If your culinary specialty is a mean bowl of cereal, drop by HomeChef Cooking School for a little advancement. For neophytes, the Essentials Cooking Series ($349) -- 12 classes covering everything from sauces to pizza to cakes -- will let you dazzle your friends at dinner parties. Or, if 12 classes is too much, try the Condensed Essentials sequence, a six-class cram on the key techniques for $249. HomeChef offers courses in the evenings and on weekends; a recent Condensed Essentials set took place on six consecutive Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 12:30. Though teachers do the cooking in the Essentials classes (other courses are hands-on), the explanations are so thorough and the questions answered so patiently that you'll always leave feeling enlightened. Added bonus: If you come in early to prep or stay late to clean, the classes get 15 to 50 percent cheaper. On top of that, class participants get a 10 percent discount at the mesmerizing HomeChef stores.