We’ve covered the bases for you on food shopping, but with what equipment are you going to prepare and serve all that lovely food you’ve just bought? There are, of course, many places to buy kitchenware in this town (from your neighborhood “Euro Bazaar” on up the scale). But if you’re looking for high-quality, hard-to-find, or professional materials plus incredibly knowledgeable staff, head over to Alambique.

Alambique is home to everything from knives and whisks to pots, pans, and ice cream makers, but what really sets it above the rest is that it offers cooking classes of all kinds—right in the store. Among the classes at the school this fall were “Sushi and Sashimi,” a class on cooking with garbanzos (chickpeas), another on knives, as well as series of classes for beginning cooks and those with a little more experience. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Most classes are two-and-a-half hours long. Prices range from about 40 to 90 euros.

Metro: Opera or Santo Domingo. Plaza de la Encarnación, 2. Phone: 91 559 7858 / 91 547 4220. See map below:

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