What we do

Urban Chef is a private non-vocational culinary school that provides hands-on instruction designed to give each student the skills and knowledge to cook with confidence. We provide classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels as well group cooking parties and private classes.

About our staff
Urban Chef is owned and operated by Chara Gafford. Chara received an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. Her practical training was done at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Chicago as well as at A la Baker, a small catering company. In 2000 she founded Artisan Cakes, a custom cake design company.

In addition to studying culinary arts, Chara also studied art in Paris and received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Chicago. You can read more about her on her blog.

Chara is an active member of Les Dames d'Escoffier.