There’s nothing sexier than a candlelight dinner at your lover’s home... and nothing more disappointing than candlelit Kraft Dinner. If you’ve got the instinct for romance but you’re lacking the culinary chops to bring it together, you may want to check out the Hands-On Cooking Class for Singles.

Kicking off this month, this new initiative from InterCourse Chef Services offers the opportunity to brush up on your wooing skills in the kitchen and meet some eligible singles while you’re at it. A hands-on cooking class is exactly what it sounds like: Instead of watching a demonstration, the participants do all the slicing, dicing, cooking and eating... and, given the nature of the class, it could end up being “hands-on” in more ways than one.

Patrick Dunn, the proprietor of InterCourse, is a Cordon-Bleu trained chef with 17 years of culinary experience. After nearly a decade of working as an instructor with The Cookbook Co. Cooks and The Cooking Room, Dunn founded InterCourse in April 2006 with a wide array of services: knife skill classes, private cooking classes, corporate team building, stagettes and more. The Hands-On Cooking Class for Singles represents the launch of a new venture called InnerChefs.

The seed for the singles class was planted last Valentine’s Day, when Dunn ran a “guinea-pig” version that was well received — particularly by one couple. “I heard that a man and a woman did hook up there,” says Dunn. “I don’t know how it progressed, but they came separately and left together!” Based on the success of that initiative, Dunn has launched a series of three singles classes (July 10, 17 and 24), with the hope of extending them indefinitely.

When I mention that, being a terrible cook, I’d be a bit self-conscious taking this class, Dunn laughs. “A lot of people say they’re terrible cooks, but I’ve turned many people around,” he says. “I keep the recipes really simple, so people aren’t doing chocolate soufflé on the first day. That’s not a very good place to start.”

A better place to start? Social lubrication. Each session begins with a glass of wine and a stack of nametags, so the lucky singles can start their introductions as soon as they arrive. The participants are then split into groups of two to four — and if you came with friends, prepare to be separated, because mingling is the name of the game. “You get to meet new people with similar interests: food eaters, food lovers,” says Dunn.

The session begins with a quick knife skills demonstration — how to hold a knife, how to chop an onion, how to peel ginger. Then things kick into high gear as each group prepares a dish. “I’m always walking around, helping people out, giving tips and tricks and demonstrations where needed,” says Dunn. “I’m very much a draw-outside-the-lines kind of guy when it comes to cooking. I don’t really care about getting exactly one cup of flour and exactly one tablespoon of garlic. The recipe is only a guide; I’m much more interested in the how’s and why’s of putting a dish together.”

After about an hour-and-a-half of prep, dinner — complete with appetizers, soup, salad, main course and dessert — is served. The proud cooks will get a chance to enjoy the meal they prepared and chat with their fellow singles. “And that’s how the whole process starts, isn’t it?” says Dunn. “A simple, idle conversation, chilling out with a couple glasses of wine or beer.”

Despite the bountiful hook-up possibilities, however, this class is also geared toward “singles” in the truest sense of the word. “This isn’t meant to be a meat market,” says Dunn. “If you’re happily single and you’re just looking to get out of your food rut, the four or five recipes that you cut and paste over and over, you’ll learn some simple recipes that you can prepare by yourself.”

If you’re vegetarian or have food allergies, take heart. As long as you specify your food restrictions when you sign up, Dunn will make sure there’s plenty to suit your palate — as long as it’s a true restriction, not just distaste for garlic.

Dunn hopes that these classes will ignite a spark in participants – whether culinary, romantic or both. “A piece of advice I was given a long time ago was, ‘Educate, don’t intimidate.’ I try to set the tone right away as friendly, non-threatening and a little bit cheeky,” says Dunn. “The ingredients aren’t esoteric or hard to find. They’re simple recipes, really easy for two people to prepare together. Not a bad idea for a first date!”