GOURMET WINE CELLAR | Chicago

Interact with renowned Chicagoland chefs and sommeliers at Gourmet Magazine's sixth annual "Gourmet Wine Cellar," from 6 to 9 p.m. May 15 at The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive. The culinary event is a benefit for The American Institute of Wine and Food. Included in the evening's activities are wine and food tastings, live cooking demos, discussions and seminars. Chefs scheduled to appear include Gourmet's executive chef Sara Moulton, Grant Achatz of Alinea, Douglas Rodriguez of Delacosta, Homaro Cantu of Moto, Martial Nougier of One Sixty Blue and Christophe David of NoMi. Tickets are $90, if purchased before May 1 and $100 after May 1.

FYI: (800) 679-0397 or www.gourmetscoop.com/winecellar.

COOKING CLASSES | Lake Station

Simple, delicious recipes and opportunity for taste testing will be part of cooking classes at 1 p.m. March 17 and 31 at the Lake Station Branch Library, 2007 Central Ave. Other recipes also will be provided to enhance your collection. Space is limited to 10 so registration is necessary.

FYI: (219) 962-2409

CORNER COOKERY | Chesterton

The Corner Cookery at the Regal Rabbit, 528 Indian Boundary Road, offers cooking classes taught by professional chefs from area restaurants and clubs, as well as private chefs. Registration is required. Advance reservations are recommended. Please call or come in make your paid reservation.

FYI: (219) 395-8814

CULINARY STUDIO | Chicago

Macy's Culinary Studio on the seventh floor of the State Street store, 111 N. State St., offers cooking classes. Registration required. Call to get dates and times for classes in the New Year.

FYI: (800) 265-COOK

AMELIA'S | Winfield

The Cooking School at Amelia's, 10839 Randolph St., offers hands-on ($40) and demonstration classes ($30), which include recipes and food samples. Registration required. Classes are 6 to 8 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Classes offered for March 8 and 15 -- Easter holiday fancy desserts, 11 and 13 -- Soups On!, 18 and 20 -- Crock Pot meals and 25 and 27 Family pizza party the "Apian" way.

FYI: (219) 661-5582 or www.ameliasmarket.com

OPERATION BIRTHDAY CAKE | Nation

Bakemeawish.com, a national gourmet gift cake provider, has officially launched Operation Birthday Cake. U.S. soldiers serving overseas don't have the luxury of celebrating their birthday for a variety of reasons. Josh Kaye, president of Bakemeawish.com, began sending birthday cakes to the troops overseas because he wanted them to still have that experience, to still feel remembered and special, despite their difficult circumstances. Donations help support the Operation Birthday Cake campaign. A gourmet birthday cake costs approximately $75 to send to a soldier serving overseas. Currently, Bakemeawish.com is seeking to recruit program sponsors to help defray some of the costs. Please visit Bakemeawish.com to learn more about how to support Operation Birthday Cake.

FYI: www.bakemeawish.com

FREE WILLIAMS-SONOMA CLASSES | Oakbrook, Ill.

Complimentary hour-long classes on specific culinary topics at Williams-Sonoma, 142 Oakbrook Center. Classes fill up quickly, reserve your space.

FYI: (630) 571-2702 or www.williams-sonoma.com

COOKING CLASSES | Homewood

Homewood-Flossmoor Park District offers Almost Gourmet classes with Joan Nagelkirk, professionally trained chef and founder of Kitchen Commons, 4 to 7 p.m. Sundays at the Irwin Community Center, 18120 Highland Ave. Fee per class is $30 residents, $45 nonresidents. The next date and menu is:

FYI: (708) 957-0300 or www.hfparks.com

CALL FOR SWEET POTATO RECIPES | Nation

The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission is seeking sweet potato recipes for its first contest. A total of $5,000 in prize money will be awarded: $500 to each winner in four categories (soup, salad, side, sweet) and a grand prize of $3,000 to the overall winner. Deadline for recipes is April 15. Enter online at www.getfreshwithsweetpotatoes.com or mail entry to Sweet Potatoes Recipe Contest, P.O. Box 575, Selma, N.C. 27576. Rules are posted on the Web. Send an SASE to above address to receive a copy of rules.

FYI: www.getfreshwithsweetpotatoes.com

FREE COOKIE RECIPES | Nation

A free "Warm Up the Holidays" brochure from Land O'Lakes features five new chocolate recipes -- Mint Brownie Trees, Cranberry Chocolate Chip Biscotti, Double Chocolate Drops, Chocolate Nut Tartlets and Chocolate & Caramel Drizzled Bars. Call or visit the Web site.

FYI: (800) 837-7702 or www.landolakes.com

FREE MICROWAVE COOKBOOK | Nation

As part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the Amana microwave, Amana will introduce its first online microwave cookbook, "Fast Food Redefined: 40 Years Ago, Amana Invented a New Way to Cook." The new cookbook features 40 fast-and-easy recipes and is available free to visitors via the Web site.

FYI: www.Amana.com/cookbook

HISTORICAL FOOD SITE | Nation

OldCookbooks.com, the Internet's largest Web store devoted to vintage, out-of-print, and used cookbooks, has announced the official launch of its acclaimed accompanying cookbook blog, OldCookbooks.info, where interesting tidbits from old cookbooks make a fun and fascinating read. The culinary blog is comprised of a series of organized and reader-friendly sections which highlight and review selected cookbooks and their recipes. Visitors can read insightful posts about old cookbooks, beef up on food and kitchen trivia, look up old cookbook terminology (do you know what schalet is?) or simply page through remarkable, charming, and often amusing lost recipes for dishes like rich "Pound Cake Waffles" or "Mrs. Rorer's Peach Mangoes" (old-fashioned pickled peaches).

FYI: www.OldCookbooks.com or www.OldCookbooks.info