Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts has announced a new series of hands-on culinary and wine classes running through January and February at their Granville Island campus. The Vancouver-based institute, known for professional training and public cooking programs, is presenting a schedule that ranges from pasta-making and French classics to wine education and chocolate work.
Wine-focused sessions open the season with Exploring Cabernet Sauvignon: The World’s Benchmark Red, led by instructor Mark Taylor. The class examines how climate and terroir shape the grape’s structure and character, with guided tastings of six wines paired with canapés. In February, Pinot Noir: Roots, Regions & Revelations offers a comparative look at expressions from Burgundy, the New World, and British Columbia, also paired with six wines and small bites.
Several pasta-focused workshops anchor the culinary lineup. Flour + Water: Pasta Masterclass explores dough theory, lamination, and shaping techniques for noodles such as linguine, fettuccine, pappardelle, and filled pastas including ravioli and tortellini. In February, It Hasta Be Pasta: An Exploration of Filled Pastas focuses on stuffed formats, with participants preparing Ravioli with lemon, ricotta, and spinach in brown butter and sage, along with Tortelloni filled with wild mushrooms and mascarpone in a porcini cream sauce, accompanied by an Aperol Spritz.
French cuisine is highlighted in Mastering Julia Child’s Duck à L’Orange, where Chef Ben Kiely guides students through the preparation of Duck à L’Orange with classic accompaniments includinf Pommes Fondant and Haricots Verts. Japanese small plates take focus in A Taste of Tokyo: Japanese Izakaya with Chef Katsu, a hands-on class covering robata-style dishes, Negitoro and Cucumber Maki, and Ebi Gyoza, paired with Japanese beer.
February also brings a Valentine’s Chocolate-Making Workshop led by chocolatier Chef Patrice. Participants learn to temper, mould, and decorate chocolate while creating heart-shaped boxes of truffle bonbons and chocolate paste roses. For those interested in core kitchen skills, the Chicken Butchery and Chicken Vesuvio Cooking Class with Chef Phyllis teaches whole-bird breakdown followed by preparation of Chicken Vesuvio, a dish of garlic, white wine, herbs, and potatoes.