Even experienced home chefs can get overwhelmed in the kitchen.
So for someone who doesn’t know the proper procedure for peeling potatoes, navigating even a simple meal can feel like a catastrophe in the making.
The good news is there’s never been a better time to expand your culinary horizons by picking up new skills and recipes with the help of MasterClass cooking courses taught by some of the world’s most talented chefs.
Whether you’re a novice in the kitchen or your family’s go-to for signature dishes, you’re guaranteed to learn something new about tantalizing the tastebuds of everyone who tries your food.
That said, there are many great MasterClass cooking courses to choose from. So to help make things easy, we’ve pulled together this list of the top 10 classes every home chef should try.
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Our Verdict
From the fundamental kitchen techniques taught by Gordon Ramsay to the international dishes you can learn from Gabriela Cámara and Madhur Jaffrey, MasterClass will provide an open door into a world of new, flavorful creations that you may never have thought possible.
MasterClass Review Learn from the Best
PROS
- Affordable pricing
- User-friendly platform
- Features celebrity instructors
- Easily refundable
- High quality content
- Bonus materials
CONS
- No free trials
- No reviews within the platform
- Heavily geared towards creatives
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A few frequently asked questions…
Before getting into the meat and potatoes of what the top ten MasterClass cooking courses have to offer, let’s cover some basic questions you might have about how MasterClass operates.
Do I need a subscription to access these courses?
Yes, you’ll need a MasterClass subscription to access these cooking courses. But it’s important to note that your MasterClass subscription comes with full access to 180+ courses, including everything from baking, interior design, photography, music, writing, makeup, poker, and even negotiation.
How long is the MasterClass?
Most MasterClass courses include between two and five hours of video content, divided into about 20 videos per class.
Does MasterClass have a cancellation policy?
MasterClass allows subscribers to cancel recurring subscriptions at any time, but cancellations made before the end of the subscription period aren’t refundable.
Are MasterClass courses available offline?
If you have a MasterClass Plus or Premium subscription, you can take your favorite class online or download videos for offline lessons.
What else do you get with MasterClass courses?
Aside from video lessons, many courses include downloadable class workbooks with extra content from the course.
MasterClass cooking: The one-stop-shop to hone your kitchen craft
Launched in 2015, MasterClass rapidly became one of the fastest-growing online learning platforms. Today, it provides subscribers with unlimited access to dozens of classes from professionals and celebrities, including world-renowned chefs.
MasterClass isn’t just any old set of cooking classes. It’s a collection of specially-crafted courses developed by some of the most well-known culinary visionaries in the world.
The best part? You can access all of them at once when you sign up for one of the following three great subscription options: the standard MasterClass plan, the MasterClass Plus plan, and the MasterClass Premium plan.
The standard MasterClass plan bills subscriptions annually for only $15 per month, and membership automatically allows you to start going through MasterClass’s 180+ unique courses covering a massive array of topics.
The MasterClass Plus plan bills annually for $20 per month and unlocks video downloading capabilities alongside the option to watch MasterClass courses on two devices at once.
Finally, the MasterClass Premium plan is available for $23 per month (billed annually) and allows subscribers to enjoy their favorite courses on up to six devices at once.
As if there wasn’t enough motivation to join the ever-growing community of teachers and students, MasterClass is currently featuring a two-for-one membership deal.
By signing up now, you’ll not only get unlimited access to all of the cooking courses you’ll need to revolutionize your family’s holiday feast, but you’ll also get access to an excellent gift for a special someone in your life.
Whether you’re a home chef or a budding kitchen professional, taking a MasterClass cooking course is a great way to hone your skills while picking up a few delicious recipes.
1. Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking I
Runtime: 3 hours and 54 minutes
Course value: 5/5
Lessons: 20 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A 44-page cookbook/workbook that includes all six recipes covered in the course and a few special extras, including a printable seafood guide.
The first spot on our top ten list goes to Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking I.
Gordon Ramsay is a seven-star Michelin chef widely known for his 58 restaurants (and counting!), spectacular cooking skills, and work on several popular cooking shows, including MasterChef and Hell’s Kitchen.
In this course, Ramsay brings you into his home to teach you everything from basic knife skills and selecting the freshest ingredients to setting up a kitchen for culinary success.
Ramsay also personally walks participants through preparing several delicious recipes — including his favorite, Beef Wellington.
If you end up enjoying this course as much as countless others have, consider trying out Gordon Ramsay’s second MasterClass, Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking II: Restaurant Recipes at Home.
This beloved sequel to Ramsay’s first MasterClass features another 15 fantastic video lessons, where you’ll learn how to prepare 13 restaurant-quality dishes.
Check out our complete course review to learn more about Ramsay’s cooking MasterClass.
2. Alice Waters Teaches the Art of Home Cooking
Runtime: 3 hours and 47 minutes
Course value: 4.8/5
Lessons: 17 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A 77-page downloadable cookbook full of brilliant food philosophies and foundational cooking guides.
Alice Waters is a renowned chef, restaurant owner, cookbook writer, and food activist who helped kickstart America’s farm-to-table revolution. She also became the first woman to receive the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 1992.
Waters’ restaurant, Chez Panisse, is well known for its constant menu changes, featuring dishes prepared with organic, seasonal ingredients.
In her brilliant MasterClass, Alice Waters Teaches the Art of Home Cooking, Waters explores how to source, select, and use seasonal, fresh ingredients to create healthy, mouth-watering meals from scratch.
With Waters’ cooking class, you’ll learn the best ways to stock a pantry and how to use essential kitchen tools before putting those skills into practice with her recipes for salad, ravioli, and more.
And the best part about this MasterClass is that it isn’t just about cooking — it’s about helping students find a new approach to how they select, perceive, and prepare food in their own homes.
If you’d like to learn more about Waters’ MasterClass, check out our full course review.
3. Massimo Bottura Teaches Modern Italian Cooking
Runtime: 3 hours and 46 minutes
Course value: 4.8/5
Lessons: 14 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A downloadable PDF cookbook featuring several detailed Italian recipes along with the stories behind each dish and extra information on key ingredients.
Owner of the three-Michelin-star restaurant Osteria Francescana — considered one of the best restaurants in the world — Massimo Bottura is hailed for his talent as an Italian chef.
According to a MasterClass interview with Bottura, “Cooking is not just the quality of the ingredients, but the quality of the ideas” — a concept that he demonstrates through his highly rated cooking course.
In this course, you’ll learn a wide array of famous Italian recipes, including pumpkin risotto, tortellini, and breadcrumb pasta. You’ll also learn about specialized cooking techniques and how to effectively experiment with food.
Alongside these practical skills, Bottura shows students how to examine culinary traditions in new ways while helping them develop their palates to embrace new levels of culinary creativity.
Though Massimo Bottura Teaches Modern Italian Cooking isn’t number one on our top ten list, it’s definitely a class that every aspiring home chef should consider exploring.
4. Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques 1: Vegetables, Pasta, and Eggs
Runtime: 6 hours and 53 minutes
Course value: 4.7/5
Lessons: 36 video lessons
Supplementary materials: An in-depth workbook and cookbook featuring various cooking tips and recipes from the course.
Thomas Keller, who has earned more Michelin stars than any other American chef, is highly regarded for his expert culinary skills alongside his collection of famous restaurants, including Per Se and The French Laundry.
In his first MasterClass cooking course, Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques 1, Keller teaches his students fundamental techniques needed to create delicious food. His methods allow students to go beyond the limits of cookbooks to hone their culinary creativity.
Keller’s MasterClass is the most extensive on our list, consisting of 36 video lessons that span nearly seven hours.
You’ll receive step-by-step instructions on effective kitchen setup and how to source quality ingredients, create hand-made pasta dough, and confit vegetables like a professional chef.
Through Keller’s expert guidance, you’ll soon know the finer points of creating quality, Michelin-star-level meals from the comfort of your own kitchen.
Be sure to check out our full course review of Keller’s MasterClass to learn more.
5. Gabriela Cámara Teaches Mexican Cooking
Runtime: 3 hours and 26 minutes
Course value: 4.7/5
Lessons: 13 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A downloadable PDF cookbook featuring several recipes and cooking tips from the course.
Gabriela Cámara is well known within the culinary industry as a famous chef, cookbook author, and restaurant owner. She was celebrated in the New York Times in a 2019 article when she returned to Mexico to advise the country’s president on food policy.
Heralded as a pinnacle creator of modern Mexican cuisine, Cámara has brought her talents into the world of MasterClass to share her techniques with the world alongside some of her favorite recipes.
As part of her cooking course, Gabriela Cámara Teaches Mexican Cooking, you’ll learn how to add tasty twists to time-honored culinary traditions.
By the time you’re done with this course, you’ll have the foundation you need to create several authentic Mexican dishes, including masa, tacos, tamales, and tostadas.
But recipes are far from the only thing you’ll learn from Cámara’s cooking course. With her help, you’ll also gain a comprehensive understanding of the essence of Mexican cuisine.
6. Wolfgang Puck Teaches Cooking
Runtime: 3 hours and 47 minutes
Course value: 4.7/5
Lessons: 16 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A PDF cookbook that includes several course recipes and helpful culinary tips.
Wolfgang Puck is known for his unique abilities as a head chef and his remarkable savvy as a successful restaurateur whose culinary empire spans the globe with more than 100 different locations.
With five James Beard Awards under his apron, one could argue that there are few others as qualified to teach eager home chefs the essentials of cooking.
In his highly rated MasterClass course, Wolfgang Puck Teaches Cooking, you’ll study under a true kitchen master who helped revolutionize the way America cooks.
Course participants will learn all about Puck’s unique cooking philosophies as he guides them through the art of mastering starters, sides, entrees, cocktails, and more. By the time you’re done, you’ll know the ins and outs of creating a perfect, full-course meal.
Wolfgang’s MasterClass will also highlight the creation of several recipes that you’ll be eager to share with family and friends, including tuna sashimi and seafood gazpacho.
7. Dominique Ansel Teaches French Pastry Fundamentals
Runtime: 3 hours and 37 minutes
Course value: 4.6/5
Lessons: 17 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A downloadable 50+ page cookbook/workbook that includes multiple recipes from the course, along with space to take your own notes.
While we understand that there’s an inherent difference between cooking and baking, we’d be remiss not to include Dominique Ansel Teaches French Pastry Fundamentals on our top ten MasterClass cooking courses list.
Ansel is a James Beard Award-winning French pastry chef, the celebrated creator of the cronut (a delectable donut-croissant hybrid), and the owner of the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York, making him one of the undisputed kings of pastry creation.
In the 17 video lessons of his MasterClass course, Ansel helps students learn how to prepare some of the world’s most delectable pastries.
From bonbons to chocolate cake to fruit tarts and more, this cooking course is the ultimate go-to for any home chef who wants to expand their baking knowledge or learn how to prepare decadent desserts.
Get ready to obtain a new understanding of texture and flavor with the help of a top-quality pâtissier in Ansel’s MasterClass cooking course.
8. Mashama Bailey Teaches Southern Cooking
Runtime: 3 hours and 23 minutes
Course value: 4.6/5
Lessons: 10 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A downloadable cookbook featuring multiple recipes from the course.
Mashama Bailey is a James Beard Award-winning executive chef and partner of The GREY restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, which was recognized by both the New York Times and Food & Wine Magazine for its amazing food and drink selection.
In her new course, Mashama Bailey Teaches Southern Cooking, Bailey takes her students on a flavorful journey through the wonders of quality southern cooking while introducing them to a range of traditional and revolutionized cooking techniques.
From gumbo and collard greens to pickled oysters and pork shank, you’ll discover a new world of texture and taste as you work through several classic recipes.
But beyond the recipes and fundamental cooking techniques, Bailey’s MasterClass will also take you through the history of southern ingredients and their significance in traditional meals — all while sharing several personal stories from her own culinary journey.
If you’re a budding home chef who’s ready to expand your cooking horizons, the skills you’ll learn from Bailey’s MasterClass will transform your kitchen experience.
9. Aaron Franklin Teaches Texas-Style BBQ
Runtime: 4 hours and 36 minutes
Course value: 4.5/5
Lessons: 16 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A PDF cookbook of several recipes from the course, along with essential BBQ tips and tricks.
Aaron Franklin has gone from a backyard BBQ hobbyist to a James Beard Award-winning restaurant owner and New York Times bestselling cookbook author. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see a highly rated MasterClass on the art of barbecue added to his repertoire.
In his course, Aaron Franklin Teaches Texas-Style BBQ, you’ll learn everything you need to know to start whipping up your own delicious recipes through Franklin’s specialized, low and slow BBQ process.
Franklin covers the key basics every backyard barbecuer should know about fire, smoke, and wood, along with selecting quality meat and preparing homemade sauces.
From there, he takes you through recipes for succulent pork butt, ribs that fall off the bone, and a professional-style brisket that practically melts in your mouth. By the end, you’ll know everything you need to obtain the title of neighborhood BBQ master.
Check out our full course review if you’d like to learn more about Franklin’s MasterClass.
10. Madhur Jaffrey Teaches Indian Cooking
Runtime: 2 hours and 26 minutes
Course value: 4.4/5
Lessons: 12 video lessons
Supplementary materials: A PDF cookbook featuring the recipes covered in the course, plus a few special extras.
While Madhur Jaffrey Teaches Indian Cooking is the shortest MasterClass cooking course included on our list, it’s still chock full of amazing recipes and advice on how to prepare top-quality Indian cuisine at home.
Jaffrey is the “leading authority on Indian food in the west,” according to MasterClass, and she has already proved her skills to the world thanks to her 30+ cookbooks.
Throughout Jaffrey’s cooking course, you’ll work through several amazing Indian recipes, including various curries, lamb biryani, cucumber raita, and stuffed paratha.
However, you’ll also learn about several fundamentals of Indian cooking. For instance, you’ll get an in-depth look at how to combine and alter spices to drastically change dishes and create unique flavor sensations.
Jaffrey also talks about the vital connection between touch and texture, and how these things work alongside flavor and aroma to create a full experience for the senses.
If you’d like to learn more about Jaffrey’s MasterClass, check out our full course review.
Take your culinary game to the next level with MasterClass cooking courses
Whether you’re a novice home chef who wants to learn a few new recipes or someone who aspires to conquer the kitchen, MasterClass has an array of cooking courses to guide your cooking journey.
From the fundamental kitchen techniques taught by Gordon Ramsay to the international dishes you can learn from Gabriela Cámara and Madhur Jaffrey, MasterClass will provide an open door into a world of new, flavorful creations that you may never have thought possible.
Subscribe to MasterClass today to take advantage of its ever-growing selection of top-quality online courses.
