If you want to learn more about cooking, there are plenty of schools in Greater Cincinnati waiting to teach you to grip a knife properly, roll sushi and make a roux. As the fall cooking classes begin (some started last week), here are a few points to remember before signing up.

        • Consider your motivation. Do you want to gain specific skills, such as using a knife the right way? Or do you want more of an overview on certain types of dishes or ethnic cuisines?

        To learn skills, you need to practice techniques under supervision of an instructor in a “hands-on” class. For an overview, a “demonstration” format — a class in which the instructor demonstrates techniques and you watch — may suffice. Demonstration classes usually cost less. Hands-on classes are more expensive and require more time. If you've never taken a cooking class, start with a demonstration-format class that looks interesting.

        • Pepper the school with questions. Will you get recipes for dishes discussed in the class? Any discounts on cookware or gadgets included in the cost? Do you get to eat food prepared during the class? And if so, is it a meal or a sample portion? Perhaps most important: What is the school's cancellation and refund policy?

        • Register soon. Many popular cooking classes fill before the new session begins. First, call to request a list of classes offered.
        Contact Chuck Martin by phone: 768-8507; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: cmartin@enquirer.com.

Fall classes

        Cooking School at Jungle Jim's Market, 5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield 45014; 829-1919, Ext. 3; www.junglejims.com; cookingschool@junglejims.com.

        Classes: Begin Wednesday.

        Format: Demonstration and hands-on.

        Highlights: “Simply Sushi,” “Japanese Dinner Menu,” “Fish on the Grill,” “Great Middle Eastern Vegetarian Dishes,” “Dim Sum: Delicious Little Eats from China.”

        Guest instructors include: Flo Braker, Loretta Paganini, Giuliano Bugialli, Jimmy Gherardi, Jean-Pierre Auge.

        Price range: $40-$65.

        Cooks' Wares, Shops at Harper's Point, 11344 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati 45249 (Symmes Township); 489-6400.

        Classes: Started Wednesday.

        Format: Demonstration and hands-on.

        Highlights: Basic Culinary Skills series, “Holiday Baking,” “Easy Vegetarian Cooking,” “Sausage Workshop,” “Chinese Cuisine.”

        Guest instructors include Marilyn Harris, John Kinsella, Ethan Becker, Helen Chen, Diane Phillips.

        Price range: $20-$150 (three class series).

        Culinary Sol, Rookwood Commons, 2735 Edmondson Road, Cincinnati 45209 (Norwood); 841-2665; www.culinarysol.com.

        Classes: Started Tuesday.

        Format: Demonstration and hands-on.

        Highlights: “Chinese Banquet,” “Serious Seafood,” “Skills” series, “Let's Dance” series, “Kids in the Kitchen” series.

        Guest instructors include Marilyn Harris, Jimmy Gherardi, Meg Galvin, Paul Teal, Paul and Pam Sturkey.

        Price range: $17.50-$100.

        Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking, 6161 Far Hills Ave., Dayton 45449; (937) 434-1294; www.dorothylane.come/cooking; cooking@dorothylane.com.

        Classes: Started Tuesday.

        Format: Demonstration and hands-on.

        Highlights: “Thai in 20 Minutes,” “Cool and Warm Asian Noodles,” “Blue Plate Breakfast Specials,” “Holiday Wine and Food,” “Southern Brunch.”

        Guest instructors include Paul Teal, Marilyn Harris, Loretta Paganini, Jean-Pierre Auge, Tim McGrath.

        Price range: $35-$440 (eight classes).

        Greenacres Cooking School, 8255 Spooky Hollow Road, Cincinnati 45242 (Indian Hill); 891-4227.

        Classes: Begin Thursday.

        Format: Demonstration.

        Highlights: “New England Dinner,” “Basic Cooking 101,” “Soups, Salads and Breads with Autumn Herbs,” “Elegant and Easy Gifts from the Kitchen,” “A Dickens Christmas.”

        Guest instructors include: Rita Heikenfeld, Paul Teal, Kevin Smith, Fariba Zahedi.

        Price range: $25-$70.

        Kremer's Market Cooking Classes, 755 Buttermilk Pike, Crescent Springs 41017; (859) 341-1067.

        Classes: Begin Wednesday.

        Format: Demonstration.

        Highlights: “Do-Ahead Buffet with Southwestern Herbs,” “Holiday Entertaining,” “Fall Classics from Greyhound Tavern,” “Dazzling Pastry and Plate Design,” “Lobster Fisherman Dinner.”

        Guest instructors include Rita Heikenfeld, Marilyn Harris, Michael J. Carver, Terri Desmarasis, Meg Galvin.

        Price range: $35-$55.

        Other schools: The following cooking schools haven't released class schedules. Call for more information.

        • Restaurant Equipment Cooking Outlet, Northside; 542-5900.

        • Wild Oats Market, Norwood; 531-8015.

        • Williams-Sonoma Grand Cuisine, Kenwood; 793-3445.

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