About Us

Cooking with Class is a family owned business, owned and operated by Executive Chef Andie Hubka and "Executive of Everything Else", her mother, Jane Angwin. While Jane and Andie are originally from the Los Angeles area, they have been life-long part-time desert residents. Jane's parents have lived in Rancho Mirage since the early 70's, and it was only a matter of time before Jane and Andie moved to the desert on a permanent basis! Andie made the move first, opening a catering business with her husband, Mike. Jane and her husband weren't far behind. The rest, as they say, is history!

Andie is a professional chef receiving her formal culinary training and a Bachelors Degree in Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management at The Art Institute of Los Angeles. She has worked at the college level as a cooking instructor, a restaurant manager, a caterer, and most recently as the corporate trainer for the nation's largest and most successful restaurant chain. She is certified in Safety, Sanitation, Nutrition, and is an avid recipe developer. She is currently writing a cookbook which is due to be published in 2008.

Jane's background includes management positions in the Airline and Entertainment industries. During the last 15 years she has sold Real Estate in both Los Angeles and in the Coachella Valley, and is currently a Premier Director for Windermere Real Estate. She has traveled extensively all over the world and great food is her passion. She resides in La Quinta with her husband, Ray.

Jeannette Hardin is a classically trained Pastry Chef with a degree in Professional Baking. She spent years honing her decorating skills while managing and creating cakes for the famous Torrance Bakery in Los Angeles. Jeanette brought her love of baking and unparalleled decorating skills to the Desert where she found a home with the Valley’s most heralded bakery. Her philosophy about baking emphasizes making everything taste and look beautiful. She looks forward to sharing her skills and passion for baking with our students. Jeannette lives here in the Desert with her husband and two young sons.

Chef Tony Thomas has over 23 years experience in the foodservice industry with positions of responsibility in sales, management, research and development, and as a corporate chef. Tony is a graduate of both the University of Tennessee and the Art Institute of Atlanta, where he graduated first in his class in Culinary Arts. While pursuing his Culinary degree, Tony interned at the James Beard Award winning restaurant Bacchanalia and won awards for his work in American Culinary Federation competitions representing the city of Atlanta. Tony moved to Palm Springs in 2003, and has been working as a successful Personal Chef as well as teaching cooking classes all over the Valley.

Dubbed as the “Rachel Ray” of wine tasting, Katie Finn has made her Irish family very proud. Katie’s passion for Wine began with Fleming’s Steakhouse followed by a summer spent abroad in Italy & France. Her adventures took her to Roy’s Newport Beach as well as Roy’s Kahana Bar & Grill in Maui, where Katie worked as a Wine Educator & Sommelier. In 2006, Katie returned to the Desert and she’s here to stay! She currently holds a certification for levels one and two with the Court of Master Sommeliers and is a Certified Specialist of Wine. She is a member of the Society of Wine Educators and is currently studying with the International Sommelier Guild. When not hitting the books, you can find Katie hosting a number of local events through her business, Great Legs Wine Consulting or meeting with buyers at local restaurants and retail shops reviewing the extensive wines she represents through Epic Wines. Her goal is to permanently eliminate the snobbery and intimidation that is so common among her profession. She specializes in making wine fun, approachable, and interesting.

With a zest for healthy living, Alida McDaniel has made it her mission to find new, creative ways of helping people learn to enjoy good foods. Battling with her weight lead her to seek out a culinary education at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, where she earned her Culinary degree and certification in Baking & Pastry. During her work at the Rancho Las Palmas Marriott and the exclusive Exquisite Desserts bakery, Alida developed a passion for “clean eating”. Her work includes collaboration with Dr. Cosgrove at the Wellmax Center at La Quinta Resort & Spa designing healthy menus. Alida also found a passion for changing peoples bodies and works as a yoga instructor and certified personal trainer through her company Body Everlasting, Inc. It is her mission to help others find health and happiness through clean food and good fitness, and she is committed to education for the mind, body and soul!

Italian native Julie Stahl was born into cooking. Family gatherings were spent around the table, engaging in conversations while savoring her Mamma’s fabulous food. After completing Graphic Arts school in Rome, Julie moved to California to seek adventure and has never looked back. Wanting to get back to her culinary roots, Julie attended Ma Maison Cooking School in Newport Beach, and has since been involved in the food industry, including opening an artisan bread bakery in Palos Verdes, where she lived for 24 years with her husband, Douglas, and children Ryan, Veronica and Gavin. Enjoying her new desert lifestyle, Julie is passionate about good food and travel, and hopes to share her love of all things Italiano with you when you join her around the Cooking With Class “Family Table". Julie's new passion includes working as our Sous Chef and creating her own line of ready-to-bake pastry mixes avialable this fall.

Monday - Friday 11 am to 10 pm
Saturday we are available for Private Events
Sunday 12 - 9 pm

Our address is:
47875 Caleo Bay Drive #A107
La Quinta, CA 92253

We are located at the corner of Avenue 48 & Washington St., just behind Walgreens. From Highway 111 take Washington South to Avenue 48 and turn left. Make an immediate left onto Caleo Bay Drive. We are the first building on the left.