Back to school time. No, not for the kids — for anyone who wants to take a more professional approach to home cooking. Registration is being accepted now for Kapi'olani Community College's popular class series, including chef Grant Sato's basics courses (knife skills, main dishes, side dishes, Thai cuisine, fruit- and vegetable-carving and a Chinatown tour and cooking class). Also planned: a series called Flavors of the Middle East, home cooking (from various ethnicities and traditions), health and wellness-oriented courses, baking basics and cake-decorating, professional butchery, professional ice carving with Dale Radomski and a new class from Advertiser columnist Heath Porter in matching food and wine.

Classes begin in late September. Some are multiday series, while most are single-day classes held evenings or weekends. To see a complete class list, go to programs.kcc.hawaii.edu/~noncred it/schedule2/index.htm. To enroll, call 734-9211.

WHAT A JOY!

SAKE-TASTING EVENT BIGGER AND BETTER

The Joy of Sake, one of O'ahu's most popular (and crowded) tasting events, this year is celebrating its fifth anniversary by moving to the roomier Hawai'i Convention Center. The tasting, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 9, will feature 180 sakes, including gold and silver winners from the 2005 U.S. National Sake Appraisal and junmai, ginjo and daiginjo tasting sections. Thirteen local restaurants will prepare appetizers to match.

Tickets are $65 and you can reserve them by calling the Sake Hotline at 739-1000 or online at joyofsake .com. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Takao Nihei Memorial Fund, which honors a man who helped revive U.S. sake brewing after World War II and developed early techniques for making sake from California rice.