PORTAGE PARK — Have you always wanted to cook but didn’t know how to get started?

A new shop in Portage Park wants to cure kitchen shyness with lessons that range from the simple to the complex.

Fearless Cooking at 4410 N. Milwaukee Ave. begins teaching students Monday, offering a range of classes that include introductory 101 courses on how to cook chicken and eggs as well as more advanced courses on baking bread or pastries

Fearless’ owner, Catherine Siebel, announced her plan to open a teaching kitchen last September and has been refining the idea ever since.

While she renovated the storefront and went through the city’s licensing process, she also opened a pop-up store a block away at 4503 N. Milwaukee Ave. to sell a selection of cooking tools.

That pop-up ran from September through February and allowed her talk to neighbors to figure out which kinds of courses they were interested in taking once Fearless opened.

Fearless Cooking Provided

“We have lots of interests for kids classes, for healthy cooking and lots of interest for 30-minute meals. Things you can go home and just make very easily,” Siebel said.

After passing city inspections at the end of last week, Fearless will start taking students Monday. Classes will be held between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day and cost between $40 and $75.

Fearless Cooking Provided

Siebel’s background is as a sociology professor. She said the idea to open Fearless came to her once her family moved to Portage Park. While talking with neighbors, she realized parents wanted to prepare meals for their kids but if they didn’t grow up learning how to cook they were unsure how to start and less inclined to try it.

During interviews with people, Siebel learned life transitions combined with a lack of fundamental cooking skills had people shying away from the kitchen. So with Fearless she aims to help people get more comfortable whipping something up in the kitchen.

For the latest information on classes Fearless visit the business’s Facebook page.

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