Five of the best cooking classes

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Feel the need to boost your tired repertoire of dishes in the kitchen? Try a cooking class. From a few hours in the weekend to a term of night classes, from chocolate to cheesemaking, there are classes to suit your every culinary urge — and you get to eat your creations (for better or worse). Here are some tasty places to start.

1: Sachie's Kitchen

Surely the most fragrant classroom in New Zealand, this Parnell school headed by Sachie Nomura, right, focuses on Asian food - sushi making, Hanoi street food, Thai banquets, Indian curries. Next class: Taste of Malaysia, tomorrow 6.30pm-9pm, $89.

2: Main Course

This cooking school, run out of the atmospheric Auckland Gas Company building alongside Victoria Park, has been around since 2003. It offers a range of classes, from basic skills and ethnic cooking to cheesemaking and kids' classes. Next class: Namaste India, Wednesday at 6pm, $99.

3: New Zealand School of Food and Wine

As well as training aspiring hospitality professionals, this Viaduct-based school offers classes for those of us who merely aspire to serve something edible (and drinkable) in our own dining rooms. Next class: Handmade pasta, October 8, $75.

4: Milly's

Whether you want to dazzle party guests with your fondant daisies and gumpaste gerberas or just learn to decorate a cupcake, Milly's cake-decorating classes in Parnell are a good starting point. Next class: Macaron baking, tomorrow, 6pm-8pm, $50.

5: Community education classes

For cheaper options, check out night classes at high schools in your area - a select few have survived the funding cuts. Sample class: Roberto's Italian Kitchen, Fraser High School, Hamilton, starting November 1, $65 plus ingredients for three classes. For Auckland classes, see aucklandcommunityeducation.co.nz