By Tyler Yank
Photo by Viki Bristowe
Autumn is the great season of preparation. Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas (Wal-Mart already has Santas for sale – oh boy) will be here before we know it, providing intermediate cooks like me with ample occasion to force new recipes upon my friends and family. Montreal’s abundance of good restaurants and market ingredients provides the perfect backdrop against which aspiring chefs can learn the ropes in a professional environment; each fall, several cooking schools and restaurants open their kitchens and their recipe books with weekly classes. Specialty cooking courses dedicated to Asian, Indian, and Mediterranean cuisine, for example – often with meat and vegetarian options – are available in neighbourhoods all around the Island. Step outside of your cooking box, and treat yourself to an evening or weekend class!

The Tasty Life
148 Fairmont Ave. W. (Mile End)
514-690-4102
www.tastylife.org
Classes taught by a qualified holistic Health Coach.
Food Genres: Raw foods, Vegetarian, Thai and Mediterranean
Evening classes at $60, classes will begin in October.

Miyamoto’s Japanese Cooking School
382 Victoria Ave. (Westmount)
514-481-1952
http://www.sushilinks.com/miyamoto/index.html
Food Genres: Sushi and Japanese
Weekend sushi workshops at $99; three evening cuisine classes at $108.
Classes are on-going with new sessions available each month.

Masala Indian Cooking School and Restaurant
99 Wellington St. (Verdun)
514-287-7455
http://masalacuisine.ca/masalacuisine.ca/English.html
Food Genres: Classic Indian cuisine
Five evening sessions at $250, beginning October 5; one evening or weekend session at $60.

Académie Culinaire
360, rue Champ-de-Mars (Downtown)
514-393-8111
http://cours.academieculinaire.com/
Food Genres: Everything and the dog (not really)
Professional culinary academy with classes for every palette; spice up your bilingualism at the same time, as numerous classes are offered only in French.
Morning, afternoon and evening sessions can range from $100 to $900 each.