The best couples cooking classes in NYC

The Institute of Culinary Education offers a wide variety of cooking classes from its Brookfield Place kitchen, including a special series just for couples. Pair bourbon with pork chops and steaks in a boozy steakhouse course, taste chile-infused dishes and cooling cocktails in a fire and ice class or sample four different burgers with Irish car bombs in a beer and burger extravaganza.

What romantic dinner would be complete without a glass (or three) of wine? Oenophiles and casual drinkers alike will enjoy this cooking class that incorporates vino into each recipe. Prep dishes like salmon en papillote, bacon and leek risotto and red wine-poached pears while sipping your favorite vintage. Though this BYOB class isn’t exclusively for couples, we can’t think of a better reason to check it out than date night.

As if Eataly weren’t already the temple of all things delicious and Italian, you can also learn to cook pasta, pizza and more at the Flatiron location. Bring someone special for this hands-on lesson in Italian cuisine. A resident chef will demonstrate how to prepare three dishes and a sommelier will walk you through the accompanying wine pairings.

No complicated souffles or baked Alaska here: The Brooklyn Kitchen focuses on recipes that any home cook can easily recreate at home after class. Drop in for their date night lesson to learn how to expertly sear a steak, work with a puff pastry and whip up a simple fruit torte.

At this Lower East Side chocolate shop, the artistic design of each truffle, bar and confection is just as important as the flavor. Take a 90-minute lesson from the master chocolatier to find out how to mold and decorate your own candies. The one problem? You won’t be able to get away with lackluster drugstore chocolates anymore after your sweetheart tastes the good stuff.

Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/LongitudeLatitude

Consider this 2.5-hour class the prep work for your next anniversary or celebration. The instructors will demonstrate the techniques, then allow you to try at your own workstation. You’ll prepare hanger steak, pommes anna, dark chocolate mousse and a champagne cocktail to enjoy at the end of the class, and leave with all the recipes and skills you need to recreate the meal at home.

It’s all sugar and spice and everything nice in this baking class at a gourmet cupcakery in the East Village. You’ll learn to mix three different batters, whip an ultra-fluffy frosting and ice the cakes neatly. The dozen cupcakes you create with your partner are yours to take home. Actual sweets always beat whispering sweet nothings in their ear, if you ask us.

This East Village school specializes in couples-only classes and caps each at just four pairs for an intimate experience. Whether you choose to learn how to hand roll pasta or make authentic tacos al pastor, you’ll enjoy a three-course dinner with plenty of red or white wine during the class.

Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Jeff Kubina