes, including Holiday Prep Cheese Board Making (Nov. 4) and Mozzarella Making (Nov. 5), at www.murrayscheese.com.

— Jackie Burrell

18 Reasons: Flavors of Georgia — Khinkali

Our dimpled yet delicious first attempt at khinkali, the traditional Georgian meat dumpling, paired with a salad and prepared during an online cooking class with San Francisco's 18 Reasons. (Jessica Yadegaran/Bay Area News Group)

Learning to make dumplings — those delicious morsels of comfort — seems like something your nonna should teach you. Those who are nonna-less will relish the chance to learn from Chef Gracie of 18 Reasons, the San Francisco-based nonprofit community cooking school. Her recipe for khinkali, traditional Georgian meat-filled dumplings, was easy to follow and the ingredient list for the dumplings and accompanying Georgian Chopped Salad with Creamy Walnut and Coriander Vinaigrette was a cinch to source.

During our Thursday evening class, the Eugene, Oregon-based chef and dumpling devotee taught 20 or so Zoomers how to make a simple dough from flour, warm water and salt. While the dough developed, we chopped cherry tomatoes and Persian cucumbers for the salad and made our brothy meat filling using ground beef, cilantro, salt, pepper and chile flakes.

I loved her tip for knowing how much water to add to your bowl of meat filling: "Stick a fork in the center. If it still stands up, you're good." Very nonna-like indeed.

The best part was having an expert there as you rolled out your dough and pinched your little purses in place for the first time. Watching Chef Gracie's hands as they filled my screen helped me follow her fold-and-turn technique. And having 18 Reasons assistant program manager Emelia Vigil present to help answer our questions — just unmute and ask — made all the difference. Next up: Their pierogi class.

Perfect for … dumpling beginners or anyone curious about Georgian food. How fun would it be to add a Georgian wine pairing to this class?

Cost: $50 without ingredients

Details: 18 Reasons offers online classes in everything from gluten-free baking (Oct. 24) to Halloween sweets (Oct. 31), as well as those pierogi (Oct. 28). Find more information at https://18reasons.org.

— JY

Sur La Table: French basics

Four chocolate souffles just out of the oven during Sur La Table's online dessert-making class. (Class screenshot)

I cook regularly and sometimes explore new dishes by dutifully following recipes. But the last formal cooking class I ever took was eighth grade Home Ec — way back in the olden days.So I never properly learned some basic techniques, such as the art of delicately folding egg whites into batter — until now.

A pair of French-themed Sur La Table classes have just upped my game. With egg whites conquered, my little chocolate soufflés popped up beautifully, all light and full of chocolate scrumptiousness. And a savory mushroom galette added other skills to my repertoire — and introduced me to the delights (and ease) of store-bought puff pastry, too.

Chef Jose may have been teaching the art of the soufflé and the savory tart, but at their heart, these classes are about kitchen skills, starting with the French culinary idea of mise en place — getting the oven preheated and ingredients measured and chopped before mixing or cooking anything. The 20 or so Zoomers in the souffle class learned to separate egg whites and yolks in our hands, letting the whites slip through our fingers, how to whisk and how to fold. And how to make a creme anglaise, with Jose demonstrating how to slowly add heated cream, sugar and vanilla to egg yolks, so you don't wind up with scrambled eggs.

We chopped fennel, apples and radishes to make a delicious fall-themed side salad to go with the galette, and whisked the dressing until the oil and vinegar — two finicky liquids that don't like each other — emulsified.

With participants paying close attention to each step, there wasn't lots of lively give-and-take, though Jose answered questions we put in chat. But I had fun and felt a sense of accomplishment in making my first galette, chocolate souffle and creme anglaise, while learning skills that I can use again.

Perfect for… home cooks looking to learn or refresh basic techniques for cooking classic dishes.

Cost: $29 and up, without ingredients

Details: Get the lowdown on more classes, including beef Bourguignon (Oct. 23), Fall harvest risotto (Oct. 29) and a "Prep Now, Eat Later Pumpkin Cream Pie" (Nov. 6), at www.surlatable.com.

Cuiline: Shrimp Pad Thai

Cuiline — pronounced like cuisine, but with an L — got its start as a culinary travel company, pairing food-loving travelers with cooking classes all over the world. They still do exactly that, minus the airplanes.

On this particular Friday evening, four kitchens' worth of Americans peered excitedly into Zoom screens at dinner time, as chef Rachael greeted us live from Chiang Mai, Thailand, where it was sunrise. Over the next 90 minutes, we would learn to make Pad Thai with Prawns andKluai Buat Chi (bananas in coconut milk) during a class that was equal parts culinary and cultural education and entertainment. And, of course, dinner.

We unpacked the contents of our ingredient kit — a much-appreciated option. If you're doing, say, Cuiline's Taste of Tuscany dinner, you'll be able to find those ingredients at any market. Pandan leaves, not so much. Then with knives sharpened and pans at the ready, we plunged in, chatting with fellow foodies in Denver and SoCal, as well as chef Rachael, as we chopped, diced and prepped.

Talk about the importance of mise en place! Once the oil starts sizzling in your wok or skillet, ingredients fly into the pan in such quick succession, there's no time to do anything but madly stir. And soon, we were all hoisting our platters up to our webcams to show off the delicious results.

Perfect for … experienced home cooks and anyone hungry for a taste of Thailand.

Cost: $55 for the class, $175 for the class plus ingredient kit

Details: Cuiline's virtual classes are divided into 90-minute classes on topics like a New Orleans Creole Shrimp Étouffée session (Oct. 30), and 3-hour experiences, such as Argentina's Culinary Secrets (Nov. 14). Check out the menu at www.cuiline.com.

— JB