Greer Wylder -- BEST BUYS

If you’ve always wanted to learn to cook like a pro, the HomeChef Kitchen

Store & Cooking School is the place to go. Whether you want to take a

single cooking class or a series, HomeChef has it all. The cooking school

has great classes, such as a health-conscious cooking series, vegetarian

series, seafood series, grill series, sushi workshops, pastry workshops

and cake decorating. There are even special occasion cooking classes for

a spring feast, garden tea party, Father’s Day and farmer’s market.

If you want to start from scratch and learn the essentials of cooking,

there is a signature 12-week series that features the following topics:

stocks and broths, braising, classic white and brown sauces, main dish

and dessert pastries, steaming, poaching and boiling, grilling and

broiling, breads and pizzas, souffles, roasting and baking, sauces,

sauteing and frying, and cakes.

Beginning the week of April 2, the classes will be offered at the store

three times a week: at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Wednesdays.

There is also a condensed version of the 12-week series that’s offered

over six weeks. The six-week class features the following topics: stocks

and classic sauces, braising and poaching, short, pastries and breads,

grilling, sauteing and frying, roasting and baking, and souffles and

cakes. The six-week class is offered at 9:30 a.m. Saturdays, beginning

April 8.

When you sign up for a series class, you have the choice of taking the

12-week class for $349, being a prep assistant for $295, or a cleanup

assistant for $174. One section is $144 and any single class is $45. With

the six-week class, the cooking series is $299, being a prep assistant is

$249, a cleanup assistant is $149 and any single class is $60.

One nice advantage of taking a class at the cooking school is those

enrolled can save 10% on all cookware and supplies. The store carries the

best in cooking supplies. The HomeChef Kitchen Store & Cooking School is

on the lower level of the Atrium Court at Fashion Island in Newport

Beach.

Stagecoach Luggage is offering added discounts on most of its

best-selling luggage lines in order to make room for new lines arriving

this month.

“For the casual traveler, we have Skyway Luggage in the Varsity

collection and the Flair collections at 50% off, and now we are taking an

additional 20% off of them,” says Marc Grossman of Stagecoach Luggage.

“For people who are frequent travelers, we have an additional 30% off all

our Briggs & Riely suiters. We have tapestry garment bags that retail

from $150 to $210 now down to $49.99 to$59.99.”

There is also a large overstock of business cases that are discounted an

additional 20%. Stage Coach Luggage is at 2043 Westcliff Drive in Newport

Beach. Call (949) 515-9005.

The Right Start is a “babies-to-kids” store that’s filled with toys,

videos, books, safety items, high chairs, car seats, strollers and more.

It’s currently having a special -- the more you spend, the more you’ll

save. When you spend more than $50, you get a 10% discount on purchases.

When you spend more than $100, you save 15%. And when you spend $300 or

more, you save 20%. There are some exceptions to the offer. The discounts

can not be used for the purchase of gift certificates, catalog

merchandise, online purchases and Peg Perego and Medela products.

The Right Start is at Costa Mesa Courtyards, 1835 Newport Blvd., Costa

Mesa. Call (949) 642-0245.

Bloomingdale’s is having an in-store fund-raiser for colorectal cancer

research today through Saturday. It’s great for shoppers -- you get 15%

off on almost everything in the store if you use your Bloomingdale’s

charge card. And Bloomingdale’s will donate a portion of all sales to the

National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. The offer is not valid on

cosmetics, fragrances, gift cards, Louis Vuitton, Maximillian Furs, fine

jewelry and I.N.C. International Concepts. Bloomingdale’s is at Fashion

Island in Newport Beach. Call (949) 729-6600.

Today is the last sale day at Roger Dunn Golf Shops. On sale are golf

balls, gloves, shoes, apparel and accessories. Merchandise is marked down

up to 30%. Roger Dunn is near South Coast Plaza at 1408 South Village

Way. Call (714) 558-0074.

* BEST BUYS appears on Thursdays and Saturdays. Send information to Greer

Wylder at 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa 92627, or via fax to (949) 646-4170.