Acclaimed Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas is expanding his empire again, announcing the upcoming opening of a new cooking school in downtown Seattle.

Douglas, who operates over a dozen eateries around the city, says construction is now underway on what he’s calling the “Hot Stove Society.” The school is on the east side of the Hotel Andra, where Douglas also operates the restaurant Lola.

It features a demonstration stage, excellent audio visual equipment, and spacious hands-on work stations. The entrance to the school is fronted by an intimate, yet to be named cocktail lounge that will be open to hotel guests, as well as the public.

“The name is a play on two of my loves, social cooking and baseball,” Douglas says.

Hot Stove Society will be a food lover’s learning destination offering wide ranging culinary and lifestyle programming. The curriculum will include social and technical classes that appeal to entry-level enthusiasts as well as sophisticated food devotees.

“We’ll do everything from sophisticated pastry classes to simple little Friday nights for singles. It should be a lot of fun.”

While chefs from Tom Douglas restaurants will provide much of the instruction, the school will also draw on other local and national talent for a variety of classes and events.

Tom Douglas is the co-host of Seattle Kitchen, heard Saturdays from 5-7 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m to noon on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.