Find a venue for your class. Some natural food stores have space available with a working kitchen for people who want to teach a cooking class for their customers. Local colleges and community centers may have open slots in their adult education schedule. Ask the local food bank if you can provide beginners with classes about basic healthy cooking habits.
Determine your menu based on the time available for your lesson. Are you teaching a one-hour class on how to make a cake from scratch, or would you like to offer a three-hour presentation on the culinary culture of India? Make sure you give yourself enough time for the meal you would like to demonstrate.
Choose a recipe you know well and enjoy cooking. Your ease and comfort around the ingredients will be apparent as you teach. This familiarity will also help you include anecdotes and light chatter while you work. You don't want to teach a recipe that requires so much focus that you forget about the students in the room.
Plan out each step. Practice making your recipe slowly, writing down each step in the process. Remember that this is probably the first time your students have made the recipe.
Prepare anything you can ahead of time. You don't want to waste time measuring salt or dicing up 10 carrots. If you want to demonstrate good technique for slicing onions, show it with one onion, but have the others prepared ahead of time.
Gather all the supplies you'll need to cook your meal. Even if there is a kitchen provided for your class, bring your own utensils, pots and pans. You will be more comfortable with your own cookware and can be confident that everything you need to make your recipe will be on hand.
Bring samples. The best part of cooking class is eating the final product, so be prepared with enough samples ahead of time. You may run out of time to finish cooking the entire recipe, so having back-up is a good idea.
Type out each step and a list of ingredients, and provide the class with printed recipes. Not only will this help you organize your thoughts and remember the details, it allows your students to go home with something they can use later.