With healthy living top of mind for so many Americans today, it’s no surprise that vegetarian cooking is also topping the list as a cuisine of choice for many cooks. At The Chopping Block—a cooking school tucked inside Chicago’s famed Merchandise Mart—founder and chef instructor Shelley Young offers a class intriguingly titled “So You are Dating a Vegetarian . . .”

“We gave this class a fun name,” says Chef Shelley, “but it’s geared not only to the cook looking to learn more about vegetarian cooking but to anyone who wants to include more health-conscious alternatives in meal planning.”

Photographs by Grant Kessler
Text by Marsha A. Raisch

For recipes from The Chopping Block, click here.