October 23, 2019Dish On Dining Magazine
Students learn to make fresh gnocchi at Glorioso’s Appetito cooking school. Photos by Aliza Baran.

Where to Take Cooking Classes in the Milwaukee Area

The former home of Glorioso’s market is now the place to learn to cook like an Italian mama.

BY Ann Christenson
In late summer, Glorioso’s introduced its cooking school with a series of Wednesday night happy hours to show off its renovated old Brady Street digs – where it lived for 64 years – across the street from its current address. Appetito, as this sleek, multipurpose space is called, was a long time coming and arguably worth the wait.

Seated at a table next to an exposed pillar nibbling bruschetta and spiedini at one of those happy hours, I can almost see the old cash registers and the narrow aisles, the shelves stacked high with dry goods, of the main grocery area. That old-world feel, captured in a few old black-and-white wall photos, has been recast as an upscale culinary gathering place with exposed brick, various table configurations, a small liquor bar and an open catering kitchen. It’s a warm, welcoming place to master cocktail-making with six different Italian amari or learn the art of rolling, folding and cutting handmade pasta. Glorioso’s keeps the culinary focus Bootshaped, with classes taught by various instructors.

Students get hands-on schooling at long wooden worktables – on the side of the old shop formerly perfumed by fennel seed, cured ham and Gorgonzola cheese. This month’s schedule of classes (generally two to two-anda- half hours long) includes Making Fresh Pasta: Hand Cuts (Oct. 5), Pizza Take & Bake (Oct. 11) and Exploring Italian Classics: Polenta ($25 to $75, depending on the class).

Appetito

1020 E. Brady St., 414-291-5887
CLASS SCHEDULE:
gloriosos.com
The other purpose of Appetito, as general manager Michael Glorioso describes it, is to serve as a gathering place. As such, it has added a small retail spot for in-house baked goods made exclusively for Appetito. (Think scones and biscotti.) To see these beloved old Brady Street digs back in use after nine years of darkness is quite simply fantastico.

5 More Area Cooking Classes

LEARN EVERYTHING from basic knife skills to Cajun classics at these “schools” for weekend chefs. Reserve early. Spots fill up quickly.

Braise

1101 S. Second St., 414-212-8843

Single sessions range from techniques to cuisines. Paella (Oct. 22, 6 p.m.) and Indian Specialties (Oct. 29, 6 p.m.). COST: $45-$70.

Milwaukee Public Market

400 N. Water St., 414-336-1111

Either hands-on or demo, including Classic Italian Pasta Dishes (Oct. 28, 5:30 p.m.) and Cooking with CBD Oil (Oct. 29, 5:30 p.m.). COST: $30-$69.

Sur la Table

Bayshore Town Center, 480 W. Northshore Dr., Glendale, 414-332-2037

Features a packed calendar of hands-on classes such as Fall Soups and Stews (Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.), Fresh and Flavorful Thai (Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.) and Date Night: Autumn in Italy (Oct. 26, 4 and 7 p.m.). COST: $59-$69.

The Chef’s Table

500 S. Third St., 414-277-7676

The hands-on class is followed by a meal served with wine pairings. Fall Harvest (Oct. 15, 6 p.m.). COST: $139.

Boelter SuperStore

4200 N. Port Washington Rd., 414-967-4333

Hands-on classes include Knife Skills (Oct. 12, 11 a.m.) and From the Pumpkin Patch (Oct. 15, 5:30 p.m.). COST: $36-$65.

“School of Food” appears in the October 2019 issue of Milwaukee Magazine.

Find it on newsstands beginning October 1, or buy a copy at milwaukeemag.com/shop.

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Ann Christenson
Ann Christenson has covered dining for Milwaukee Magazine since 1997. She was raised on a diet of casseroles that started with a pound of ground beef and a can of Campbell's soup. Feel free to share any casserole recipes with her.

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