Beyond The Board Charcuterie Classes is operated by Valley Olive Oil & Balsamics LLC in McGaheysville, Virginia, having launched their charcuterie workshop program in early 2024, with weekly classes at Massanutten Resort beginning in summer 2024. Located at 42 Island Ford Road, Ste. E, McGaheysville, VA 22840, these culinary classes distinguish themselves from typical board-making classes by offering hands-on charcuterie carving and folding instruction where participants learn to craft edible art including pepperoni roses, salami roses, kiwi succulent flowers, cucumber flowers, carrot spirals, and zipper-staged cheese triangles. The charcuterie workshops offer three tiered options: the Discovery Class ($25-30 per person for 30-45 minutes), the Classic Class ($50-60 per person for 60 minutes), and the Deluxe Class ($60-70 per person for 75 minutes), with per-person pricing decreasing for larger groups ranging from 3 to 40 participants. Weekly charcuterie classes at Massanutten Resort are priced at $55 per person every Wednesday, while seasonal classes are also held at partner venues including White Oak Lavender Farm, Sage Bird Cider Works, and I Arted Ceramic Paint Studio throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Each charcuterie board making class includes pre-prepped ingredient boxes with meats, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables, all carving tools and materials, take-home windowed transport boxes, and a 60mL dipping set of Valley Olive Oil's Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and 18-year aged Italian Dark Balsamic, with participants also receiving access to an online Charcuterie Tips & Info page for recreating techniques at home. The mobile charcuterie workshops require ages 16+ for safety (due to knife work), though separate kid-friendly classes are available, and the business handles all setup, instruction, and cleanup at clients' chosen locations for private events, corporate team building, community groups, church gatherings, and garden clubs. Students can add handcrafted artisan charcuterie carving boards by local artisan Stray Cat Designs ($35 for 11" round boards, $45 for 16.5" x 9" rectangle boards) in specialty color patterns including Purple Pearl, Ocean Wave, Abstract Swirl, and Abalone Black. Valley Olive Oil & Balsamics, the parent company operating these board making classes, holds a 5-star rating on Yelp and has been serving the McGaheysville community since before 2017, with owner Dan praised for being knowledgeable and friendly in customer reviews, and participants calling the experience super fun and sharing that the skills help them wow neighbors and tennis teams. All food preparation for these Virginia culinary classes is performed in Valley Olive Oil's certified kitchen in McGaheysville with strict food-safe practices, while class participants can pair their charcuterie workshops with wine tastings, cider sampling, or ceramic painting at various partner venues. Beyond The Board emphasizes that their charcuterie classes focus on creating tasty food art rather than simple assembly, with detailed demonstrations of each carving technique and folding method followed by hands-on practice with instructor assistance throughout the session. For bookings and inquiries, interested participants can contact Beyond The Board at btbCharcuterie@gmail.com or call/text 540-209-6499, with online registration available through btbcharcuterie.com for both public classes and customized private charcuterie workshops accommodating groups from 3 to 40 people.
Little Washington Winery, located at 65 Clark Lane in Washington, VA (affectionately called "Little Washington" to distinguish it from D.C.), is an award-winning Virginia winery and wine education destination founded in 2011 by Carl and Donna Henrickson, who began making wine as a hobby in 2003 before turning their passion into a 55-acre agritourism farm at the base of Shenandoah National Park. This Virginia wine tasting destination has earned a TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice "Best of the Best" 2024 & 2025 award, placing it in the top 10% of attractions worldwide, with a stellar 4.7/5 rating from 436 reviews on TripAdvisor, 4.4/5 stars on Google (109 reviews), and an impressive 4.9/5 stars on Groupon (382 reviews). Their signature offering is the Foodie-U Wine School (also called Dirt Road Wine Academy), where winemakers and sommeliers lead 24 different wine education classes every weekend at $60 per person (or as low as $30 via Groupon deals), including the popular Wine Bootcamp—a two-hour intensive on tasting techniques and food pairing—plus hands-on wine blending labs, Cheeseology wine pairings, Vintners Table Learning Lunches, and the immersive Blue Ridge Wine Retreat ($390 for a 2-3 day experience with lodging). Named one of the "Top 40 Hidden Gems of America: Wineries & Vineyards" three years running and featured in Washington Post, Southern Living, and New York Magazine, this Washington VA winery tour experience includes three distinct tasting rooms: the main winery, Skyline Brewing, and their unique Wine Loves Chocolate boutique shop on Main Street. Virginia Wine Lover Magazine ranks their "George" Meritage as #1 Red Wine in Virginia and their "Shenandoah Steel" Chardonnay as #3 White Wine in Virginia, while also naming them #2 Winery in the Region and awarding them Best Wine Retail Shop. Open Friday through Sunday (walk-in tastings welcome, no reservations required), the pet-friendly, family-friendly grounds offer vineyard experiences with Blue Ridge Mountain views, free Saturday concerts from May through October, an 18-hole disc golf course ranked #2 in the world at a brewery, and overnight accommodations at the Skyline Vineyard Inn—making it a complete Virginia wine country destination just 60 miles west of Washington D.C. near the Thornton Gap entrance to Shenandoah National Park.
Refresh Kitchen, led by wellness chef and recipe developer Chef David Curlis in Culpeper, VA, is a plant-forward cooking class and catering business offering private in-home cooking classes, community cooking workshops, corporate team-building culinary experiences, and health-conscious business catering throughout Northern and Central Virginia. Chef David brings over 20 years of culinary experience to his hands-on cooking classes, with a career background in hospital and senior care food programs that shaped his passion for culinary nutrition and plant-centered cooking—a mission that became deeply personal in 2018 when he helped his mother become cancer-free and reduce her medications through dietary transformation with fresh, whole foods. Operating by appointment from a shared community kitchen on Orange Road in Culpeper, VA (no public storefront), Refresh Kitchen specializes in farm-to-table cooking workshops that teach practical skills like knife techniques, meal prep strategies, and wellness-focused recipes tailored to individual dietary preferences and skill levels in a judgment-free environment. Pricing starts at $250 for the popular "Date Night For Two" in-home cooking class, with all-inclusive packages covering ingredients, instruction, digital recipes, and complete cleanup, plus optional wine pairings available for an additional $20 per person; class topics include "Plant-Based Comfort Foods," "Meal Prep Like a Pro," and "Knife Skills & Kitchen Confidence" designed to build real cooking confidence. Chef David is active in the local food community, teaching "Healthy Bowls for Busy Professionals" workshops at the George Washington Carver Food Enterprise Center in nearby Rapidan and contributing recipes like vegan, gluten-free Better Banana Muffins to InsideNoVa Culpeper Times' Cooking Corner column. As a Culpeper Chamber of Commerce member, Refresh Kitchen serves busy professionals, families, corporate teams, wellness coaches, and health-conscious individuals seeking personalized cooking instruction with a sustainability focus and eco-conscious practices. The Culpeper cooking classes emphasize confidence-building in the kitchen, plant-based culinary education, and customizable corporate wellness catering with options for gluten-free and high-protein menus.
Founded in March 2018 by Chef Antwon Brinson, Culinary Concepts AB operates from Charlottesville with the motto "Reach One, Teach One," focusing on empowering individuals through culinary arts training with a food + social impact mission. Chef Brinson trained at the Culinary Institute of America (2001) and completed a rigorous three-year apprenticeship under Master Chefs at the legendary Greenbrier Resort, becoming the first apprentice ever to launch a new restaurant concept there within a year of completing the program. In November 2022, he was one of only 10 chefs nationally selected to compete on HBO Max's "The Big Brunch," produced by Dan Levy, for a $300,000 prize. The Charlottesville cooking school offers diverse hands-on cooking classes including Farm 2 Fork (seasonal Virginia farm-to-table cooking), Knife Mastery, Pasta Basics, Advanced Ravioli & Tortellini, Ethiopian cuisine, and the Ultimate Cheese and Charcuterie workshop. Class formats range from intimate 6-12 person hands-on sessions to larger cooking demonstrations, corporate team-building events, bridal party experiences, virtual cooking classes, and youth summer culinary camps for ages 12-18. CCAB holds a TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice award (top 10% of properties) and maintains strong ratings across review platforms, with reviewers praising instructors like Chef Ingrid Berger as "super engaging" and highlighting the professional kitchen environment. Beyond recreational cooking classes, Culinary Concepts AB runs workforce training programs including the 8-week GO Cook Program with nationally recognized culinary certifications, the Phoenix Program for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, and the Entrepreneur Empowerment Program for food business owners—all supported by partners including Capital One, Truist Bank, and the City of Charlottesville.
Founded in 1978, The Happy Cook at Charlottesville's Barracks Road Shopping Center celebrates over 45 years as a premier gourmet kitchen store and culinary arts center—one of the few independent kitchenware retailers to survive that long in the industry. Current owner Monique Moshier purchased the business in 2005 (now marking her 20th anniversary) and expanded the space from 1,200 to 4,000 square feet, adding a dedicated cooking school kitchen. In April 2020, Forbes featured The Happy Cook among "Top Online Cooking Classes During Your Homebound Experience," driving exponential growth and attracting corporate clients including Google, Apple, and Amazon Web Services. The Charlottesville cooking school offers hands-on classes across international cuisines—Italian, French, Thai, Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Bengali, Spanish, Filipino—plus specialty workshops in pasta making, empanadas, knife skills (German vs. Japanese), sushi rolling, tapas, cocktails, macarons, and bread making. Instructors include Melissa Close-Hart, a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist, and classes accommodate novice to professional-level cooks in BYOB-friendly sessions. Private in-person cooking classes cost $1,195 for a 2-hour hands-on session (up to 10 students, includes 2 glasses of wine per participant), while virtual streaming classes run $750-$850 for 60-75 minutes with up to 30-60 Zoom participants—plus prerecorded digital cooking classes are available for just $15 for flexible at-home cook-along experiences. The dual-model business combines its culinary school with a premium kitchenware retail store featuring Le Creuset, Mauviel, Staub, Wüsthof, Zwilling, Shun knives, Pillivuyt porcelain, and Juliska tabletop—offering wedding registries, free shipping over $69, and same-day local delivery. Google reviews show a 4.4-star rating with 50+ reviews praising both the store's expertise and class experiences; hours are Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
Self-taught baker Melinda Friend started Knead and Know in 2013, and she's since taught over 2,000 bread lovers from her space in The Plains, Virginia (that's Fauquier County's Hunt Country, right near Middleburg wine country if you're planning a weekend). Eater called it a destination-style workshop worth traveling for. Which tracks. The women-owned school was inspired by Julia Child's famous quote about American bread, and everything's made with ingredients you can actually find at your local grocery store. The Virginia bread making school runs a progressive curriculum from beginner to advanced: Fundamentals of Bread (Bread 101), Bagels, Japanese Milk Bread, Pizza, Holiday Breads, Baguettes, Croissants with pain au chocolat and Danish, Sourdough, Country Loaves, and specialty Rye Breads including marble rye and Scandinavian Rugbrød. Classes cap at 6 students (adults 18+ only) for about 4-4.5 hours of hands-on instruction covering weighing, mixing, kneading, folding, forming, slashing, and creating steam in home ovens using pre-ferment (old dough) technique and slow cold fermentation. Reviews are basically perfect with 5.0 stars on Yelp and 5.0 on Google. Some students have gone on to open their own bakeries or study at Le Cordon Bleu in France, which says something. Each class wraps up with a wine and cheese gathering where you eat your fresh bread with spreads, meats, and salads, and you take home baked bread, dough or starter to finish later, recipes, and baking tools like couches, proofing baskets, and lames depending on what you made. The smell of fresh sourdough when you walk in is... honestly worth the drive alone. Classes run weekends from 1:00-5:30 PM with pricing varying by topic through their online booking system.
Glenfiddich Farm Cookery & Gardens is a prestigious farm-to-table cooking school that has been offering hands-on culinary education in Virginia's scenic Loudoun County wine country for 20 years since February 2005. The cooking classes are led by Olwen Woodier, an award-winning cookbook author with over 35 years of culinary writing experience, six published cookbooks including The Apple Cookbook and The Pesto Cookbook, and training from both the Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland and the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Classes take place in a beautifully restored 175-year-old stone farmhouse (an 1840s former dairy) on a picturesque 20-acre working farm where horses graze and free-range chickens roam—the name "Glenfiddich" is Celtic for "Valley of the Deer," reflecting the wildlife abundant on the property. The demonstration-style cooking workshops with tastings cost a $500 flat rate for groups up to 16 people, with an optional $30 per person for full lunch service, covering five-course menus featuring appetizers, mains, sides, and desserts. What sets this Virginia cooking class apart is the authentic farm-to-table experience: approximately 75% of ingredients come directly from the on-site cottage gardens during summer months, supplemented by fresh eggs from the farm's chickens and herbs from year-round hydroponic gardens. Class themes include Mediterranean cuisine (Spanish, French, Italian, Turkish, Moroccan), vegetarian and vegan cooking, gluten-free menus, easy yeast breads and pizzas, and seasonal Garden Bounty menus—all served on handmade pottery crafted by Olwen's husband Richard Busch, a former National Geographic photographer who operates Glenfiddich Farm Pottery on the lower level. Ranked #2 of 4 Classes & Workshops in Leesburg on TripAdvisor, reviewers describe the experience as "so much fun" with recipes that translate to "great success" at home, making this cooking school ideal for book clubs, garden clubs, corporate team building events, and culinary enthusiasts seeking authentic Virginia country cooking instruction.
