I attended a Summer cooking class with my husband and we were blown away by how much fun it was…read more Kay led a group of six of us through the steps of making a fresh tomato soup from scratch, pesto for topping the soup, charentais melon (french melon) and prosciutto, a quick salmon frittata to tide us over while we prepared dinner, greens, scones and cookies. We succeeded in all of the above, while Kay peppered us with tips about how to prepare, store and where to buy some of the more uncommon ingredients. At the end of the preparation we all sat down at a beautifully set table in the back yard grotto (yes, really!) and ate together under twinkly lights and candles. And let me not forget the drinks. Kay's husband is a vintner so we were treated to wonderful wine with dinner. It was so much more than just a class, it was an invite to a wonderful dinner party!

My wife recently took her first class with Kay and is already eager to go back for more! Next…read moretime, I'm going with! The leftovers my wife brought home were amazing (no surprise since I've been lucky enough to enjoy Kay's cooking before), and my wife gives everything about the class rave reviews. She left with some wonderful recipes and new techniques. She also reports Kay is a talented teacher as well, and made the whole experience seem less like a class and more like spending an afternoon in the kitchen with friends - highly recommended!

Having sampled Shivie & Cemaaji's "RAW": 1. Key Lime Pie…read more2. Kale Chips 3. Strawberry Cheesecake 4. Macadamian, Banana, and Green Vegetable, Smoothies 5. Tacos 6. Pizzas 7. Granola 8. Chocolate 9. Crackers I can definitely say "Team Raw is as good as it gets!" So, yes, you can go to Whole Foods & spend your whole paycheck. Or you can go to Cafe Gratitude and pay approximately $14.00 for a shredded carrot. OR you can empower yourself and learn the art of cooking great tasting food "hands on" with Team Raw. Whether you want to start a "healthy cleanse" but don't know where to begin; don't have the time (because of your hectic work schedule) to prepare "heathy food;" want to become part of a healthy community; or just want toexperience something new - Shivie & Cemaaji will put you on the road to success & empower you with simple recipes you can create on your own ... I highly suggest signing up for one of their ongoing worshops - great people, great compassion, great knowledge. Team Raw is a great addition to the San Francisco Community. Check them out at: http://teamraw.com Wishing the best of all possible worlds, Iyengar Yoga Teacher, tony eason

So I have known Shivie and Cemaaj for years now and I can tell you that no one in the city makes…read morebetter raw food. They are not some new agers from Marin trying to make a buck off of a trend, they are loving kind peeps who really care about what goes in your body. Shivie is my inspiration: she lost pretty much a whole person in weight and by choice gave up a successful career that was slowly killing her. She turned her devotion to health and wholeness in the direction of food a few years ago, and I couldn't be happier ( though I miss my Kundalini classes). Her and Cemaaj's raw food is exceptional. Kale chips are light and spicy. Wraps taste like everything in them (not just one mushed up flavor). gRAWnola is wonderful with yogurt in the morning or just as a snack. Crackers, pizza...each is a mouthful of wonderful combinations of flavors. Even though I am quite versed in raw cuisine, I think I will take one of their classes in the new year. Next time you see them at the Farmers Market...go for it! Your stomach and body will be so proud of you.

What a fabulous experience. I would definitely recommend making a reservation here for a special…read moreoccasion. The price is so fair and the students were so professional and friendly. Their courses were booming with flavor and so balanced too. Their was clear intention with their combination of flavors. I hope to be back here soon!

The Culinary Institute is awesome. The main building where the classes take place is beautiful,…read moreinside and out. There is an adjacent, smaller building where you can go for dinner. The ambiance is fairly nice. The current culinary students are both the chefs and the servers. The food is very good, with recipes that change from time to time. It's a choice of a three-course or a four-course meal, with an optional wine pairing. You will have multiple choices for each course. Everyone in our party said that their food was very good. If you do want to have dinner at the CIA, be sure to make your reservations asap. They are usually booked up solid, pretty far in advance.

I ordered a custom Monster Jam cake from Gaby for my son's birthday, and it was beyond amazing! The…read morecake was absolutely beautiful, creative, and so well done. my son was so happy and excited when he saw it. It was such a cool cake and exceeded everything I imagined. Gaby was professional, kind, and so sweet to work with throughout the process. She also made a custom gelatin with my son's picture and event details printed directly on the gelatin--all edible--which was such a unique and impressive touch. The attention to detail on everything was incredible. You can tell Gaby puts so much care and talent into her work. I highly recommend Gaby's Cakes and will definitely be using her again for future events. Thank you, Gaby, for helping make my son's birthday so special!

Best cake I have ever! Not only did my order come out perfect, it was the best cake I have ever had…read morethe pleasure to eat. Bravo!

I already cook at home, so, chopping/peeling carrots and frying up small pieces of appetizers was…read morelike being at home. But I came for a team building function and connected with the folks I work with. Together in sweet harmony, we cooked up a plate of potato, beets, & carrot pancakes. We had other teams making different dishes and when we all finished, we had a presentation throw down. Prettiest plate wins a prize. I thought our team had the prettiest plate but another team took the prize - boo hoo. Instructors were very helpful and nice. The working kitchen was amazing, wish I could have a similar scaled down setup for my own home! I know I can make this dish again but it was a lot of ingridients and too much prep work. So, I probably won't make it again. They provide you with endless wine and water. And you get a glass of bubbly at the beginning of the class. Good experience. Nice place. Beautiful area. Wonderful staff! Plenty of parking. Good place to host a special event like a wedding/birthday/anniversary.

Fabulous experience here today with our little family of 7 on Easter Sunday for brunch!…read more We brought all four kids (from 11 to 22) and the mom-in-law for an Easter "station" buffet brunch. We arrived about 10 minutes before the doors opened for our seating at 12:30. We only had to wait about 5-10 minutes before we were ushered into the big dining area - and the four adults were greeted with nice mimosas. Our table was comfortable and within 90 seconds, all the kids and adults scattered - going to the various stations for omelettes, waffles, bagels and lox, seafood, quiche/biscuits & gravy, and prime rib and pork loin carving stations. The food was lovely and nicely presented. The cute bunnies in the centerpieces and the festive nature of the decor, made it very charming. Coffee was very good and the bar (& the food stations) never got overly-crowded. The kids loved getting their own plates of food of their choosing - I mean who doesn't love having a hundred+ delicious-looking choices laid out before you. (My favorite of the day was the homemade potato hash with peas and the delicious pork loin which I loved dipping in the prime rib's creamy horseradish sauce.) The desert and the fruit tables were a hit too... We saw many plates of watermelon and jellybeans coming back to our table (our junior high schoolers) and we had to laugh, because our kids were just totally having the best time. Cheers to the staff at Ramekins for killing it today - great job!!! Fab event! We will totally be back!

Superb. I have taken the 12 week series and individual classes at KOF and taken courses at other…read moreschools. KOF is head and shoulders above all the others. Chef Olive told the class that his students don't eat out because they realize that, "I can make this better at home"; which I thought a bit exaggerated, but then I thought more about it and realized, based on my experience, he is right. These courses are so well thought out; you will learn a ton, will be taught by well qualified, energetic chefs, will begin to eat healthier and better, and you will absolutely have fun. Enjoy.

Love me some Berkeley! These cute little storefronts are definitely part of the reason. This place…read morehad sushi, coffee, Tibetan jewelry and organic ice cream with a cooking school upstairs we all wandered around and really enjoyed our time spent here... We all got a scoop of Serotonin ice cream and tasted a few of their exotic flavors like saffron and lavender a few nostalgic flavors like butterscotch & pistachio they were all delicious.

The reviews here may seem a little different, as some reviewers are former students rating their…read moreexperiences at Napa Valley Cooking School and some happen to be diners at the school's seasonal restaurant. I happen to be in the latter group, and I have to say that I am impressed by the students on campus, the education they're receiving, and the quality of food they're putting out! I came in today for a lunch, expecting a fancy, multiple course meal; which is precisely what I got! What made the experience more rewarding was getting to learn a bit about the cooking school's seasonal restaurant. The recipes are created by the students, or at least partially so, and the servers working within the school's restaurant are also students as well. As a former college student that worked in food service during my undergrad years, it was great to see the level of professionalism and dedication the students brought to the table (literally!), and I was impressed by the seamless ability of the students to work both in front and in the back of the house. Usually within the industry, it's one of the other. To have a student chef who happened to develop your recipes also serve you is a treat in itself. The food, of course, was the other treat. I could go on about the meal's decadence: the juxtaposition of the light, flaky crust and the thick, hearty mushroom gravy in the mini pot pie appetizer, or the tenderness of the pork belly that literally melted in my mouth. Words wouldn't do the meal justice. But I will leave a few short words for the dessert: the single best carrot dish I've ever had. And this is coming from someone who will 95% of the time choose savory over sweet. (I'm saying 95% because I would have been content with four courses of the carrot ginger pana cotta today and I'm not ashamed to admit it). To the students and instructors of the cooking school: well done! I look forward to visiting your spring menu when the time comes.

We are eagerly anticipating our NVCS lunch. We have been coming for several years now and have…read moreenjoyed every meal we have had. Delicious lemon grass coconut soups, bread rolls, halibut, smoked chicken, cream pies.... Is your stomach growling yet? Reservations go fast so you have to be on it to get a seat at the table.

RESTAURANT (The Grove)-- Lunch was fantastic!…read moreSat outside under the Olive Tree canopy : ) Peaceful Service was perfect. Salads, starters, and main dishes were great. Smoked fish Benedict :0 Wine selection was a bit limited and they were out of our preferred wine : ( Also....walkaround the garden and go upstairs to see the old kitchen ware!!!

Came here for the black food and wine event and it is a very nice venue!! It's very modern and…read moreupscale! A very large spacious venue that has a nice outside lawn to dance and have vendors. It's two stories with an outside patio. It has a lot of space inside to even dance inside. I will come back here if they have more events out here in Napa. Very nice beautiful venue! The parking can be bad but it's alot of street parking and valet. -Marshay D.

This is a gem of a find. Immaculately clean, each participatory class is lead by a gifted chef…read more I've been to several, the most recent centered on pomegranates. We made several recipes, were given copies to take home along with some pomegranate molasses. Our meal together was splendid.

I first took a knife skills class here and loved it. The space is absolutely beautiful. When you…read morearrive, they provide you with an apron and a name tag. And there are snacks and water for you to enjoy. The class size is small so there's enough individual attention. And at the end, you all sit down together to enjoy the your meal. It was so fun that I signed up for a Malaysian class, which was also great. I definitely will be taking more classes here.

Visiting Petaluma, I stopped at Belfare for lunch. I ordered the Classic Fried Chicken Sandwich…read more For $20, I was expecting one of the best sandwiches I've ever had...l'm sad to say the chicken wasn't as tender (or as large/filling) as I expected it to be. I've had fried chicken sandwiches with a much larger piece of chicken at a bit lower of a price point. I'm not local to Petaluma though, so it's likely I'm just not aware of the local prices/portions. After I tried it, I wished I had ordered one of their seasonal menu items I was considering. (They source from local vendors and change their menu based on what is currently in season, which I really appreciate.) Service was nice and welcoming. You order at the counter then find a seat.

Stopped here on our way from Berkeley to Sonoma. Chicken salad was one of the best salads I've ever…read morehad, and my husband said the same of the chicken sandwich. High quality ingredients and nice staff. Highly recommend for a chill and nourishing meal