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!

Executive Chef Andie Hubka is a classically trained professional chef receiving her formal culinary training and a Bachelors Degree in Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management & Business at The Art Institute of Los Angeles, with a portion of her studies taking place in Denver. She has worked at the college level as a cooking instructor, a restaurant manager and as a corporate trainer for the nation's largest and most successful restaurant chain. Andie and her husband owned and operated the exclusive Andiecooks Fine Catering here in the desert for three years before opening the school in 2008. She is certified in Safety, Sanitation, Nutrition, and is an avid recipe developer. Andie is also a wine enthusiast who is very passionate about the pairing of food and wine as well as the science and history involved with both. Last year she published the wildly popular "Cooking with Class Presents - Our Most Requested Recipes", which has become a local bestseller. Andie heads up our talented staff of chefs , creates our calendar of classes, plans and executes our Award winning private events, maintains our website and even has time to teach a few classes and open CWC as an underground restaurant, "Cork and Fork", every Wednesday eveninig! In 2010, Andie was voted the #2 Best Chef in the Valley by the prestigious Palm Springs Life Magazine "Best of the Best" reader poll.

Jane's background includes management positions with TWA, United Airlines, and ABC Television. Additionally, during the last 18 years she has sold Real Estate in both Los Angeles and in the Coachella Valley, and when she's not behind the counter at Cooking with Class, she is a Realtor 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, who is the Chief Pilot for Paramount Pictures.

Chef Frank Garofolo has studied and taught Italian cuisine in the United States and Italy, living for five years in the Piedmont region as program director at the Italian Culinary Institute in Asti. Frank served on the full-time faculty of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, developing the school’s professional program curriculum and teaching professional and avocational courses, ultimately becoming Dean of Students. He later served as the Director of the Connecticut Culinary Institute .

A former successful restaurateur, Frank has led international culinary tours and been selected as a guest chef by Crystal Cruises and Bon Appetit, and consulted for Saveur magazine. He has been featured in publications including Wine Spectator and Food Arts, as well as the NY Daily News several of his former students have gone on to host shows on the Food Network. A past president of the NY Association of Culinary Professionals, Frank holds an M.A. in Education from St Joseph’s College in West Hartford, CT and is also a graduate of the Culinary Arts Program at the New School in New York, NY.

Our Sous Chef is Matt Sidhu - a native of the Coachella Valley. We often joke that he is related to half of the people here! Matt attended the Art Institute of California, earning his Degree in Culinary Arts while working on his internship hours here at Cooking with Class. After graduating, we hired Matt as our Assistant Sous Chef, and he has since worked his way up to the position of "right hand man" to our Executive Chef. Matt is also an accomplished athlete and a certified Lifeguard. He lives with his family here in La Quinta.

Our fabulous wine educator is Matilde Parente, who traces her passion for wine to an Italian heritage that sparked years of global wine travel and study. She co-founded WinewomenPSP and in 2011, inaugurated the new educational Wine Circle for The Girlfriend Factor. Matilde is an entertaining featured speaker for community and corporate groups who enjoys sharing knowledge about wine, wellness and natural science. As keynote speaker, she brought her enthusiastic and practical, knowledge-based approach to the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women campaign. Matilde writes on wine for online, new media and print publications and has authored a science-based book about the health benefits of wine. An avowed "wine-ologist," she is a physician member of the Renaud Society, an international society of medical and wine professionals, and serves as judge for the Society's wine competitions. She blogs about local finds and all-things-vinous at www.writeonwines.com.

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.

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.

Dave Schy is a well know chef and former restaurateur who likes to create delicious recipes using fresh local whole food and whole grain ingredients. His popular class "Fresh from the Farmers Market" is always changing, as he chooses the freshest local fruits and vegetables in peak season. When Dave is not teaching classes he is most likely working on his two other favorite projects. One is his amazing website, www.newtaste.com, which is a free, recipe-driven site that teaches people all over the world to cook and eat healthy. The other is working with the world famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota where he is dedicated to introducing people to the wonders of food and cooking. Dave believes that education is key to changing people’s cooking and eating habits. He also believes that cooking is the best way to keep yourself and your family happy and healthy!

Chef Janet Ebright is a graduate of the La Maison Grenouille Culinary School. Having spent many years working aboard private yachts, in hotels and restaurants and as a caterer, Janet began a career as a Country Club chef at the Executive level, eventually landing in the Desert at Indian Ridge Country Club. During this time she also developed a love of teaching, serving as a culinary instructor at the community college level. Janet holds the highest level of certification awarded by the American Culinary Federation, and currently has the honor of being the private chef for former First Lady Betty Ford here at her home in Rancho Mirage. Janet teaches our amazing Julia Child inspired classes as well as a variety of other great cuisine driven classes. Visit Janet's website www.janetebright.com.

Known at Cooking with Class as “The Salsa Mama” - Katherine Gonzalez was born into a huge native Mexican Family whose family traditions revolved around food! Practically raised in the kitchen, Katherine’s early memories include handmade tamales, soups and homemade tortillas. After years spent in Hospitality and Casino Management, as a Retail Buyer and Merchandising Expert - Katherine and her husband settled here in La Quinta with their beautiful family. To honor the authentic Latin culinary secrets learned from her Mom, she created her wildly popular MONA SALSA SPIRITA line of fresh salsas, Mexican specialties and Catered Events , available exclusively here at our school, where she also shares her secret family recipes! Katherine is exceptionally creative and her talents add so much to our team. Visit Katherine's site at www.salsaspirita.com.

Hallie Harron, one of the foremost French cooking authorities, spends half of each year in France, conducting food and wine tours to Paris and operating her culinary school in Provence, Maison Mollans. An accomplished author, she has written for and been featured in magazines such as Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine. Her cookbook Titles include Cheese Hors d’Oeuvres, Tomatoes and Mozzarella, and 15 additional works. She also has one James Beard Award nomination under her belt. She has owned and operated several restaurants, hotels, and catering operations across the country and continues to consult for many restaurant chains and hotels in the United States. Hallie holds a degree in music from the University of California and attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco as well as La Varenne and Lenôtre in Paris. In addition, through her work with the Great Chefs of France Cooking School at the Mondavi Vineyards Hallie was able to learn from some of the best Chefs in modern history including Paul Bocuse, Jacques Pépin and Julia Child.

Rosie Fiorentino is originally from Queens, New York and is the daughter of two first rate cooks who often made the Italian recipes passed down from their families. After a successful corporate career in San Francisco, she and her partner relocated to the desert in 2000. She rediscovered her passion for food after getting hooked on watching the Food Network Channel. With her enthusiasm for cooking reignited, she enrolled in the Professional Culinary Program at Cooking With Class. After graduating in 2009, Rosie began volunteering as a Kitchen Assistant to simply be around like-minded foodies. Through her perseverance, culinary talents and great can-do attitude worked her way into the role of Assistant Sous Chef in late 2010, where she now assists Chef Andie with classes and events.

Joy Richardson, RD, CDE and Libby Quigley, RD are known here at CWC as "The Desert Dieticians"! Our resident experts on all things health related, these native SoCal ladies share their extensive knowledge with our customers through private consultation and their popular lecture series. A graduate of Cal Poly and Emory University, Joy is a Diabetes Educator and Dietician at Desert Regional Medical Center having worked with every major medical facility in the valley. A cookbook author and avid gardener and composter, Joy is passionate about educating people about diabetes as well as demystifying what we should be eating, and why. Libby's RD career began after graduating from San Diego State University and performing graduate work at Tufts University. The chief dietician at Eisenhower for 22 years, Libby now consults privately through her company EQ Consulting, serves on the Board of Directors with the Joslyn Center, and teaches Nutrition at COD. Both ladies live locally, volunteer with the American Heart Association, and are happy to discuss any and all health related questions with you! Contact them at info@cookingwithclasslaquinta.com.

Our resident Cheesemonger Mary Phillips moved to Palm Springs in 1976, graduating from Palm Springs High then going on to receive a degree in Theatre at UC Riverside. Mary was a Stage Manager for the Berkley Opera and an elementray school teacher before returning to the Desert in 2004 and starting a personal training business, “No Sweat” Fitness. Her true passion however, was artisan cheese! So she enrolled and graduated from the intensive cheese course at The Cheese School of San Francisco and officially became a Cheesemonger. What followed was: tasting cheese, cooking with cheese, talking about cheese, more tasting cheese, pairing cheese with wine and beer, visiting cheese makers, and yet more tasting cheese. Mary maintains her personal training business just so that she can eat cheese to her hearts content. Visit her online at www.curdsandcorks.com, or come in and see her amazing cheese selection right here at Cooking with Class!

We are open for retail sales and walk in business Monday through Saturday - 10:30am to 5:30pm, unless a day class is in progress (typically Mondays and Tuesdays). Most evenings' we are closed for classes. Saturdays are available exclusively for Private Events. We are occasionally open on Sundays - please call first 760-777-1161.

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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.