Cooking, mixology and maker workshops for foodies in Montréal
Gastronomy Bars and pubs Leisure activities, nature and relaxation
Not only is Montréal’s a city of gourmands packed with restaurants, bakeries and bars ready to beguile you with exciting flavours — it’s also a city of knowledge, where you can pick up awesome new skills. From cooking to baking to mixology and even pottery, explore these workshops offered by the city’s food, drink and entertainment experts to bring home more than memories.
Montréal cooking classes to learn new kitchen skills
Want to dice like a pro, master a hollandaise and discover the meaning of “à point”? These are the classes for you.
La Tablée des Chefs
With a summer culinary camp for teens hosted by the ITHQ and lots of corporate group activities, this charity does its bit by engaging and educating Montréal foodies.
Learn skills such as:
- Preparing a three-course meal
- Making desserts worthy of guests
- Combatting food insecurity
Various locations
Ateliers & Saveurs
With kitchens in Old Montréal, the Plateau and Time Out Market Montréal, Ateliers & Saveurs turns cooking class into a party: learn sushi, tapas or cocktails, then sit down to enjoy your creations.
Learn skills such as:
- Mastering lobster cooking
- Making chef-worthy quick lunches
- Putting together the perfect Aperol Spritz
Various locations
Appetite for Books
This Westmount cookbook store has shelves full of delectable titles, and offers popular BYOB evening workshops in the gorgeous, intimate test kitchen in-store. The demonstration classes are usually based on one of the books for sale, and they fill up fast, so book early.
Learn skills such as:
- Working kitchen knives like a pro
- Cooking Roman recipes
- Mastering vegan Korean cuisine
388 Victoria Avenue
La Guilde Culinaire
With years of experience in the field, chef Jonathan Garnier’s La Guilde Culinaire on the Petite-Patrie offers a huge range of classes informed by core training restaurants in Côte d’Azur. It ranges from French cuisine to Spanish tapas, Thai food and pizza-making.
Learn skills such as:
- Mastering the basics of meat preparation
- Making French macarons
- Wine tasting 101
6381 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Cuisine Lakay Lola
Chef Lola creates culturally relevant, educational and entertaining cooking classes focused on Haitian cuisine, both in Montréal at the beautiful Jean-Talon Market’s test kitchen as well as in Laval.
Learn skills such as:
- Cooking the perfect rice
- Prepping fried plantains
- Mastering a Haitian beef stew
Courses given at Jean-Talon Market: 7070 Henri Julien Avenue
Montréal wine-tasting classes to cheers to new skills
Bouquet, legs, notes — who knew there was so much to wine! Learn how to tell one varietal from another at these wine workshops.
Les Cavistes
Wine tastings turn into lively journeys through the vineyards at this restaurant in Ahuntsic, where guided workshops explore grape varieties, regions and terroirs over six pours, each paired with bites.
Learn skills such as:
- Identifying tasting notes
- Deciphering different varietals
- Figuring out fantastic pairings
196 Fleury Street
SAQ Workshops by ITHQ
Wine nerds, curious sippers and budding connoisseurs, head to the Plateau’s ITHQ for lively wine and spirits tasting classes presented by the experts of the SAQ (the local liquor board). The tastings range widely in theme, so there’s a tipple for everyone.
Learn skills such as:
- Wine 101
- Distinguishing between grape varieties
- Discovering scotch and whiskey
3535 Saint-Denis Street
Le vin dans les voiles
Specialized in the importation of natural and organic wines, this Sainte-Marie wine emporium offers wine tasting workshops for groups in a stylish pastel-decorated room. Note that all workshops are in French.
Learn skills such as:
- Tasting notes of bubbles
- Recognizing Eastern European wines
- Comparing-and-contrasting wines
2065 Parthenais Street, Suite 375
Montréal mixology classes worth raising a glass to
Shaken or stirred, however you take your drinks, there’s nothing like raising the bar of your own home mixing with these classes.
Cirka Distilleries
As the first Québec microdistillery to produce spirits from grain to glass, Cirka is made up of professionals who know their stuff. Visit this artisan distillery located on the historic Lachine Canal to see, smell and taste the production process.
Learn skills such as:
- Mixology 101
- Grasping the ins and outs of whisky
- Figuring out flavour pairings
2075 Cabot Street
Distillerie de Montréal
Established in the heart of an industrial area of the neighbourhood of Rosemont, this distillery making gin, vodka, whisky and specialty rums combines expertise and passion, offering both guided tours and group workshops.
Learn skills such as:
- Mixology 101
- Deciphering tasting notes
- Learning the basics of distillation
5447 Chapleau Street
Alambika
This shop near Little Italy sells everything budding mixologists could want, from bitters to shakers. They also offer events onsite for corporate groups, tailored exactly to your needs.
Learn skills such as:
- Mixology 101
- Mastering the secret ingredients of pros
- Balancing cocktails to perfection
6484 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
École du bar de Montréal
One of the city’s premier destinations for mixology workshops and professional bartending courses (plus its own speakeasy mere blocks away, Le 4e Mur), there’s always something to imbibe at this Quartier Latin stop. Note that all the classes are taught in French.
Learn skills such as:
- Mastering bartending tricks and techniques
- Choosing seasonal ingredients
- Balancing the perfect cocktail
325 Ontario Street East
Baking, candy-making, and more sweet classes in Montréal
Satisfy your sweet tooth and your thirst for knowledge with these tasty confectionery courses (a fave with kids).
Café La Chouette
If you're on Saint-Denis, you might want to visit this café that offers a fun cookie decorating experience. It's a great activity for families and you don't need to have a certain number of participants. While booking in advance is not necessary, it's recommended to secure your spot.
3864 Saint-Denis Street
Avanaa Chocolat
At Villeray’s Avanaa Chocolat, intimate workshops invite guests to explore the bean-to-bar process, learning about cacao origins and flavour while tasting handcrafted chocolates in a guided, small-group experience.
Learn skills such as:
- Understanding cocoa harvesting
- Identifying tasting notes
- Molding choclolate bars
309 Gounod Street
Domaine des 15 Lots
This boutique located steps from the busy Maisonneuve Market in HoMa is a maple-lover’s dream, selling everything from sweet ingredients to homemade pastries. They also have a test kitchen onsite, offering 1-hour group classes as tastings.
Learn skills such as:
- Understanding the making of maple products
- Comparing different maple syrup darknesses
- Getting a taste of history
4850 Ontario Street East
Les Glaceurs
Group workshops in this Old Montréal shop turn cupcake decorating into a playful, hands-on activity guided by expert bakers, where participants get to enjoy their sweet, beautifully decorated creations together.
Learn skills such as:
- Making great cake batter
- Perfecting buttercream
- Mastering piping techniques and creative finishes
453 Saint-Sulpice Street
Candylabs
This house of candy in the Sud-Ouest sells the prettiest sweets in the city from its vast and sleek storefront, plus they’ll teach you how to make them right onsite. Specialized in kids’ workshops, they also do master private classes for grown-ups and curate special parties.
Learn skills such as:
- Candy making 101
- Coiling lollipops
- Making your own rock candy
6030 Monk Boulevard
Le BakeLab
This red-brick loft kitchen in Saint-Henri offers a boutique baking school focused on simple, delicious desserts and breadmaking. Servicing beginners, families and competent bakers alike, workshops are all hands-on, and everyone goes home with a box full of freshly baked treats.
Learn skills such as:
- Breadmaking 101
- Cupcake baking
- Mastering French macarons
4000 Saint-Ambroise Street
Classes where you can make your own kitchen implements in Montréal
Be the host with the actual most by not only prepping the feast, but making your own dishware, sharpening your own knives and creating your own chopping boards, too.
Les Affûtés
At Les Affûtés, hands-on workshops teach practical DIY skills ranging from woodworking to sewing and home renovation, plus they have lots of cooking classes as well. Level up your kitchen equipment and home decor with their wide range of workshops.
Learn skills such as:
- Making your own butcher’s block chopping board
- Sewing your own Japanese apron
- Turning your own wood egg cup
Various locations
Monokiini Ceramics
This stylish Little Italy café, boutique and pottery workshop offers Clay & Sips and group classes on the spot, where you can learn to make your own bowls, plates and cups. Take about personalized decor.
Learn skills such as:
- Learning basic coiling techniques
- Trying your hand at the pottery wheel
- Mastering decorating and glazing
7048 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Les Faiseurs
You can learn how to make your own dishes from scratch in multi-week classes at this vast workshop-cum-café space on the cusp of Little Italy, but you can also skip a few steps and learn to paint on pottery that’s already been made.
Learn skills such as:
- Mastering the pottery wheel
- Learning the details of decoration
- Painting bisqued pottery with underglazes
6564 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Isa Tousignant
Isa Tousignant is an editor and storyteller with a curiosity that runs deeper than most. She has chatted life philosophies with celebrity chefs, gemologists, arena rockers and furries. (All were transformative.) Her favourite things include discovering new flavours and celebrating the creativity that defines her hometown, Montréal.