Free (and cheap) cooking classes and food tours (greaterseattleonthecheap.com)

Listed below are free and cheap cooking demos and food tours in the Seattle Metro area.

While there are plenty of places in Seattle where you can find cooking classes and food tours costing $80 and much more, here we focus on fun food-themed events that are free or cheap (half the cost of regular prices), including cooking classes, recipe demonstrations, self-guided food tours, and food tastings. Bon Apetit!

Cooking classes, recipe demos and food tastings

Beecher's Seattle store cheesemaking in action is like getting free cooking classes

Beecher’s Seattle store features daily cheesemaking demonstrations (Photo copyright Carole Cancler)

Free cheesemaking demonstration in Seattle can be seen daily Beecher’s Cheese at Pike Place Market. Visitors to the glass-walled Beecher’s cheesemaking kitchen can watch the centuries-old craftsmanship using today’s technology. Grab a beverage or a nosh, then stand to watch the cheesemakers at work. Open seven days a week (except holidays) from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Cheesemaking hours vary.

Author cooking demonstrations and tastings in Seattle are offered a few times a month at Book Larder in the Fremont neighborhood. While they have some higher cost events, general admission for most of their author talks and demos are around $7.50 per person. There is the option to upgrade your ticket to get a signed book as well as admission, but it isn’t required to get in. They also offer free cookbook swaps, soup stands on some Sundays, and a cookbook book club that meets once a month on the last Saturday. Book Larder is a unique bookstore featuring a collection of new, collectible, and imported cookbooks.

Food tours

Download the free walking food tour for Pike Place Market in Seattle (Photo copyright Carole Cancler)

Self-guided Pike Place Market walking food tour in Seattle. Since 1907, Pike Place Market has been Seattle’s epicenter of fresh produce, specialty foods, and independent businesses, including a year-round farmers market, bustling crafts market, and owner-operated bakeries, fish markets, butcher shops, produce stands, and specialty groceries. In addition, the nine-acre historic district offers more than 80 eateries, from take-out counters offering small bites to fine dining establishments featuring multi-course gourmet meals. For more information oand to explore their interactive virtual map, visit: Pike Place Map.

Self-guided farmers market food tours throughout Seattle neighborhoods can offer local products from Washington State farms. At each market, you can take yourself on a self-guided food tours when you talk to the farmers who grow the food, and some farmers offer limited food samples. Be sure to visit the Information Booth found at most markets for information about what’s in season and other recommendations. Cooking demonstrations are offered sporadically during summer; check the website event calendar for each farmers market. Several farmers markets are open year-round in Seattle: Saturday in the University District and Sunday on Capitol Hill and in West Seattle and Ballard. Check out more Seattle area markets here: Where to Find Farmers Markets in the Seattle Metro Area (greaterseattleonthecheap.com).

$6-$8 Asian Food Walks in Seattle’s Chinatown. Multiple times a year you can treat your taste buds to a food tour of Asia when restaurants across Seattle’s Chinatown-International District offer a variety of $6-$8 bites from China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and beyond.

Chocolate food tours and tastings

Raw cacao beans, cocoa powder, and chocolate bars

Learn about making of chocolate, from bean to bar during Theo factory food tours – DepositPhotos.com

Free and $9 chocolate factory tours in Issaquah. Boehm’s Candies offers free self-guided and cheap guided tours at their beautiful chalet in Issaquah, located about 15 miles east of Seattle, off I-90. Free Self-Guided Window Tours are available anytime during business hours and allow you to watch (and smell!) candy makers as they work on the day’s production. Information posted at every window describes each area’s purpose, as well as gives some history of Boehm’s. The best times to visit are Monday through Friday between 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Some areas may be on a lunch break between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. During holidays, special events, or other circumstances production may be limited or not available for viewing. $9 Guided Tours are by reservation only, June-September. On the guided tour, you will be escorted through the chocolate factory where you will learn about the art of handmade chocolate and see the authentic chalet where the founder lived. For more information, visit the website for Boehm’s Candies.

$12 Spinnaker Chocolate Factory tour in Seattle. For just $12 per teen/adult (13+) and $6 per child (7 or older), Spinnaker offers a one hour tour of their facilities that ends in a delightful sampling of their products. Spinnaker is a family-owned company that makes a donation of 1% of proceeds from all purchases to ocean conservation and cleaner oceans. Visit them to support a good cause while enjoying delicious chocolate.

$15.75 Seattle Chocolates factory tour in Tukwila are offered Monday-Saturday at their factory, just south of the city in Tukwila. Taste Maeve Seattle Chocolates recipes throughout your journey, explore chocolate-making machines, and the start-to-finish creation of truffles and chocolate bars. Discover the history of chocolate, the untold stories of Seattle Chocolate Company, and learn how new flavors get invented. Reservations are recommended. Tickets are $12.65 for children and seniors and $15.75 for adults.

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