Class pictures

Class Descriptions

Cooking and Eating Local – A Celebration of Artisan Food
Market Kitchen Lunch and Learn
Market Kitchen Style for Families
Market Kitchen Exclusive – Private Event
Market Kitchen Basics - 5 Classes
Market Kitchen Cuisine Series

To make reservations for any of the classes or events below, go to the correct date on the calendar, and click on the class or event you would like to sign up for.

Cooking and Eating Local – A Celebration of Artisan Food

Join culinary instructor Diane LaVonne for this unique view of the "Heart of Seattle." World-famous Pike Place Market and its vibrant shops are yours to discover and enjoy. As you shop the market with your private chef, you will immediately recognize Diane’s approach to food and friends, humor and simplicity. Experience the Market with a local, where you will meet the shopkeepers, hear their stories and learn more about their passion for producing wonderful foods and hand-made items.

As you stroll to your Market Kitchen, learn about this colorful, unique and award winning neighborhood which includes a diverse residential population, the Seattle Art Museum and one of-a-kind shops.

Enter the bright and spacious Market Kitchen, take a seat at the counter and feel yourself relax. Prepare to be delighted, as Diane demonstrates how to prepare an authentic Northwest meal with the wonderful ingredients chosen by and for you. For the adventurous, step behind the counter, put on an apron and assist in the creation of your special meal. The menu will vary each month, highlighting the special bounty of each.

When you leave, you will have a satisfied palate, a set of recipes and a wonderful memory, a true taste of the best Seattle has to offer...the people of Pike Place Market and a meal created with the gifts from the waters, farms and orchards which surround this gem of the Northwest.

Market Kitchen Lunch and Learn

Join Diane in the Market Kitchen for a fun interactive private event. She will share her passion for and knowledge of the people who produce the wonderful ingredients that inspire the meal you will be preparing. In the market kitchen, you won't just create a meal, you'll create a memory. Choose from several luncheon menus.

Market Kitchen Style for Families

This fun and interactive three hour class was designed to give you and your children the opportunity to tour the Pike Place Market with Chef Diane. As you tour the Market, Diane will introduce you to her friends and you'll have an opportunity to talk to the farmers who produce the ingredients you will be using.

Once you return to the kitchen, your children will be the sous chefs for the day. Stepping behind the counter, with Diane's help they will produce a wonderful menu inspired by the fresh local ingredients they have helped to choose.

A memorable way to share the bounty and beauty of the gifts from the waters, farms and orchards of the Pacific Northwest with your children.

Sample Menu 1

Sample Menu 2

Minimum age 9
All children must be accompanied by an adult

Market Kitchen Exclusive – Private Event

Fresh foods produced, harvested and locally sourced by Diane and her extended market family are the foundation for your private dinner party. While preparing your authentic Northwest meal, you’ll learn more about the families and local food community who produced the ingredients you’ll find in the Market Kitchen. Menus will be based on seasonal ingredients and designed to meet your special interests. Sit back and relax or put on an apron and become a sous chef for the evening. This is a unique opportunity for you and your chosen guests to join Diane in her kitchen where cooking and companionship combine to create a memorable event.

Several private events are listed on the calendar. Go to the correct date and click on your event.

Market Kitchen Basics – 5 Classes

This series was designed to introduce the basics of cooking technique and building flavor profiles. Each of the first four classes will focus on specific ingredients and technique. For your final, you will design and prepare a four course meal. Below is the basic format; however, it is flexible and based on the interests/needs of the group.

Class 1 – Tarts and Tears: Sweet and Savory Tarts and the Onion Family.
Class 2 – The Grain Drain: Explore the variety and uses for grains, from salads to desserts
Class 3 – So Now What? How to take a single protein and prepare it three different ways
Class 4 – Fast and Hot or Slow and Low: Searing and Braising Techniques
Class 5 – Show Me the Kitchen: The class prepares and dines on the dinner of their choice

Market Kitchen Cuisine Series

A series of cooking classes designed to provide an in-depth look at a particular style of cooking or regional cuisine. Series offerings might focus on organic cooking, Italian cuisine or holiday foods.

Basics of Italian Home Cooking

Class 1 – Pasta and Sauce: The "how to" of fresh pasta; prepare Lasagna Bolognese and a seasonal sauce
Class 2 – Gifts of the Sea: From squid to fish
Class 3 – Dinner in Milan: Field trip to DeLaurenti's, Osso Bucco and Zabaglione

Gluten Free Basics- The Secret to Finding Abundance

Class 1 – So now what do I eat?
Class 2 – Cooking Italian with Ilyse Rathet of Ritrovo
Class 3 – Cooking and entertaining flour free

Vegetarian Basics

Class 1 – Meet the onion family
Class 2 – Grains and peppers
Class 3 – Cooking and entertaining meat-free

Basics of Mexican Cooking

Class 1 – Maize y Salsa (Corn and Sauces)
Class 2 – Pescados y Mariscos (Fish and Seafood)
Class 3 – Arroz y Sopa (Rice and Soup)

Reservations

To make reservations for any of the classes or events below, go to the correct date on the calendar, and click on the class or event you would like to sign up for.