Hands-on cooking classes in Napa that teach something you’ll cook again at home.
Napa city has two serious cooking-class operations: the CIA at Copia (Culinary Institute of America's Napa campus at 500 First Street) and Playte Kitchen on Main Street. The CIA's public programme includes hands-on classes in everything from pasta-making to pastry to wine-pairing, taught by CIA instructors in professional kitchens. Playte runs a more intimate format with smaller groups and a focus on Italian and California home-cooking technique.
The CIA opened its fourth campus in Napa in 2016, taking over the former Copia food and wine centre on First Street. The public programme is the most significant culinary education resource in the North Bay: classes range from 90-minute pasta demonstrations to full-day immersion workshops in bread, pastry, cheese-making and wine-pairing. The campus is a five-minute walk from the Oxbow Public Market.
The Culinary Institute of America's Napa campus runs public cooking classes taught by CIA instructors in professional teaching kitchens. The programme ranges from 90-minute demonstrations to full-day workshops in pasta, bread, pastry, charcuterie and wine-pairing. It is the most comprehensive culinary education public programme in the North Bay.
Playte Kitchen is Napa's intimate cooking-class operation for small groups, running Italian and California home-cooking technique sessions in a kitchen that feels like a private dinner party rather than a school. The format is participatory: everyone cooks, then everyone eats what they made, with wine from the valley.
Yes. The CIA at Copia runs a public events and class programme open to visitors. Classes range from $50 to $250+ depending on format and duration. The full schedule is on the CIA at Copia website and changes monthly.
CIA at Copia offers the widest programme: hands-on pasta, pastry, bread and wine-pairing classes. Playte Kitchen offers more intimate group cooking in a home-kitchen format. Both are walk-in friendly for booking but advance booking is strongly recommended.