Private Cooking Classes

A cooking class is a different evening than a dinner party. The chef arrives. The kitchen becomes the room. Everyone participates — chopping, searing, plating — and at the end the table eats what the group built together. It's more intimate than dinner-party service, longer than a meal alone, and produces an evening that's hard to recreate any other way.

Chef Matts Culinary Creations runs private in-home cooking classes across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.

Class Format

The structure is straightforward. Chef arrives, walks through the menu, demonstrates technique, and the group participates through the cooking. Pace is set by the group — beginners take longer at knife work; experienced home cooks move faster. The menu and skill focus are calibrated in advance during a short consultation.

A typical class runs two and a half to four hours from arrival to dessert. Two to ten participants is the standard range. The format adjusts at the upper end for team events.

Class Types

Couples cooking classes. The most-booked format. An evening for two — anniversary, date night, birthday, or just-because. Pasta nights are the runaway favorite, followed by sauce work, knife skills, and coursed-dinner classes the couple actually cooks together.

Family cooking classes. For families with cooking-age children. Pasta nights, dumpling sessions, pizza from scratch, baking classes. The menu adjusts for participants — younger children do knife-free prep work; older kids participate fully.

Pasta classes. A dedicated format. Fresh pasta dough from start to plate. Two or three pasta shapes depending on the group's pace. Two sauces. A composed salad. Dessert.

Knife skills classes. Focused technique instruction — holding the knife, basic cuts, mise en place fundamentals. Students cut their way through a working menu that becomes dinner.

Team-building cooking classes. For corporate teams, small office groups, or larger friend gatherings. The format scales — more workstations, sometimes parallel teams cooking the same menu in friendly competition.

Sauce and braising fundamentals. A more technique-focused class for home cooks who want to level up. Mother sauces, braise structure, deglazing, finishing.

Regional Hubs

For more detail and regional booking:

• South Jersey — see cooking classes in South Jersey
• Main Line and Philadelphia — see personal chef on the Main Line
• Other regions — by request

What's Provided

The chef brings:

• All ingredients and sourcing
• Prep equipment beyond what the kitchen requires
• Aprons for participants
• Recipe cards for the class menu (printed, take-home)
• Backup knives (the client's are used if available and sharp)

The client provides:

• A working kitchen with adequate counter space
• The table for dinner service
• Wine for pairing if the menu warrants it (chef recommends; client sources)

Sample Class Menus

• Couples pasta night. Fresh egg pasta dough — pappardelle and ravioli — with two sauces, composed salad, dessert pairing.
• Family pizza night. Dough from scratch (overnight rest pre-handled by chef), sauce-making, multiple pizzas built by participants, dessert.
• Knife skills with soup-to-roast dinner. Three hours of cutting technique that becomes soup, salad, and roast chicken with sides.
• Couples sauce class. Compound butters, pan sauces, beurre blanc, vinaigrettes — paired with grilled proteins and roasted vegetables.
• Team event for ten to twenty. Two or three menu items run in parallel by small teams, dinner served at one long table when everyone's done.