Cooking classes on Long Island: Where to get a private lesson

For Long Islanders looking to level up their cooking skills, a private lesson with a chef might be at the top of their wish list.

Mamie Nishide, owner of the Japanese Cooking Studio, is one of several chefs who offer private cooking classes on Long Island. Other culinary experiences available on the Island include making kosher and soul food, learning about farm-to-table cuisine and perfecting the art of baking and preserving.

“People really enjoy touching food, cutting it, the whole hands-on experience. You feel like you’re a kid again,” said Nishide, who teaches authentic Japanese cooking. “It’s also very calming, very therapeutic.”

Nishide gives private lessons in her clients’ homes, at her residence in Laurel and in her cooking studio in Manhattan. Each class lasts about 2½ hours.

With Nishide, students learn how to create the perfect sushi roll, prepare handmade ramen noodles and craft dumplings from scratch. She also educates them on how to select fish, handle a knife properly and the right way to cook the foundation of Japanese cuisine — rice.

Dining etiquette is of high importance in Japanese culture, and Nishide said she covers the basics during her lessons, including the rules for noodle-slurping.

“Americans are taught to not make sloshing sounds when they eat,” she said. “But in Japan you are supposed to slurp your noodles and make a noise.”

In the summer, Nishide said her sushi classes are the most popular. Ramen and dumpling sessions take the lead in fall and winter.

Cindy Ash-Primont, of Seaford, attended a group sushi-making class a couple years ago with a dozen friends and family members. She said it was such a memorable experience that they all want to do it again.

“We were a group of kids and adults, and it was really a lot of fun,” she said. “Chef Mamie is a purist, but she takes her cues from the participants and makes it enjoyable. We learned so much with her. She really took her time teaching us, and even the kids fully understood what to do. We all loved it and we’re looking to do a ramen class next.”

The most delicious part of class is saved for last: enjoying the feast you’ve just mastered with family or friends. Meshiagare!