Shelley has been teaching people to cook since she opened The Chopping Block in 1997. She spent 17 years as a professional chef, working in busy restaurants and private homes but realized her calling was to get other people to cook. Shelley’s unique concept of a recreational cooking school, gourmet kitchen store and private event business provides Chicago with over 300 cooking classes and private events each month. Shelley loves to garden and entertain for family and friends in her Lincoln Square home.
Recent Posts
How To Clean Mushrooms
How to clean mushrooms is a common question we get in our cooking classes, and it's one which over the course of my career has become a more complicated one to answer. When I opened The Chopping ...
Like so many people, I have family, friends and colleagues spread all around the country. During the holidays, I make it my personal mission to connect in some way with as many of them as I can. ...
With Thanksgiving around the corner, the sales of canned cream of mushroom soup are off the charts. In fact, 40% of the entire year's sales of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup are attributed to the ...
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between all of the onions you see at the grocery store? How does a white onion differ from a yellow onion? When should you use a red onion over a Vidalia ...
Sopa de Guias con Chochoynes: Oaxaca Squash Vine Soup & Masa Dumplings
I love to garden. I love the physicality of it, I love the beauty of it, the pruning, tending and watering. I love eating fresh produce that I grew myself, and “seed to table cooking” is incredibly ...
When I moved to Southwest Michigan, I did it for several reasons, the number one being its close proximity to Chicago, where The Chopping Block is based. I love Chicago, but I also longed to live in ...
If you are like me, you think peanut sauce makes everything better. When I eat spring rolls, I likely consume more peanut sauce than the then spring rolls themselves. I just can’t stop dipping my ...
As a chef, I am always interested in expanding my knowledge and craft of cooking. I like to challenge the way that I think about cooking and eating on a regular basis. I have been cooking a lot of ...
Duck is one of those misunderstood and maligned foods. I rarely hear people say they love duck, and I think the reason why is that most people don’t know how to properly cook duck. I am talking about ...
We celebrated the 25th year anniversary of the opening of The Chopping Block this month, ironically as we are preparing to close the Merchandise Mart location permanently this Saturday, April 30, ...
