Santa Fe School of Cooking – Culinary Classes

Santa Fe School of Cooking – Culinary Classes offers demonstration cooking classes, hands-on cooking classes, and online cooking classes that focus on traditional New Mexican dishes and chile preparation, contemporary Southwest and Mexican cooking techniques, and Native American culinary traditions. Participants can also take part in traditional bread making, Cooking Competitions, Culinary Boot Camps, Restaurant Walking Tours and Restaurant Tours, private classes and special events, wine pairing, a cocktail class, and a competition for who can make the best salsa. Dave’s Jazz Bistro is part of the program and combines culinary experiences with jazz in a supper club setting.

• Schedule: Classes run several times each week, with general hours Monday–Saturday from 9:30am to 5:00pm and Sundays from 10:30am to 3:30pm; most culinary classes last about three hours and include a full meal.

The Santa Fe School of Cooking – Culinary Classes is an internationally acclaimed, recreational culinary school and market that specializes in foods of the American Southwest and has a welcoming, practical teaching kitchen and a market/store. It was founded in 1989, has been celebrating the foods of New Mexico for over 36 years, and has offered cornerstone demonstration cooking classes for 36 years and Restaurant Tours for over 16 years, described as the ORIGINAL Food Tour of Santa Fe with opportunities to meet the chef or key players at each property. The school focuses on New Mexican, Native American, Mexican, and Spanish cuisine, with an emphasis on authentic preparation methods, seasonal ingredients, and time-tested cooking techniques, and offers on-demand online video classes with step-by-step instruction, downloadable recipes, and links to authentic ingredients.

The professional instructors share expertise in chile preparation and traditional bread making, and the chefs have written cookbooks, won prestigious competitions, and appeared in magazines. Founder Susan Curtis has co-authored numerous cookbooks on New Mexico foods; Nicole Curtis Ammerman, the School’s Director of Operations, has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Arizona; and Kristen Curtis-Krell, Director of Dave’s Jazz Bistro, has a bachelor’s degree in social psychology with a minor in business administration and a master’s degree in educational leadership. The school is family-run with multi-generational leadership and describes its mission, since 1989, as serving as ambassadors for Santa Fe’s rich and historic traditions by promoting and celebrating regional cuisine as an enjoyable and entertaining experience for guests, chefs, and staff.

The Santa Fe School of Cooking – Culinary Classes is described as accommodating all skill levels, from beginners to experienced cooks, and most classes include a full meal, with options to create private classes and special events tailored to clients. The school has been featured in ELLE Magazine, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN Travel, Travel Awaits, Santa Fe Reporter – Red Chile Vacation Bible School, and TripAdvisor, and is described as internationally acclaimed. Its community involvement includes working with local vendors, winemakers, farmers, and non-profit organizations, and Nicole Curtis Ammerman serves on the board of The Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce.

Testimonials describe friendly and experienced staff, passionate instruction, and classes such as tamale making, high-altitude baking, Traditional New Mexican 2, and hands-on chile relleno classes, as well as Restaurant Walking Tours that visit multiple restaurants. Reviewers mention repeat visits over many years, private family cooking classes, birthday celebrations, and positive experiences with chefs and staff including Chef Noe, Chef Mica, Chef Noe Cano, Miss Carly, Marydawn Wright, Rocky, Rhett, Jeff, and Molly, along with shopping in the school’s store and using gift items such as chile pepper candles. Gift cards are available and can be used for market items or cooking classes.

Last updated August 1, 2026.