Chef Around the Block

Chef Around the Block is Dan Benigno's personal chef, catering and cooking class business. It runs out of The Block Culinarium at 12221 Mary Plaza in Omaha. All classes are private. You book with your own group, so everyone at the table is someone you know. Dan also hosts food pop-ups there on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with a new menu each month.

Each class runs about two hours and covers 3 to 4 dishes. Afterward you sit down to dinner and take the leftovers home. Every class includes basic skills: kitchen safety, knife handling, sauces, dressings, proteins and vegetables. Menu options include Asian dishes like potstickers, spring rolls and sushi, Italian pasta, mozzarella and chicken scallopini, German schnitzel and spätzle, and Indian chicken tikka, samosas and naan. You can also ask for another dish or country.

One reviewer took a Mediterranean class built around knife skills. She said it was the first Omaha class that gave her skills she now uses for weekly meal prep. The business has a 4.9 Google rating from 44 reviews.