Chefparade
Wow, I just read that Chefparade has been in operation for 18 years. When I think of all the “cooking class” options that have come and gone over the years, Chefparade has outlasted and adapted very well. So on this post I thought I would describe what to expect if you book an experience with them and I’ll put a few recommendations for cooking classes including Chefparade.
The Chefparade Locations
When you proceed to the cooking class offer below just be aware that the bulk of the offer will be at the Chefparade Studios at the Holešovice Market in Prague 7. You may find options with a location called Chefparade Farmhouse. This is about an hour drive from Prague. I’ll describe this more at the end of the post.
The Chefparade Cooking Class Offer
NOTE: At the time of writing Chefparade does not have an English website but if you add a language translator to your browser then you’ll be able to translate the site.
I seem to remember looking at the 2007 website and the main offer for tourists was basically cooking Czech and Italian food and there were 4 chefs I think. Skip forward 18 years and they now have 20 chefs covering a huge range of cuisine so much so that they seem to have divided up the world. There are some speciality courses for kids and desserts but basically Chefparade divides it’s courses into 4 areas:
Steaks and Meat: This seems to be some of the more popular courses and includes cooking lamb, beef, chicken etc but the skills you learn will be around the preparation of the meat before cooking, accurate cooking times and how to properly cut it after cooking. It will cover the use of herbs and one of the courses also deals with what sauces should be served with which meat. Possibly my favourite here is the “Best from the Food Truck” and they do a simple Sirloin steak course so you can learn how to accurately prepare, cook and present this cut of meat.
Asia and Exotics: My favourite category. It leans heavily in the favour of Indian and Vietnamese but if you look carefully you have options for Thai, Korean and Japanese (although not sushi because that is in the fish section). They have also included the Mexican course in this section. These courses are for learning about the herbs and spices used and the timing of the different ingredients.
European Cuisine: What used to be just Czech and Italian has now expanded to include Spanish, French, Balkan, Greek and Georgian. One of the courses here is “Journey Through the Mediterranean” which is a 4 course meal. One of the things you learn is how to make focaccia bread. I think the experience is worth it just to learn this single skill because you’ll use it often.
Sushi, Fish and Seafood: It leans heavily towards sushi and fish with a little bit of seafood. These are still 3 hour courses despite that fact that the cooking time is reduced compared with the meat courses so again, focus is on the ingredients and the prep.
Cooking Classes
I’ve put a couple of options below. If they are all running then Chefparade operates as described. Another guy called Ondrej Molina uses the Holešovice Market for ingredients but you cook elsewhere and if Mariko (celebrity chef) is running then she uses the Saturday Naplavka Street Farmers Market for ingredients and you cook elsewhere.
Prices, People and Availability
At the time of writing all the courses I looked at were priced CZK3490 for a 3 hour course duration which includes everything for the course and supplementary drinks. Courses run Monday to Saturday and have a maximum group size of 12. At the time of writing Chefparade says that even if only 2 adults want to do a course they will still run it. Chefparade offers “teambuilding” events and you’ll find these may be running at the same time as your course but you are not part of those groups. So the group of 12 is normally made up of ones and twos etc.
Chefparade Farmhouse
This is between the towns of Liberec and Hradec Kralove which puts it a little under an hour drive from Prague (free parking). Some of the courses are the same as you would find in Prague, others are unique to the farmhouse. This venue is priced exactly the same for courses but they also offer external cooking options and they have the option of booking overnight accommodation which includes breakfast. You’ll find it’s a popular venue for wedding events.