While most people sneak into the kitchen to get a snack, Helen spent her life sneaking into the kitchen to cook. At 10, she thought making bean soup was more exciting than practicing the piano. At 18, she was feeding her fellow college students in exchange for help with her programming assignments. After finishing her degree in Computer Science, she went to Provence, France to study art history and ended up studying the art of cooking and eating. Traveling through the Mediterranean made her fall in love with the sun drenched cuisine of the coast.

Upon return to the States, she spent most of her free time exploring the fish and farmer's markets of Boston and cooking every kind of fish and vegetable she could get her hands on. Bored with her job at a dysfunctional dot-com, and not having enough money for culinary school, Helen got an internship in Casablanca Restaurant, and spent her nights and weekends learning the ropes of professional cooking. What started out as a hobby turned into a teaching position at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. After teaching over 300 students, Helen decided to open her own kitchen to anyone who wants to learn about food. That's how, in 2005, Helen's Kitchen was born.

Helen's cooking philosophy centers on finding creative ways to prepare local ingredients. She teaches cooking classes in her house in Natick.

Whether your question is about duck confit, shrimp jambalaya, Thai curries, or sous-vide cooking, Mark DesLaurier has an answer for you. While Mark's culinary expertise is astounding, it is hardly surprising. He grew up in his parents' restaurant kitchen, trained under European Master Chefs, and spent 30 years in the restaurant business working as executive chef, pastry chef, restaurant manager, and sommelier. 10 of those years, Mark spent abroad in the Virgin Islands, Belize, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Tunisia. Mark taught culinary history at Tufts University and serves as an occupational specialist on the National Accreditation Board for Culinary and Vocational Schools. He is an active member of Les Amis d'Escoffier, Chef's Collaborative, The Culinary Historians of Boston, Somerville Local First and Slow Food.

Mark joined Helen's Kitchen in 2009. He gladly welcomes cooks of all levels to his kitchen located in an artist loft community (the Brickbottom building in Somerville), and looks forward to teaching you how to shop, chop, braise, roast, sear, and poach like a pro.

We are hiring culinary instructors. Read more about the position and how to apply.