Cooking & Baking Series Courses

Cooking and Baking Series Courses at The Gourmandise School offer you a great way to develop your cooking or baking skills, improve your abilities or begin a career in food.

Students work independently at their own station to maximize the learning experience. The Instructor/Chef will provide a comprehensive lecture and demonstration, followed by hands-on instruction of the cooking or baking for the respective menus items for that course.

You are offered one complimentary “make-up” class if you miss a day, which we offer as a credit towards a class on our schedule for a similar lesson.

  • The Gourmandise Series Classes - Pro Pastry
  • The Gourmandise Series Classes - Pro Pastry Cake

Baking & Pastry Courses

Our Pastry Series Classes will teach you the basic chemistry of baking while you learn how to make everything from muffins and breads in Pro Pastry 1, to soufflés, macarons and petit fours… and more, in Pro Pastry 2.

  • The Gourmandise School Series Classes
  • The Gourmandise School - cooking dish

Cooking Courses

You can start simple with the 4-week Cooking 101 Series learning cooking fundamentals, or just jump right into the 10-week Learn to Cook Series with Chef Carol Cotner Thompson and get a solid foundation for cooking vegetables, sauces, grains, poultry, fish, beef and more.

I learned so much in ten weeks- the two series I took helped launch a business that went from my home kitchen to a brick and mortar. Thank you!
Marie S.
The classes I took at the Gourmandise School were invaluable and pivotal in my decision to launch my own baking business. Clemence is incredibly knowledgable and her passion for baking & cooking shows in the way she teaches and takes care of her students.
Alexandra S.
Gourmandise is the best choice for any amateur cook or chef looking to start or continue their culinary education.
Ashley K.
Carol taught me how to be confident in the kitchen. I went from not learning how to boil an egg to cooking every day- eating better, saving money and learning the language of cooking.
Kevin B.
The Learn to Cook Series changed my life! I can riff off recipes, recreate my favorite restaurant dishes and cook confidently. Thank you Carol!

At The Gourmandise School, we focus on the best techniques and use local sustainable ingredients whenever possible. Our produce is sourced twice weekly from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. Our fresh seafood comes from Santa Monica Seafood. We use sustainable poultry such as Mary’s Free Range Chicken, and get our beef from Whole Foods or other sustainable providers.